Real Lies, White Lies and Gray Lies: Towards a Typology of Deception

Despite its aversive label, deception is an extremely common social behavior that the average person performs on a daily basis (Camden, Motley, & Wilson, 1984; DePaulo, Kashy, Kirkendol, Wyer, & Epstein, 1996; Turner, Edgley, & Omstead, 1975). In fact, the use of white lies is so widespread they are often viewed as a form of communication competency that is necessary to successfully negotiate social interactions (Camden et al, 1984; Di Battista, 1994; Knapp & Comedena, 1975; Knapp, Hart, & Dennis, 1974). This study aimed to explore how college students perceive white lies and differentiate them from other types of lies using in-depth interview and focus group data. Participants\u27 evaluations of deception indicate three main types of lies: real lies, white lies, and gray lies. In order to differentiate between the three types of lies participants reported considering the intention, consequences, truthfulness, acceptability, and beneficiary of the lies. It was concluded that participants\u27 perceived real lies as being unacceptable, malicious, self-serving, complete fabrications of the truth that held serious consequences. White lies were perceived as altruistic lies that were trivial, partially true, lacking malicious motives, and generally acceptable to use. Gray lies were said to consist of lies that were ambiguous in nature or held the characteristics of a real lie yet were still viewed as justifiable given the circumstance. These results, their practical and theoretical implications, and areas for future research are discussed

The Rules of Facebook Friendship: A Two-Stage Examination of Interaction Rules in Close, Casual, and Acquaintance Friendships

The present study examined friendship rules on the online social networking site Facebook. Study 1 used focus group data to inductively create a list of 36 Facebook friendship rules. Study 2 utilized survey data to examine college students’ endorsement of the various rules in close, casual, and acquaintance friendships. Results indicated five categories of Facebook friendship rules, which included rules regarding communication channels, deception and control, relational maintenance, negative consequences for the self, and negative consequences for a friend. Additionally, close friends, casual friends, and acquaintances significantly differed in their endorsement of four of the five rules categories. Results suggested that interaction rules provide a useful framework for the study of online social networking sites

Relational Maintenance Strategies on Facebook

This study explored how college students utilize the social networking site Facebook to maintain relationships. Focus group data was analyzed to develop a list of 58 Facebook relational maintenance strategies. Canary, Stafford, Hause, and Wallace’s (1993) relational maintenance typology was used to organize Facebook relational maintenance strategies. A new category was created to represent a popular relational maintenance strategy on Facebook: surveillance. This study also examined how maintenance strategies vary in different Facebook relationships; close friends, casual friends, acquaintances, romantic partners, and outsiders (e.g. parents, bosses, teachers). Participants suggested Facebook is an adequate stand-alone tool to maintain casual or acquaintance relationships, yet cannot convey enough intimacy to maintain close relationships. Participants expected close friends and romantic partners to put forth extra effort to maintain relationships through additional communication media such as text messaging, phone calls, and face-to-face interaction

Sensemaking and Relational Consequences of Peer Co-worker Deception

This exploratory study examined sensemaking of peer co-worker deception from the perception of the deceived. A total of 58 narrative accounts of deception were collected via face-to-face interviews with 23 employed adults. Analysis revealed four primary narratives of co-worker deception: corrupt system narratives, cover your ass (CYA) narratives, personal gain narratives, and personality trait narratives. Perceived motives and consequences were primary considerations in the sensemaking process and employees reported changing their communication patterns to avoid deceptive co-workers or hold them more accountable for their actions. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed and suggestions for future research are posited

Exploring A New Strategy For Marine Protection: Private Conservation Of Tidelands In Massachusetts

The coastal waters of the United States contain a significant and underrecognized element of the nation’s biological diversity. With increasing populations living near or on the U.S. coast, and many others flocking to coastal areas annually for recreation, degradation of near-shore habitats is widespread and the effects on biological diversity and productivity are alarming. As noted by the Pew Oceans Commission and U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, real improvements in state and federal management of marine resources are needed; however, governmental agencies are plagued by budget reductions and increasing workloads. Private entities may be the best partners to provide innovative solutions. Traditionally, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have played a substantial role in assisting public agencies but have limited their work to habitat restoration. Terrestrially, NGOs have played a large role in developing and testing new and innovative management approaches on the lands that they lease or own. It has been commonly assumed that the tools for estuarine and marine conservation must be substantially different from those for terrestrial conservation, in part because it is not possible to own parts of the ocean or to exclude areas from certain historic users. On the contrary, significant submerged land is available for lease and ownership in the U.S. This innovative approach has found traction across the U.S. This Article introduces the concepts of private conservation leasing and ownership of submerged lands and analyzes the potential for private entities to take interest in tidelands for conservation in Massachusetts. Part I provides the legal background of efforts by private parties to obtain proprietary rights over coastal and ocean resources for conservation, focusing on two projects spearheaded by The Nature Conservancy (Conservancy): conservation leasing in Washington and ownership of submerged lands in New York. Part II presents the authorities related to and management of tidelands in Massachusetts. Part III analyzes two mechanisms for private conservation in Massachusetts that allow licensing of tidelands for specific purposes, and evaluates their usefulness to private entities that may wish to undertake tidelands conservation. Part IV concludes with an assessment of the opportunity for private conservation efforts in Massachusetts with recommendations for entities that wish to pursue this emerging tool for marine conservation

Multimodal Communication, Idealization, and Relational Quality in College Students\u27 Parental Relationships: A Model of Partner Idealization in Ongoing Relationships

This study tested the partner idealization component of the hyperpersonal perspective, and extended this perspective to the study of an ongoing relationship – college students and their parents. We proposed a model to encompass the cognitive and behavioral idealization mechanisms that past research identified as provoking positive relational outcomes. Results indicated that mediated communication frequency was positively related to both idealization and relational quality, and that idealization partially mediated the statistical relationship between mediated communication frequency and relational quality. Face-to-face communication frequency was inversely related to one indicator of idealization (positive affect thinking), but was not directly related to relational quality. That said, indirect effects were detected, such that face-to-face communication frequency was negatively and indirectly related to relational quality as a function of positive affect thinking. These results were interpreted using concepts from interpersonal, family, and computer-mediated communication, and research future directions were discussed

Beyond Search: A Technology Probe Investigation

Purpose — We assert that researchers developing new web interaction tools should consider an array of user motives beyond query-based information retrieval. This chapter reports on two probes used to investigate user activities that go beyond search as traditionally conceived. Design/methodology — This chapter reviews research on user experiences with search engines and general web use. It then describes the design and case study of cards and pebbles, two search engine-based probes developed to help elicit new concepts for web-based experiences. Findings — Participants reflect on their experiences with the probes and offer ideas regarding how to incrementally shift the traditional search paradigm and conceive of the web in new ways. Implications/value — This investigation serves as a starting point by offering criteria that should be considered when designing new ‘beyond search’ tools

A Functional Approach to Social Networking Sites

The widespread use of social networking websites (SNSs) is one of the most groundbreaking communication trends to emerge in recent years. Since its creation in 2004, sites such as Facebook have become immensely popular among college students. Many SNSs continue to experience exponential growth. Facebook, for example, reached 100 million active users in August 2008 and proceeded to quadruple this membership base to surpass 400 million active users by July 2010 (Facebook.com). In addition to maintaining astronomically high membership rates, SNSs also appear to be part of user\u27s daily schedules. In one study assessing Facebook use, Ellison, Heino, and Gibbs (2006) found that participants reported using the site an average of 10 to 30 minutes each day, with 21% of participants spending more than an hour on the site every day. As a result, high membership and usage rates suggest SNSs hold significant power as a relational and social tool for users

The Relational Reconnection Function of Social Network Sites

Relational reconnection is a prominent yet under-explored function of social network sites (SNS) that encompasses both the activation and subsequent maintenance of dormant social ties. The present investigation used two data collections (Study 1, six university samples; Study 2, national United States sample) to explore the characteristics of friends who reconnect using SNS, and attempt to predict whether reconnected relationships persisted beyond the initial reconnection. Results indicated that relational reconnection is extremely common, especially among same-sex friends and individuals who identify as heavy SNS users. Predicted outcome value emerged as the best predictor of persistence beyond initial reconnection, in addition to engaging in modality expansion, being female, and reactivating a relationship with greater perceived development pre-loss-of-contact