Demonstrating Anticipatory Deflection and a Preemptive Measure to Manage It: An Extension of Affect Control Theory

Abstract

When people visualize a potential for deflection in future interactions, will they lie to prevent it? Affect control theory emphasizes the salience of deflection management in everyday life, otherwise known as an attempted realignment of experiences and expectations in the face of situational incongruency. Traditionally, deflection management is measured post hoc in an individual who, often disconnected from and unassociated with the situation, reconfigures the experience. This does not, however, speak to deflection management during an active interaction or how an individual might change things in anticipation of deflection. Prior to, or during, an active interaction, individuals have a unique opportunity to preemptively alter the definition of the situation based on anticipated sentiments. In essence, they can foresee oncoming deflection and act to avoid it. Using a vignette experiment, I extend affect control theory by highlighting deflection that is anticipated but not yet experienced. I also show that participants have higher odds of lying in interactions where an honest retelling would incur high deflection. To further inform this cognitive process, I present qualitative explanations from participants on why they chose their responses and how the dynamics of their relationship mattered.