Detection of Deception in a Virtual World

This work explores the role of multimodal cues in detection of deception in a virtual world, an online community of World of Warcraft players. Case studies from a five-year ethnography are presented in three categories: small-scale deception in text, deception by avoidance, and large-scale deception in game-external modes. Each case study is analyzed in terms of how the affordances of the medium enabled or hampered deception as well as how the members of the community ultimately detected the deception. The ramifications of deception on the community are discussed, as well as the need for researchers to have a deep community knowledge when attempting to understand the role of deception in a complex society. Finally, recommendations are given for assessment of behavior in virtual worlds and the unique considerations that investigators must give to the rules and procedures of online communities.</jats:p

Comparing Australians’ and Americans’ Abilities to Detect Deception across Cultures and Communication Media

The reach of global communication is expanding through the growing availability of smartphones. Smartphones are particularly popular for texting and voice/video calls, and their affordability means that more and more people around the world can now communicate with each other. Yet with the spread of global communication also comes increased exposure to deceptive communication. Can people in one culture accurately detect deception across cultures? And does the communication media they use play a role in their detection accuracy? We attempt to answer these two research questions in a study of Australian and US judges who were asked to detect deception in Australians and Americans, across four different media: full audiovisual, video only, audio only, and text. We found that both Australians and Americans could accurately detect deception at about the same rate across both cultures, and they were better at detection when exposed to full audiovisual stimuli compared to text

Munchausen by internet: current research and future directions.

The Internet has revolutionized the health world, enabling self-diagnosis and online support to take place irrespective of time or location. Alongside the positive aspects for an individual's health from making use of the Internet, debate has intensified on how the increasing use of Web technology might have a negative impact on patients, caregivers, and practitioners. One such negative health-related behavior is Munchausen by Internet

Honesty Without Truth: Lies, Accuracy, and the Criminal Justice Process

Focusing on “lying” is a natural response to uncertainty but too narrow of a concern. Honesty and truth are not the same thing and conflating them can actually inhibit accuracy. In several settings across investigations and trials, the criminal justice system elevates compliant statements, misguided beliefs, and confident opinions while excluding more complex evidence. Error often results. Some interrogation techniques, for example, privilege cooperation over information. Those interactions can yield incomplete or false statements, confessions, and even guilty pleas. Because of the impeachment rules that purportedly prevent perjury, the most knowledgeable witnesses may be precluded from taking the stand. The current construction of the Confrontation Clause right also excludes some reliable evidence—especially from victim witnesses—because it favors face-to-face conflict even though overrated demeanor cues can mislead. And courts permit testimony from forensic experts about pattern matches, such as bite-marks and ballistics, if those witnesses find their own methodologies persuasive despite recent studies discrediting their techniques. Exploring the points of disconnect between honesty and truth exposes some flaws in the criminal justice process and some opportunities to advance fact-finding, truth-seeking, and accuracy instead. At a time when “post-truth” challenges to shared baselines beyond the courtroom grow more pressing, scaffolding legal institutions, so they can provide needed structure and helpful models, seems particularly important. Assessing the legitimacy of legal outcomes and fostering the engagement necessary to reach just conclusions despite adversarial positions could also have an impact on declining facts and decaying trust in broader public life

The Effects of Media Differences and Expertise on Deception Detection Accuracy

Deception is a common part of everyday communication. Most of the research on deception has focused on face-to-face communication, but today most communication is mediated, taking the form of email, texting, and videoconferencing. We have a limited understanding of the relationship between media and deception detection. Computer-mediated communication is also a staple of many business practices, as is the case for modern human resource management (HRM). Deception in HRM can have long-lasting effects in organizations, if recruiting leads to hiring the wrong people. However, people are not very good at detecting deception, regardless of the media used. Further, individual differences, such as expertise, do not seem to matter in detection efforts. Despite their experience and training, experts are no better than novices at detecting deception. So, what is the role played by media in deception detection success, and does that success vary by experience? Comparing HR experts to students on a deception detection task, we found that experts performed no better than novices. Further, all participants were more successful at detection when viewing audiovisual interview segments than when listening to audio only segments