Researchers suggest it's easier to deceive through texting than when in person or during video chat.
Tuesday,October 4 2016-Folks might fib more frequently when text messaging, a new study suggests.
Researchers say it
may be easier for people to lie in a text message than when they communicate
through video or in person because they don't feel as scrutinized.
For this new study, One
hundred university students carried out online conversations with a computer.
The computers asked the students thirty questions, and the students were
instructed to lie in about half of their answers.
They found that the students spent ten percent longer writing
messages with lies, and they spent more time editing those messages.
“Lying in a text is easier simply because I
have a hard time doing it face-to-face,” Martin said. “I think you have more
time to word the lie in a way to make it sound better and it might not always
feel like you’re doing something wrong or hurting someone’s feelings because
you don’t immediately see their reaction.”
The fact that people were
less likely to lie via video than in person was surprising, martin said, but
makes sense given the so-called "spotlight" effect, where a person
feels they're being watched more closely on video than face-to-face.
Also, text messages prevent people from creating personal connections
based on facial expression, eye contact, body language and handshakes
Communicating over text doesn’t allow a person to carry
emotional cues that would alert someone of two-faced behavior, while video chatting,
the researchers suggest, produces a so-called “spotlight” effect — it increases
a person’s awareness of being scrutinized, effectively suppressing the
inclination to be dishonest.
The researchers see
practical implications from the researcher’s results. For example, the
researchers said that people shopping on websites such as eBay should speak
with sellers over video to make sure that they are getting the most accurate
and honest information about a product they are looking to purchase.
"What we speculated was
going on is there is some instant rapport-building, and some quick trust that
happens when you talk to someone face to face, and it acts as a buffer and an
inoculation -- almost like a vaccine -- against negative reactions. People are
still angry or upset if they are lied to face to face, but when they are lied
to in the leaner communications, they are angrier."
The participants acting as brokers were told they would
receive cash rewards for increased stock sales. They were also given inside
information that the stock they were selling would lose half its value.
In the meantime,
buyers were told they would receive cash depending on their stocks' value, but they
were not given any inside information before their transaction. Once the trades
were completed, the buyers were asked if their brokers had been deceitful.
After examining
which brokers were considered liars, the researchers took into account which
form of communication the "broker" had used to make the trade.
The research revealed
that buyers who received information through text messages were ninety five
percent more likely to report a deception than if they had communicated through
video.
They were also thirty one percent more likely to report that they were
deceived than those who made the transaction in person and 18 percent more
likely than those who had an audio chat.
Yu's team also
believe that the findings might help consumers avoid problems such
as online fraud.
Via minionscoop.blogspot.com
Via minionscoop.blogspot.com
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