Group support systems and deceptive communication

Abstract

Electronic communication is becoming more pervasive worldwide with the spread of the Internet, especially through the World Wide Web and electronic mail. Yet, as with all human communication, electronic communication is vulnerable to deceit on the part of senders, and to the less than stellar performance of most people at defecting deceit aimed at them. Despite considerable research over the years into both computer-mediated communication and into deception, there has been little if any research at the intersection of these two research streams. In this paper, we review these two streams and suggest a research model for investigating their intersection, focusing on group support systems as an electronic medium. We focus specifically on research questions concerning how successful people are at deceiving others through computer-mediated communication, and how successful people are at detecting such deception. We also suggest three propositions guiding research in this area.