Differences and Similarities Between Koreans and Americans in Lying and Truth-Telling

Abstract

Cultures may differ in descriptive and injunctive norms about lying and telling the truth and also in terms of the extent to which individuals intend to tell a lie or the truth when a friend is in trouble. Study 1 (N = 460) showed that Koreans had stronger intentions to lie for a friend and weaker intentions to tell the truth than Americans. For lying, Americans indicated stronger perceptions of descriptive norms (e.g., many others would lie in this situation) than did Koreans. For truth-telling, Americans perceived stronger injunctive norms (i.e., people approve of truth-telling in this situation) than did Koreans. Study 2 (N = 207) showed that compared to Koreans, Americans had more favorable impressions about a person who told the truth. Implications of this study's findings are discussed.