Deception Within Adolescent Sexual Conduct

Deception is presented as a “design to defeat a design” (Thompson 1986, p 64) where one actor purposefully changes the environment with the intention on generating a less adaptive response from another actor. The shared context combined with the indeterminacy of meanings makes deception not only possible, but also an important strategy for adaptation. In this regard not all deception temporarily causes individuals to reorganize their meaning making hierarchy around the changes made by the other party. Different uses of deceptions are explored with regards to adolescent sexual conduct, as their complex and quickly changing representations necessitate social recognition and adaptation.