Relationships are the foundation of any view of modern culture and society, and as such, theories on relationships become important ideas to examine in the context of social psychology. Self-determination theory (SDT) is a theory of social psychology that explains the human need to feel some degree of autonomy and personal motivation in their daily lives (Baumeister & Bushman, 2011). People are ultimately motivated by either intrinsic or extrinsic forces (Baumeister & Bushman, 2011). Whereas one action ...

The use of deception in psychological research presents an interesting dilemma for social scientists. Deception, by its very nature, is an act of falsification – being synonymous with words such as dishonesty, deceit and cheating (Bing Dictionary). There is a fundamental philosophical difference, however, between deception as an act and deception as a tool – particularly in regards to psychological study. This paper is meant to show that in psychology, deception is a necessary tool of research ...