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The Finer Points of Lying Online: E-Mail Versus Pen and Paper
Abstract
The authors present 3 experimental studies that build on moral disengagement theory by exploring lying in online environments. Findings indicate that, when e-mail is compared with pen and paper communication media (both of which are equal in terms of media richness, as both are text only), people are more willing to lie when communicating via e-mail than via pen and paper and feel more justified in doing so. The findings were consistent whether the task assured participants that their lie either would or would not be discovered by their counterparts. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
... The less human the other side feels, the easier it is to lie in self-serving ways, including engaging in more cheating behavior when reporting information to a machine rather than a person (Maréchal et al., 2018). But even when comparing text-only channels sent to real people, differences emerge, with people showing more self-serving behavior via electronic means than when making decisions via hard-copy documents (Naquin et al., 2010). Deception has also been seen to be more frequent in chat than over social network sites or email (Warkentin et al., 2010). ...
... p = 0.001, standardized test statistic = 3.665, effect size = 0.31). Note that in both conditions and consistent with previous research (Naquin et al., 2010), allocators tended to offer approximately 50% of their reported pot size to the recipient, thus appearing to make a fair offer while in reality claiming more for themselves. ...
... We gave participants no choice in the device they used, while recent work on deception and media choice shows that people are specific in this way, and that a mixed-motive situation in particular might spur certain choices (Harrison and Windeler, 2020;Toma et al., 2019;George et al., 2014). Real money was not on the line here for our participants, but previous studies have included payment for outcomes in tasks like these without changing the pattern of deception (Naquin et al., 2010). ...
Purpose
As both workplace and personal interactions increasingly move into online discussions, the impact of various technological devices (such as cell phones and laptops) on behaviors and decisions must be better understood. This study aims to assess whether tasks done on cell phones or laptops prompt more deception for the sake of personal gain in decisions and negotiations, based on the associations held about each device.
Design/methodology/approach
Four empirical studies plus a single-study meta-analysis explore the rates of self-serving deceptive behavior based on the type of device used in decision-making tasks (ultimatum-game bargaining and negotiations).
Findings
Results show that using a laptop prompted more self-serving behavior than using a cell phone. Follow-up studies suggest that the dominant associations that people hold with each device – professional ones for the laptop and personal ones for cell phone – may help drive this effect.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first to establish a link between technological device and behavioral outcomes in negotiations, even when the exact format of the information sent and received is identical (i.e. text-only format). The findings have implications for selecting devices for important negotiations and decisions, as some may promote more ethical behavior than others.
... Aside from appearing socially desirable, it does seem that lying might be more likely in online communications than other media. Naquina, Kurtzbergb, and Belkinc (2010) find that participants are more willing to lie in an email than when writing on paper, even if the task design assures participants that their lie will not be discovered. The impact of lying on survey results therefore becomes an important question. ...
We study the effects on results of participants completing a survey more than once, a phenomenon known as farming. Using data from a real social science study as a baseline, three strategies that participants might use to farm are studied by Monte Carlo simulation. Findings show that farming influences survey results and can cause both statistical hypotheses testing Type I (false positive) and Type II (false negative) errors in unpredictable ways.
... Loewenstein et al. (2005) report more deception in synchronous (IM) e-negotiation compared to asynchronous (email) e-negotiation when sellers were provided with intricate arguments. Findings from two-person games point in a similar direction: In a social dilemma game, Rockmann and Northcraft (2008) found less defection and less deception in richer media (FTF, video) than in IM, and Naquin et al. (2010) report more deception in email than pencil-and-paper in ultimatum bargaining. While there is no unambiguous picture about the relative occurrence of cooperative and competitive behavior in different communication media, van Es et al. (2004) report that a behavioral strategy change is more easily accomplished in asynchronous (email) than synchronous (FTF) media. ...
With the advent of modern communication media over the last decades, such as
email, video conferencing, or instant messaging, a plethora of research has
emerged that analyzes the association between communication media and negotiation
processes and outcomes. Theoretical vantage points on communication
media and negotiation and empirical findings from the last five decades take stock
of this line of research. Specifically, media richness theory and the task/media fit
hypothesis, grounding in communication, and media synchronicity theory as
communication theoretical foundations found traction in negotiation research.
These theoretical vantage points are supplemented by a review of specific theoretical
psychological aspects of communication media, the barrier effect and
psychological distance theory. Empirical evidence on communication media and negotiation, derived from an extensive literature search of relevant peerreviewed
articles, shows the diverse media effects in negotiation. The emphasis in
this review of the empirical literature is on the communication medium as an
independent variable. In other words, effects of communication media on the
negotiation process (descriptive process parameters, economic reference points,
negotiation behavior/tactics, individual psychological variables, assessment of
the opponent) as well as economic (agreement, individual profit, joint profit,
equality of agreement) and socio-emotional (satisfaction, future interaction, trust)
outcomes are in focus. Finally, we turn to communication medium choice in
negotiation, a topic much less researched. The conclusion sums up the findings
and sketches out some avenues for future research.
... Some students justify their individual bad choices (e.g., lying and cheating) based on their belief that other students engage in such behavior (Bicchieri et al. 2020). In an online environment, existing research shows that individuals are more likely to lie in an email than by verbal contact (Whitty and Carville 2008;Naquin et al. 2010;Zimbler and Feldman 2011). Dimant and Gesche (2020) show that interventions aimed at changing this behavior could be complemented by informal norm-nudging in situations where the norms are clear and the behavior is observable. ...
Technological improvements have changed the way class content is delivered and absorbed, with new modes of communications and collaboration creating viable alternatives to the traditional classroom. While online learning has many benefits in terms of greater flexibility and convenience, the lack of face-to-face interaction creates potential consequences in the form of greater propensity for procrastination in completing coursework. This paper investigates whether traditional methods of mitigating these habits by way of nudging is enhanced using techniques that motivate students to be more engaged with class content. We introduce microcommitments, small daily tasks delivered with a soft commitment device and social accountability. We randomly assigned 276 students in an online course into a treatment or control group to isolate the effects of microcommitments on delaying the completion of assignments. Our results indicate that engaging students with course content, using a microcommitment, significantly reduces procrastination. Students are nearly twice as likely to complete at least some of the assigned work more than a week prior to the due date as opposed to leaving all of the work for the last week.
Technological improvements have changed the way class content is delivered and absorbed, with new modes of communication and collaboration creating viable alternatives to the traditional classroom. While online learning has many benefits in terms of greater flexibility and convenience, the lack of face‐to‐face interaction creates potential consequences in the form of greater propensity for procrastination in completing coursework. Microcommitments, defined as small daily tasks accompanied by a soft commitment device delivered via an online platform providing social accountability, increase engagement with course content and have been shown to improve exam performance among students enrolled in online courses. We randomly assigned 276 online students into a treatment or control group and investigate whether reduced procrastination may be a channel contributing to the observed gains in academic performance. Our results support this hypothesis as we document a reduction in procrastination. Students exposed to microcommitments with social accountability are nearly twice as likely to complete at least some of the assigned work more than a week prior to the due date as opposed to leaving all of the work for the last week.
Introduction
Technological advancements have transformed our business as well as social interactions. A recent trend is the increasing use of smartphones for work and customer engagement. Given that smartphones have been associated with a heightened sense of personal ownership and moral disengagement we argue that this may have negative implications for ethical behavior.
Method
To evaluate this conjecture we ran an experiment comparing dishonesty when using pen and paper, a desktop computer, or a smartphone. We make this comparison in both a setting where dishonesty benefits another (mutual-gain) and one where it harms another (constant-sum).
Results
We find higher levels of dishonesty when using a smartphone than pen and paper. We find relatively high levels of dishonesty when using a desktop computer in the mutual-gain setting but low levels in the constant-sum setting.
Discussion
Our results are consistent with the conjecture that smartphone use can lead to less ethical behavior.
JEL codes
C72, C91.
While people across the world value honesty, it is undeniable that it can sometimes pay to be dishonest. This tension leads people to engage in complex behaviors that stretch the boundaries of honesty. Such behaviors include strategically avoiding information, dodging questions, omitting information, and making true but misleading statements. Though not lies per se, these are nonetheless deviations from honesty that have serious interpersonal, organizational, and societal costs. Based on a systematic review of 169 empirical research articles in the fields of management, organizational behavior, applied psychology, and business ethics, we develop a new multidimensional framework of honesty that highlights how honesty encompasses more than the absence of lies—it has relational elements (e.g., fostering an accurate understanding in others through what we disclose and how we communicate) and intellectual elements (e.g., evaluating information for accuracy, searching for accurate information, and updating our beliefs accordingly). By acknowledging that honesty is not limited to the moment when a person utters a clear lie or a full truth, and that there are multiple stages to enacting honesty, we emphasize the shared responsibility that all parties involved in communication have for seeking out and communicating truthful information.
Leadership coaching—a relational process by which a professional coach works with a leader to support their development—is a common component of learning and development portfolios in organizations. Despite broad agreement about the importance of the coaching relationship, relational processes remain undertheorized, failing to account for the growth and intertwining of coach‐leader self‐concepts as they engage in a generative and co‐creative coaching process. To address these shortcomings, we reconceptualize the relational process within coaching as one of relational self‐expansion and theorize that the communication channel and communication quality impact relational self‐expansion which, in turn, influences coaching effectiveness. Our hypotheses are tested in a field experiment featuring random assignment to experimental conditions (communication channels) in which a coaching intervention was deployed in five organizations. Using structural equation modeling, we demonstrated that communication quality and relational self‐expansion during the coaching process positively predicted coaching effectiveness. Contrary to expectations, communication quality did not differ by channel (phone, videoconference, face‐to‐face) nor did it predict relational self‐expansion.
The WHO estimates that vaccine hesitancy contributes to 1.5 million deaths annually which could be avoided if global vaccinations improved. To investigate how vaccination sentiments are perceived on social media, we examine stigma amongst those
active in the vaccination discourse on Twitter. Two datasets of English-language
tweets published in December 2018 and December 2020 are compared to determine the presence and type of stigmatising language and illustrate power dynamics
between established and outsider groups as exemplified within figurational sociology. Manual and algorithmic coding efforts find emerging stigma cues towards
anti-vaccination and vaccine hesitant users on Twitter and identify topics within
the context of the emerging COVID-19 pandemic. Rising levels of stigma over time
emphasise the need for public health intervention fitted to increased levels of vaccine
hesitancy, varying degrees of self-disclosure, and the degree of trust consumers hold
towards public health institutions. This research is unique in its analysis of stigmatising content within the vaccine discourse before and during a pandemic and thus
adds to an underdeveloped literature on stigma within the online vaccine discourse.
This study conducted meta-analyses of 26 Korean studies in order to examine the relationships of person-supervisor (P-S) fit with job attitudes and behaviors. Job attitudes included job satisfaction (k = 11), affective organizational commitment (k = 10), and turnover intention (k = 8). Work behaviors included organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs, k = 11). The results showed strong positive relationships of P-S fit with job satisfaction, affective commitment, and OCBs. Also, P-S fit had a moderate negative relationship with turnover intention. Survey methods (online versus paper), publication sources, and sub-dimensions of outcome measurements were hypothesized as moderators with specific directions. Types of organization (private versus public) and types of industry (service versus non-service) were explored as moderators. The results indicated that the effect sizes were larger in online surveys (in case of OCBs) and journal publications than in paper surveys and dissertations, respectively. Regarding measurement dimensions, P-S fit showed stronger relationships with OCB-I than with OCB-O. We found that types of organization and types of industry could also function as moderators. This study contributes to the literature on P-S fit, which has been paid less attention to than other dimensions of person-environment fit, by demonstrating its importance. Limitations of the current study, future research directions, and implications of the results were further discussed.
Experiences identified by channel expansion theory as contributing to media-use knowledge bases were hypothesized to be positively related to the perceived richness of a communications channel. We investigated the hypotheses, using electronic mail as the channel, in both a cross-sectional and a multiwave study. Results varied for types of experience and generally supported channel expansion theory. Channel use, perceived social influence, and the dynamic nature of richness perceptions were also investigated. Implications of these findings are discussed.
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to argue that people's inherent attitudes towards the various communication media (e‐mail, paper‐form, face‐to‐face) will change their reactions to identical performance feedback.
Design/methodology/approach
Using an empirical scenario study with 171 business school students as participants, peoples' attitudes were explored about the use of e‐mail for feedback by having participants enact the role of an organizational employee receiving (identical) feedback via e‐mail, paper‐form, or a face‐to‐face conversation.
Findings
It was found that people responded most positively to the feedback when they believed it was delivered via paper‐form, and most negatively when they believed it was delivered via e‐mail. Thus it is theoretically challenged that the notion that all text‐based media (i.e. paper‐form and e‐mail) should be considered identical, and empirically document differences. Further, the negative reaction to the concept of feedback delivered via e‐mail was magnified by a performance‐goal orientation as opposed to a learning goal‐orientation.
Practical implications
It is argued that the norms and expectations about each medium should play a significant role in determining appropriate feedback communication tools.
Originality/value
This research can help individuals and organizations decide the mode of communication they use to deliver feedback.
While prior work has focused on the importance of visual access and visual cues to targets of deception, this article highlights its importance to deceivers. We introduce a new approach for conceptualizing deception and distinguish between two types of lies according to the relative value to the deceiver of being able to monitor the target's reaction to the lie; deceivers telling monitoring-dependent lies benefit significantly more from being able to monitor their target than do deceivers telling monitoring-independent lies. We examine this distinction and its implications for the strategic use of deception, by manipulating visual access in a negotiation experiment with teleconference and videoconference media. We find consistent differences between deceivers use of and consequences of these two types of lies as a function of visual access. First, the use of monitoring-dependent lies was significantly greater with visual access than without it, while the use of monitoring-independent lies was unaffected by visual access. Second, consistent with our conceptu-alization, participants who lied were trusted less by their counterpart than were participants who did not lie, except when participants with visual access told monitoring-dependent lies. In these cases deceivers were actually trusted more by their counterpart than participants who did not lie. These results support our conceptualization and suggest that visual access may actually harm potential targets of deception—by increasing their risk of being deceived and inappropriately increasing their interpersonal trust.
A meta-analysis of social desirability distortion compared computer questionnaires with traditional paper-and-pencil questionnaires and face-to-face interviews in 61 studies (1967–1997; 673 effect sizes). Controlling for correlated observations, a near-zero overall effect size was obtained for computer versus paper-and-pencil questionnaires. With moderators, there was less distortion on computerized measures of social desirability responding than on the paper-and-pencil measures, especially when respondents were alone and could backtrack. There was more distortion on the computer on other scales, but distortion was small when respondents were alone, anonymous, and could backtrack. There was less distortion on computerized versions of interviews than on face-to-face interviews. Research is needed on nonlinear patterns of distortion, and on the effects of context and interface on privacy perceptions and on responses to sensitive questions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
In this study, we developed a typology of deviant workplace behaviors using multidimensional scaling techniques. Results suggest that deviant workplace behaviors vary along two dimensions: minor versus serious, and interpersonal versus organizational. On ...
This report examines the electronic survey as a research tool. In an electronic survey, respondents use a text processing program to self-administer a computer-based questionnaire. As more people have access to computers, electronic surveys may become widespread. The electronic survey can reduce processing costs because it automates the transformation of raw data into computer-readable form. It can combine advantages of interviews (e.g., prompts, complex branching) with those of paper mail surveys (e.g., standardization, anonymity). An important issue is how the electronic survey affects the responses of people who use it. We conducted an experimental sample survey on health attitudes, behaviors, and personal traits using two forms of administration: electronic and paper mail. Closed-end responses in the electronic survey were less socially desirable and tended to be more extreme than were responses in the paper survey. Open-ended responses that could be edited by respondents were relatively long and disclosing. These findings are consistent with other research on computer-mediated communication, raising general issues about using computers to collect self-report data.
Emotions are typically associated with closeness and openness. The desire for privacy seems to contradict these related emotional features. Being emotionally close means losing some of our privacy, and maintaining a greater degree of privacy prevents us from being emotionally close. Similarly, great openness endangers our privacy and may cause us harm, and a great degree of privacy decreases our openness. I will argue here that the conflicts between privacy and emotional closeness and between privacy and openness are considerably weaker in cyberspace. The relative anonymity of cyberspace and the ability to control which matters we wish to reveal allow us to safeguard our privacy while increasing emotional closeness and openness. In fact, the nature of privacy itself has undergone a significant change in cyberspace since many matters that are usually kept private tend to be discussed in cyberspace. The greater tendency toward closeness and openness online has led to a redefinition of the nature of shame, which like privacy is connected to fundamental values that we want to safeguard. Privacy is characterized as the right to be left alone, to be allowed to pursue one’s activities without interference, scrutiny or comment. Why is such a right important? Why do we want to be left alone without having the focus or attention of other people trained on us? The simple answer is that such scrutiny can harm us as it may conflict with some of the values that we hold, or that other people significant to us hold. However, while we wish to guard our privacy, we also want to be close and open with others by expressing our genuine emotional attitudes through which honesty is developed in a relationship.
We examined the effects of computerized interviewing on applicant responses within the context of a laboratory simulation in which subjects were interviewed for either a low- or high-status position (clerk or management trainee) under one of four interview conditions: computerized, paper-and-pencil, or face-to-face with a warm or a cold behaving interviewer. The results indicated that subjects in nonsocial (computer or paper-and-pencil) interview conditions both scored lower on the Marlowe-Crowne measure of socially desirable responding (SDR) and reported their grade point averages and scholastic aptitude scores more accurately (with less inflation) than those in the face-to-face interview conditions. However, the use of nonsocial screening interviews for the high-status position engendered significantly higher levels of applicant resentment about the interview, relative to the conditions in which the interview procedure was appropriate (or more than appropriate) for the position level. This unintended behavioral consequence suggests one of the bounds that may influence the effectiveness of computerized interviewing. Contrary to expectations, we did not find the interpersonal style of the interviewer to significantly affect applicant resentment or SDR. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
In comparison to allocating resources to oneself, when allocating resources to one's group, people are able to ‘get away with’ taking more than a fair and equal share because there exists an implicit justification that fellow group members will benefit. Such an implicit justification enables people to hide their self-serving motivation. Results reveal that subjects allocating a sum of money between their group and a competing group took a significantly greater share of the resource than subjects allocating between themselves and a competing individual. Whether the allocation was made public or kept private had a significant impact on this relationship: the difference between group and self allocations was significantly greater when the allocation was made public than when kept private. However, subjects allocating only to themselves and in private were almost as self-serving as subjects allocating to their group (both in private and in public). The only case where subjects were overly constrained by equality was when they were allocating to only themselves and the allocation was made public. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The impact of questionnaire purpose (job screening interview vs. consumer survey) and the impact of questionnaire mode (paper-and-pencil vs. computer) on multiple measures of socially desirable responding (SDR) were examined. Students (N= 85) participated in experimental job screening (high SDR demand) and consumer survey (low SDR demand) conditions. Dependent measures included the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale and the impression management subscale of the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding, Version 6. Significant questionnaire purpose effects suggest one possible, context-related explanation for mixed SDR findings between earlier experiments. Mode effects were nonsignificant, adding further evidence of paper-and-pencil and computer equivalence with respect to SDR.