Julia Chivu ’23

Figure 1  Couple holding hands walking towards a multi-colored sunset

Recent scientific research has been increasingly focused on better understanding the complex relationship between deception and love. The study of deception within relationships and across genders is essential for interpreting the correlation between human behavior, neural mechanisms, and trust. A research team from Zhejiang Normal University investigated the neurological mechanisms of deception within romantic relationships and between strangers. The team hypothesized that females would deceive their partners more than males, that there would be increased brain synchronization activity in romantic couples, and that there would be less honesty among strangers.

The experiment was composed of 168 undergraduate and graduate students, comprising 84 male-female pairs, of which 46 were heterosexual romantic couples and 38 were pairs of strangers placed into male-female couplings. Prior to the study, the couples shared that they were together for at least three months. Additionally, they were required to provide insights on various components of their relationships – including their emotional connection, desire, and interest towards one another – through a questionnaire referred to as the Passionate Love Scale. The questionnaire aided the researchers in quantifying the intensity of romantic feelings and love each individual felt towards their partner.  

A face-to-face card game referred to as “natural enemy” was used as an interactive tool to study the participants’ behaviors and choices. In each romantic or stranger coupling studied, partners were assigned to roles of either ‘guesser’ or ‘informer’. The informer had the option of being truthful or deceitful to their partner. The rate of deception was measured by using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)-based hyperscanning, followed by various forms of statistical analysis. The fNIRS technology was used to study interpersonal brain synchronization (IBS), the phenomenon in which brain activities between two people interacting with one another become remarkably similar. 

The hypotheses were all found to be true. It was also discovered that the romantic couples had significantly higher IBS levels during moments of deception. Synchronization of IBS in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) for both Couple Male informer-Female guesser (CMF) and Couple Female informer-Male guesser couplings suggested reduced deceptive behavior; this finding suggests that the PFC plays a significant role in promoting trust and honesty within romantic relationships by somehow discouraging deception. These findings shed light on how love and trust in a romantic relationship can impact interpersonal interactions. Furthermore, this type of research can allow for further exploration on the neural activities promoted through romantic relationships. 

Works Cited: 

[1] C. Shao, et al., Increased interpersonal brain synchronization in romantic couples is associated with higher honesty: An fNIRS hyperscanning study. Brain Sci 13, 833 (2023). doi:10.3390/brainsci13050833.  

[2] Image retrieved from: https://unsplash.com/photos/wSBQFWF77lI