When enough is enough: The impact of combined graphical impression management on financial judgement

The literature on impression management has identified three main types of graph manipulation: presentation enhancement, selectivity, and distortion. Nevertheless, no paper has analyzed the combined impact of all three techniques. Through an experiment involving 1701 certified public accountants, participants were exposed to graphs featuring all three manipulation techniques using distinct colors (blue, black, and red), all juxtaposed against graphs with no manipulation or a singular manipulation type. Our results show that selectivity alone has the same impact as distortion, selectivity, and presentation enhancement combined. Additional results demonstrate that the choice of color (blue versus red) in presentation enhancement, when combined with measurement distortion and selectivity, impact participants' perception differently. However, this effect is not observed when colorblind professionals are included.