Deception Theory Research Articles

Does online interactivity matter? Exploring the role of interactivity strategies in consumer decision making

Given that the Internet does not afford an opportunity to inspect products before purchase, some customers hesitate to shop online. Online interactivity can supplement online decision-making with added product information. Based on the theories of impression management and deception, this study focuses on sellers’ online interactivity strategies (SOIS) and aims to explore the role of SOIS played in online purchase decision-making process. According to the stimulus–organism–response (S–O–R) paradigm, this study aims to understand how each component of SOIS affects transaction intention through consumer perceptions (perceived deception and perceived diagnosticity) and how this affect is moderated by product types (search goods and experience goods) in online marketplaces. Data collected from 475 respondents support most of our hypotheses. Product type positively moderates only the link between image creation and perceived deception. Implications for theory and practice are also discussed.

An Examination of Deception in Virtual Teams: Effects of Deception on Task Performance, Mutuality, and Trust

Research Problem: This study investigates the impact of deception on the performance of tasks in virtual teams. While the advantages of virtual teams in organizations have been well-studied, as the use of these teams expands, organizations must acknowledge the potential for negative consequences of team member actions. Research Questions: (1) How does deceptive communication influence the outcomes of virtual group collaboration? and (2) How does perceived deception impact the individual perceptions, such as perceived trustworthiness and mutuality, of the virtual team itself? Literature Review: Based on (1), the conclusion from the literature on virtual teams that trust and mutuality are vital toward team development, (2) the propositions put forth by Interpersonal Deception Theory that deception will be perceived by team members, and (3) from the conclusion from the literature on interpersonal deception and trust that deception will impact outcomes of an interaction, including trust, mutuality, and ultimately team performance, we developed a model of the impact of deception on outcomes in virtual teams. This model suggests that deceptive communication negatively impacts task performance. Deceptive communication is also expected to impact perceived deception both within and between groups. The model further proposes that perceived deception will negatively impact both perceived trustworthiness and mutuality. Methodology: Through an experiment, virtual teams of three members participated in a group decision-making task in which team members must cooperate to search a grid for enemy camps and then collaborate on a strike plan, with half the teams populated by a deceptive team member. Two-hundred seventeen subjects were recruited from courses at three universities. Five experimental sessions were conducted across two semesters in computer labs at the three universities. Following the virtual team experiment, subjects completed surveys related to key constructs. Analysis of variance and linear regression were used to test the hypotheses. Results and Discussion: Deception has a negative impact on task performance by virtual teams. Participants perceived deception when it was present. Perceived deception led to decreased mutuality and trust among team members. These findings suggest that organizations that utilize virtual teams must be aware of and prepared to deal with negative behaviors, such as deception. The generalizability of these findings is potentially limited by the use of student subjects in a laboratory setting. Future research may extend these findings by incorporating additional variables that have been found to be important to virtual team outcomes or studying the current model in a longitudinal design.

Liar, Liar: The Theory, Practice, and Destructive Properties of Deception by G. Paulsen

Paulsen, Gary. Liar, Liar: The Theory, Practice, and Destructive Properties of Deception. New York: Wendy Lamb Books, 2011. Print. Kevin Spencer, the fourteen year-old protagonist of Gary Paulsen’s latest novel, is a consummate and unashamed liar. He considers lying to be second nature, “a way of life”; even going so far to proclaim that it is his duty to lie for the greater good because it makes things easier for everyone. In his words, the secret to successful lying is that “people only listen for what they want to hear, so I only tell them that.” Possessing this particular skill also means he’s never been caught in a lie. This novel chronicles a week in Kevin’s life, the week in which his lying gets out of control and his life goes from “zero to crap”. He lies to his classmate about a medical illness to get out of working on an assignment, lies to his teachers so he can get skip class and spend more time trying to impress a girl, and lies to his parents to get his siblings in trouble. Along the way, he explains the rules behind “good” lying as he rationalizes and justifies his actions, until finally he is forced to face the fact that his lying has consequences. Liar, Liar is full of Paulsen touchstones, including a bright, self-aware teenage protagonist, a cast of quirky supporting characters, and witty and fast-paced dialogue. Ultimately, the novel is stronger on character development and dialogue than on plot. Although the story moves along briskly enough to keep most readers interested, it is not as satisfying or cohesive as those in Paulsen’s other novels. The series of events that precipitate Kevin’s eventual realization about the negative effects of his lying are less dramatic than expected, resulting in a rather understated story overall. Similarly, the romantic interest that drove many of his lies was also left resolved (likely to be continued in the next novel in the series). Nevertheless, anyone who is a fan of Paulsen’s later novels such as Lawn Boy will still find Liar Liar to be an enjoyable read. Even if it’s not always clear where Kevin is going with his consistent lying, his inner monologue keeps the journey entertaining. Recommended: 3 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Dale StorieDale is Public Services Librarian at the John W. Scott Health Sciences Library at the University of Alberta. He has a BA in English, and has also worked in a public library as a children's programming coordinator, where he was involved with story times, puppet shows, and book talks.

Mood State or Relational Closeness: Explaining the Impacts of Mood on the Ability to Detect Deception in Friends and Strangers

This study examined the effects a person's prior mood state (happy or sad) has on his or her ability to perceive deception in friends or strangers (N = 208). This study makes predictions based on the Cognitive Functional Model (Nabi, 1999) and Interpersonal Deception Theory (Buller & Burgoon, 1996b). Results indicated that interviewers in the happy mood were significantly less likely to detect deception compared to those in the sad mood. Results showed no differences in the ability to detect deception based on relational closeness. The discussion highlights the importance of mood context in deception detection and on message processing. Implications and plans for future study are discussed.

Content in Context Improves Deception Detection Accuracy

Past research has shown that people are only slightly better than chance at distinguishing truths from lies. Higher accuracy rates, however, are possible when contextual knowledge is used to judge the veracity of situated message content. The utility of content in context was shown in a series of experiments with students (N = 26, 45, 51, 25, 127) and experts (N = 66). Across studies, average accuracy was 75% in the content in context groups compared with 57% in the controls. These results demonstrate the importance of situating judges within a meaningful context and have important implications for deception theory.

Assessing Deception Detection Accuracy with Dichotomous Truth–Lie Judgments and Continuous Scaling: Are People Really More Accurate When Honesty Is Scaled?

Deception detection experiments consistently find that people are only slightly better than chance at distinguishing truths from lies. Interpersonal deception theory research, however, claims that people can accurately detect deception when honesty is assessed with continuous scaling. This article reports an experiment (N = 140) directly testing if the type of measurement meaningfully impacts accuracy results and conclusions. The findings suggest that the difference is largely illusory, and that the differences that are observed are attributable to differential variances in the measures. Substantively, both methods yield similar conclusions including slightly better-than-chance accuracy, persistent truth bias, and a robust veracity effect.

Good Liars

A neglected area in deception research is what constitutes a good liar. On the basis of deception theory, people's views about how liars respond, impression formation theory, and persuasion theory, we describe eighteen attributes which in our view are present in a good liar. Insight into these characteristics will help law enforcement personnel in two ways: It provides insight into who would be suitable for undercover operations, and it may help lie detectors, because one reason why people make errors in lie detection is that they do not take the full complexity of deception into account and seem to have limited knowledge about what is actually going on in a liar's mind.

A Theory of Deception

This paper proposes an equilibrium approach to belief manipulation and deception in which agents only have coarse knowledge of their opponent's strategy. Equilibrium requires the coarse knowledge available to agents to be correct, and the inferences and optimizations to be made on the basis of the simplest theories compatible with the available knowledge. The approach can be viewed as formalizing into a game theoretic setting a well documented bias in social psychology, the fundamental attribution error. It is applied to a bargaining problem, thereby revealing a deceptive tactic that is hard to explain in the full rationality paradigm. (JEL C78, D83, D84)

A Few Transparent Liars Explaining 54% Accuracy in Deception Detection Experiments

Deception detection experiments consistently find that people are statistically significantly, but only slightly, better than chance. The stability of this finding and the lack of variance in judge ability are at odds with current and classic deception theory that explains accuracy in terms of message recipient’s ability to spot leaked deception cues. An alternative explanation based on limited variance in message source transparency provides a more coherent account of deception detection findings and has important implications for past and future deception theory.

The Effects of Confidence and Advisor Motives on Advice Utilization

This article examined the premises of interpersonal deception theory (IDT) within an advice-giving context. Advisors with quality and persuasion goals provided advice concerning stock rankings to decision makers either primed or not primed to be suspicious of advisors’ motives. Two competing hypotheses were proposed. First, suspicious decision makers were predicted to accept less advice from all advisors and be no more likely to detect advisors’ motives than nonsuspicious decision makers. Second, suspicious decision makers were predicted to be better able to detect the motives of advisors and accept less advice from the advisor with the persuasive motive than nonsuspicious decision makers. The first hypothesis was supported. The persuasive advisor had significantly higher confidence than the quality advisor on the rankings used to give advice, although not on private rankings. Advisors’ confidence on these rankings fully mediated their influence on the decision maker.

Where Did They Go Right? Understanding the Deception in Phishing Communications

Deceptive communication through phishing is becoming more pervasive with the spread of ubiquitous computing. Yet, phishing has not been widely understood or studied even when such practices cost organizations millions of dollars each year. This manuscript tests Grazioli’s Theory of Deception as an explanation for the process utilized to detect phishing attempts. In order to test the detection model, the paper phished 446 subjects for confidential information. The results consist of a structural model tested to determine experiential and dispositional characteristics of deception detectors. Subsequently, the authors interviewed the detectors and elicited a rich account of how the subjects processed and formed a correct behavioral decision upon receiving the phishing email. These interviews provided additional insight toward the specific processes of successful deception detectors used upon the receipt of a phishing email. The results from both the statistical testing and the interview data analysis confirmed and added to the Model of Deception Detection.

“You Looked Better on MySpace”: Deception and authenticity on the Web 2.0

This paper examines Social Network Site (SNS) users’ criticism of a popular style of SNS profile picture referred to as “MySpace Angles.” Reactions to this style of portraiture label the display of these photographs “deceptive,” alleging that MySpace Angles fool users into believing that the subject is more attractive than they actually are. This case study approach utilizes a close reading analysis of the MySpace Angle commentary, revealing three main themes in users’ critique of MySpace Angles: 1) users who post these photographs are conforming to a social trend at the expense of their individuality; 2) the presentation of these photographs is narcissistic; and, 3) these photographs purposefully conceal the body. This case study displays a shift in the conception of deception online; on the social Web populated by SNSs, theories of deception and authenticity are called into question as users are increasingly anchored to their bodies and expected to effortlessly present an online self mirroring the off-line self.

Classification Methods in the Detection of New Suspicious Emails

Email has become one of the fastest and most economical forms of communication. However, the increase of email users has resulted in the dramatic increase of suspicious emails during the past few years. This paper proposes to apply classification data mining for the task of suspicious email detection based on deception theory. In this paper, email data was classified using four different classifiers (Neural Network, SVM, Naïve Bayesian and Decision Tree). The experiment was performed using weka on the basis of different data size by which the suspicious emails are detected from the email corpus. Experimental results show that simple ID3 classifier which make a binary tree, will give a promising detection rates.

William Dakin on camouflage in nature and war

William Dakin, an Australian zoologist and academic, had a wide ranging working life involving public education, health and defence. This article focuses on his contribution to biological and military camouflage and to the Second World War when he was seconded to the Department of Home Security to work as the Technical Director of Camouflage responsible for the Australian mainland and the South West Pacific. My aim is to show how Dakin's theories on military camouflage were based on theories of mimicry, deception and concealment in animals, and I argue that his study of animals also informed his theories on the relationships between self and society based on Darwin's theory of the survival of the fittest. Certain conceptual inversions took place when Dakin wrote about health and education in everyday society, and when he wrote about camouflage in war. I argue that a more brutish side to Dakin emerged in his writing on war, and whereas the actions of concealment and deception were considered negative in relation to civilised life, they were considered positive in relation to warfare.

Deception Meets Enlightenment: From a Viable Theory of Deception to a Quirk About Humanity's Potential

This article seeks to further suggestions made by C. West Churchman (1979) that a full inquiry into human systems requires a viable theory of deception. It argues that such a theory of deception requires an understanding of deception, a recognition of errors in perception, and an ability to see simultaneously from competing points of view. The intent here is to provide some insights that are useful in our understanding of deception, and thereby contributing to a viable theory of deception. Insights are used from what Huxley (1944) calls the “perennial tradition,” found particularly within the esoteric traditions of the Buddhist, Sufi, and Taoist esoteric teachings, as well as many other spiritual traditions of the world. The perennial tradition emphasizes the role and continual presence of deception, alongside enlightenment, within human experience. In accord with C. West Churchman's view, this tradition suggests that, by a simultaneous recognition of both our enlightenment and our deception in any given situation, we have the proper perspective to meet the problems we face. A thought experiment, using insights from the perennial tradition, is offered as a challenge to all involved in human systems inquiry.

Suspicious E-mail Detection via Decision Tree: A Data Mining Approach

This paper proposes a new method to detect unusual and deceptive communication in email data. Deception theory suggests that deceptive writing is characterized by reduced frequency of first person pronouns and exclusive words and elevated frequency of negative emotion words and action verbs. We apply this model of deception to the set of Email dataset, then applied ID3 algorithm to generate the decision tree .The decision tree that is generated is used to test the email as deceptive or not. In particular we are interested in detecting fraudulent and possibly criminal behavior from such data.

Adaptation and communicative design.

Two theoretical frameworks that examine the nature of adaptability and mutual influence in interaction, interpersonal deception theory and interaction adaptation theory, were used to derive hypotheses concerning patterns of interaction that occur across time in truthful and deceptive conversations. Two studies were conducted in which senders were either truthful or deceptive in their interactions with a partner who increased or decreased involvement during the latter half of the conversation. Results revealed that deceivers felt more anxious and were more concerned about self-presentation than truthtellers prior to the interaction and displayed less initial involvement than truthtellers. Patterns of interaction were also moderated by deception. Deceivers increased involvement over time but also reciprocated increases or decreases in receiver involvement. However, deceivers were less responsive than truthtellers to changes in receiver behavior. Finally, partner involvement served as feedback to senders regarding their own performance.

Causes and paralinguistic correlates of interpersonal equivocation

This paper examines the long standing theory of the Bavelas group which suggests that the only consistent cause of interpersonal equivocation is avoidance–avoidance conflict (AAC), and it also attempts to uncover a psycholinguistic profile of equivocation, especially in the form of paralinguistic cues such as dysfluencies. Participants responded orally to questions from hypothetical interlocutors within scenarios which manipulated both the presence/absence of AAC and level of situational formality. Their responses (72 messages) were audio taped, transcribed, rated for degree of equivocation, and coded for dysfluencies. Results of ANOVA showed that AAC not only resulted in more equivocation, but also that formality level interacted with AAC in influencing equivocation. Participants used filled pauses, surprisingly, in the condition within which they equivocated the least, although they produced other dysfluencies (combined) within conditions where they equivocated the most. Results are discussed in terms of the notion that filled pauses are special and in terms of interpersonal deception theory.

Neuroscience and the Detection of Deception

AbstractThe detection of deception is among the most important and pressing requirements faced by federal agencies with national security responsibilities. The polygraph is insufficient in its present state of development for meeting the needs of national security. While some neuroscience‐based alternatives to the polygraph have been proposed (e.g., EEG and fMRI), there are significant problems with these techniques and consideration of their operational use is premature. The development of a more effective means for detecting deception will require substantial conceptual advances in the science of deception, in particular the establishment of a sound theoretical basis on which to design such a system. Neuroscience and related fields can make significant contributions toward the development of a theory of deception, given sufficient government support and commitment to such an effort. However, even a sound theory of deception cannot guarantee success; it is vital that the associated policy, legal, and ethical implications of such a system be taken into account.

Criminal Identity Deception and Deception Detection in Law Enforcement

Criminals often falsify their identities intentionally in order to deter police investigations. In this paper we focus on uncovering patterns of criminal identity deception observed through a case study performed at a local law enforcement agency. We define criminal identity deception based on an understanding of the various theories of deception. We interview a police detective expert and discuss the characteristics of criminal identity deception. A taxonomy for criminal identity deception was built to represent the different patterns that were identified in the case study. We also discuss methods currently employed by law enforcement agencies to detect deception. Police database systems contain little information that can help reveal deceptive identities. Thus, in order to identify deception, police officers rely mainly on investigation. Current methods for detecting deceptive criminal identities are neither effective nor efficient. Therefore we propose an automated solution to help solve this problem.