Identity and illusion on the Internet : interpersonal deception and detection in interactive Internet environments

textThis study examined deception detection in interactive computer chat rooms. The two primary concerns of the investigation were (a) to uncover the communication “cues” used to detect deception and, (b) to examine the extent to which chat users were able to make accurate judgments of veracity and to determine some of the factors that would increase or decrease accurate judgments. Data were collected from 296 undergraduate chat users who participated in an experiment wherein they engaged in an interactive chat sessions with an unknown chat partner during which half of the confederates were truthful and half were deceptive. Results indicate that chat users do associate particular behaviors with deception during chat sessions, and that some of those behaviors (i.e., brevity, ambiguity, response latency, unpleasantness, “wishy-washiness,” less positive impression-formation, and bragging) were also associated with actual deception. Furthermore, accuracy in detection was enhanced by chat experience, such that more experienced chat users were better at detection. However, accuracy was hindered by confederate experience (i.e., detectors with more experienced partners were less accurate), and perceptions of self- and otheranonymity (i.e., detectors with greater perceptions of self- and other-anonymity were worse at detection). The implications of these findings, the strengths and limitations of the current investigation, and recommendations for future research are also emphasized.Communication Studie