Warrants and deception in computer mediated communication

This article explores the operation of warrants, connections between online and real-world identities, on deceptive behavior in computer-mediated communication. A survey of 132 participants assessed three types of warrants (the use of a real name, a photo, and the presence of real-world acquaintances) in five different media: IM, Forums, Chat, Social Networking Sites (SNS) and Email. The effect of warrants on lies about demographic information (e.g., age, gender, education, etc.), one’s interests (e.g., religion, music preferences, etc.), and the seriousness of lies was assessed. Overall, deception was observed most frequently in Chat and least often in SNS and Email. The relationship between warrants and deception was negative and linear, with warrants suppressing the frequency and seriousness of deception regardless of medium, although real-world acquaintances were especially powerful in constraining deception in SNS and emails. Author Keywords Deception, anonymity, CMC, warrants,...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2010
• Where: CSCW
• Authors: Darcy Warkentin, Michael Woodworth, Jeffrey T. Hancock, Nicole Cormier
• Keywords: ACM Classification Keywords, Author Keywords Deception, CSCW 2010, Real-world Acquaintances, Social Sciences