Kent Marett

The Influence of Experiential and Dispositional Factors in Phishing: An Empirical Investigation of the Deceived

Phishing has been a major problem for information systems managers and users for several years now. In 2008, it was estimated that phishing resulted in close to

Deception detection under varying electronic media and warning conditions

50 billion in damages to U.S. consumers and businesses. Even so, research has yet to explore many of the reasons why Internet users continue to be exploited. The goal of this paper is to better understand the behavioral factors that may increase ones susceptibility for complying with a phishers request for personal information. Using past research on deception detection, a research model was developed to help explain compliant phishing responses. The model was tested using a field study in which each participant received a phishing e-mail asking for sensitive information. It was found that four behavioral factors were influential as to whether the phishing e-mails were answered with sensitive information. The paper concludes by suggesting that the behavioral aspect of susceptible users be integrated into the current tools and materials used in antiphishing efforts.

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

With an increasing amount of business-related tasks and decisions being supported by communication technology, it is important to understand and explore the vulnerabilities that may result from its use. One of these weaknesses is the transmission of deceptive information. Very little research investigating mediated deception and its detection exists, however. This paper reports the results of one such investigation. An experiment was conducted involving an interactive interview of deceitful applicants for a fictitious scholarship, using one of three different computer-based media. Results showed that people were extremely successful at deceiving others no matter what medium was used, and the only recipients of lies that had a realistic chance at uncovering lies were those who were warned beforehand. There were no differences in the number of false alarms issued by warned and unwarned receivers. Warned receivers also rated their electronic medium poorly. Possible implications of this study are offered.

Gender Differences in Deception and Its Detection Under Varying Electronic Media Conditions

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.

Training to detect deception: an experimental investigation

Studies have shown that deception in the hiring process is common. Since more people are using computer mediated communication for job interviewing, it is important to understand how those modes of communication affect deception and its detection. Differences in gender may affect the communication process. Very little research has been conducted on gender and deception via electronic media. This paper presents hypotheses concerning gender differences in deception and detection in job interviewing situations using various electronic communication media. Theories of deception, media richness, social presence and research on gender differences form the basis for hypotheses concerning the influence of gender and social presence on deception and its detection. The hypotheses were tested in a laboratory experiment. Results show that there was a statistically significant difference in deception detection for gender. Females were better at detection than males. These results suggest that future research in gender and deception is warranted.

Group Deception in Computer-Supported Environments

Humans are not very good at detecting deception in normal communication. One possible remedy for improving detection accuracy is to educate people about various indicators of deception and then train them to spot these indicators when they are used in normal communication. This paper reports on one such training effort involving over 100 military officers. Participants received training on deception detection generally, on specific indicators, and on heuristics. They completed pre- and post-tests on their knowledge in these areas and on their ability to detect deception. Detection accuracy was measured by asking participants to judge if behavior in a video, on an audiotape, or in a text passage was deceptive or honest. Trained individuals outperformed those who did not receive training on the knowledge tests, but there were no differences between the groups in detection accuracy. In addition, individuals who received training using specially developed software did as well as individuals who were trained by lecture or by lecture and software in combination, for both knowledge and detection accuracy.

Deception: The Dark Side of E-Collaboration

Business organizations emphasize the importance of teamwork and collaboration within work groups more than ever before. Unfortunately, group interaction is not always positive. Very little research has been conducted to investigate the behavior and judgments of group members who are belong to group in which one of the members is deceptive. This study is one of the first attempts to look at this phenomenon, from both the deceiver and receiver sides. Groups of three student subjects engaged in a group negotiation task, with one of the group members randomly assigned the role of deceiver. Groups varied by the availability of computer-supported communication for discussion purposes, their physical proximity with one another, and the number of group members who were warned about the possibility of deception. Results indicated that individuals lied more when using computers to communicate with others and when both of their group partners had been warned. Group members were not proficient at detecting lies in any of the conditions. Implications of these findings and their potential implications for research and practice are discussed.

Inhibiting deception and its detection

Much research within the field of MIS has been devoted to the use of collaborative technology by decision makers and the impact computer-mediated communication (CMC) has on collaborative work. Yet, there may be some unintended consequences for users of CMC, if someone involved in the joint effort decides to take the opportunity to deceive the others involved. In this paper, we posit that CMC offers would-be deceivers advantages that otherwise do not exist with more traditional, richer media, using past research and established theories to help explain why. We review some of the findings from our ongoing research effort in this area and explain how difficult it is for computer users to detect deception, when it occurs. Finally, we discuss how the art of deception in computer-mediated collaboration potentially can affect both the current effort and future efforts of those involved, and we offer our thoughts on some of the factors CMC practitioners should consider when trying to combat computer-mediated deception.

The Role of Relational Familiarity When Interpreting Family Business Communication

Computer-mediated communication is becoming ubiquitous in our networked society. Yet one aspect of human communication that is rarely explored in the context of computer-mediated communication is deception. Deception is common, yet communication research has shown that people perform little better than chance at successfully detecting it. Two different laboratory studies of deception and its detection in face-to-face groups, communicating either with electronic support or without it, are reported on here. In both studies, subjects were very poor at detecting deception, across media. Yet third parties who had not taken part in the group meetings were able to detect about half or more of the deceptive statements that appeared in the transcripts of the group meetings. A possible explanation explored here is the role of social facilitation and the inhibiting influence it may have on deception and on its detection.

An investigation of the impact of abusive supervision on technology end-users

Research problem: This study investigates the difference in perceptions within the family-owned businesses of messages received from family members and outsiders to assess the role that relational familiarity (the amount of prior experience two people share communicating with each other) plays in internal business communication in these settings. Previous research has shown that this relational familiarity-along with experience with the communicative medium, the message topic, and the business context-lead to channel expansion (the ability to reduce uncertainty from a message with limited communicative cues) for business communicators. But the impact of relational familiarity on communication competence and personal biases between family members-which could impact the ability of relational familiarity to achieve its intended goals-has yet to be fully explored. Research questions: (1) Does increased relational familiarity between communicators lead to increased perceptions of message effectiveness and appropriateness in lean media settings? (2) In family business settings where familial biases may be prevalent, is increased relational familiarity linked to perceptions of increased sender likeability and lowered message negativity? Literature review: Channel Expansion Theory, which proposes that communicators can overcome the limitations of a medium by using their personal experience, guides this study. Previous research found that with personal experience with the communicator sending the message, a message receiver can enhance the limited capacity of a medium to convey cues that aid in understanding the message. Four perceptual variables-message effectiveness, message appropriateness, message negativity, sender likeability-result in benefits accrued from channel expansion and relational familiarity, such as reduced uncertainty and equivocality about the message topic. Methodology: A quasiexperimental setting was designed to elicit messages from business co-workers using email. Message senders were instructed to describe the same business problem in order for the recipient to understand the problem and decide how to proceed. Eighty-three family business owners, managers, and employees received one message from a family member belonging to the same business and one message assigned at random from a nonfamily member working elsewhere (a stranger). The 83 message receivers were asked to complete instruments measuring their perceptions of the messages. Results and conclusions: Results suggested that the relational familiarity between communicators played a significant role in improving message effectiveness and message appropriateness. Sender likeability was also enhanced when family members correctly identified the source of the message. The findings suggest that family members can benefit from channel expansion, though not as many members as expected, and that complex problem and task descriptions were communicated using lean media (communication channels that inhibit sending messages infused with communicative cues) and are perceived as most effective when described by familiar others.