Contradictory deceptive behavior in online dating

Shao Kang Lo*, Ai Yun Hsieh, Yu Ping Chiu

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

40 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Deceptive behavior is common in online dating because personal profiles can be easily manipulated. This study conducts two experiments to examine contradictory deceptive behavior in online dating. The results of Experiment 1 showed that users have lower perceptions of authenticity evaluations of daters' self-provided photographs with strong physical attractiveness than for those with low physical attractiveness, and the authenticity perceptions of daters' self-provided photographs have a positive relationship with the authenticity evaluation of online daters' text-based self-presentations. Although users are suspicious of the authenticity of beautiful or handsome daters' photographs, the results of Experiment 2 showed that people still employ higher levels of deception in self-presentations toward daters with highly attractive photographs to increase their possibilities of securing a date with those daters. The results also show that women employ higher levels of deception in self-presentation than men in online dating environments.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1755-1762
Number of pages8
JournalComputers in Human Behavior
Volume29
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2013
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Deception
  • Online dating
  • Physical attractiveness
  • Self-presentation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • General Psychology

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