Gabriel A. Giordano

Media tablets for mobile learning

Tablets offer hope for improving learning and collaboration but only if truly integrated into learning settings.

Website credibility and deceiver credibility

Deception is a common part of everyday discourse, and while much is known about deception and traditional face-to-face communication, relatively little is known about deception and its detection when the communication is computer-mediated. A recent meta-analysis (Bond & DePaulo, 2008) showed that the largest determinant of deception detection success in traditional non-mediated communication was the perceived credibility of the sender. Does this conclusion also hold for computer-mediated communication and deception detection? Using Prominence-Interpretation Theory (PIT; Fogg, 2003) and Interpersonal Deception Theory (IDT; Buller & Burgoon, 1996), we investigated the relationships among media, credibility and its antecedents, and deception detection. We expanded PIT using key concepts from IDT, resulting in what we call expanded PIT (EPIT). We created a model of EPIT and derived seven propositions from it. We argue that EPIT is a useful approach to investigating deception detection in a computer-mediated communication context and that it also has potential as a more general purpose theory. The relationship between media and deception detection is mediated by sender credibility.Prominence-Interpretation Theory helps explain the relationship between media and credibility.We expand Prominence-Interpretation Theory and call it EPIT.

Sender credibility and deception detection

Abstract Recent research has demonstrated that the most important determinant of deception detection success was the perceived credibility of the sender. If so, then what accounts for differences in perceived sender credibility, especially when communication is conducted solely via computer-mediated communication modes where sender and receiver cannot see each other? We investigated the relationships between credibility, its antecedents, deception detection success, and the generation of false alarms. We conducted an experiment involving 74 pairs of undergraduate students. We found that the perceived credibility of the sender significantly affected both detection success and false alarms, such that the less credible the sender, the better the detection and the more false alarms generated. We also found significant relationships between three of the four antecedents and credibility: participants who were trained to detect cues to deception, who were motivated to find deception, and who communicated via e-mail were more likely to perceive senders as not credible, compared to participants who were not trained, not motivated, and who communicated via VOIP. Our findings have implications for both research and practice.

Beware the dark side

Abstract Deceptive communication is a part of everyday life, regardless of ones geographical location or method of communication. Very little research has examined the role of espoused cultural values in the preferences that individuals hold when considering to deceive others. These preferences include the relationship and the sex of the target of the deception and the modality used for committing the deception. This study features a survey of Internet users from four countries that differ in cultural values. Results indicate that more lying occurs online no matter the country, but preferences for lying differ between nationalities.