%0 Journal Article
%T Lies in the Eye of the Beholder: Asymmetric Beliefs about One¡¯s Own and Others¡¯ Deceptiveness in Mediated and Face
%A Catalina L. Toma
%A Jeffrey T. Hancock
%A L. Crystal Jiang
%J Communication Research
%@ 1552-3810
%D 2018
%R 10.1177/0093650216631094
%X This article examines how people¡¯s beliefs about deception in text-based media (i.e., email, instant messenger) and face-to-face communication are distorted by two biases: (a) a self-other asymmetry, whereby people believe themselves to be more honest than their peers across communication contexts; and (b) a media intensification effect, whereby the perceived gap between one¡¯s own and others¡¯ deceptiveness is increased in text-based media, whose affordances (e.g., reduced nonverbal cues) are believed to facilitate deception. We argue that these biases stem from a desire for self-enhancement, or for seeing oneself as good, moral, capable, and impervious to negative media influence. Support for these propositions emerged across a college student sample (Study 1) and a national sample of U.S. adults (Study 2). The results offer a theoretical framework for the distortions in people¡¯s beliefs about mediated deception, and have important practical implications
%K deception
%K beliefs about deception
%K self-other asymmetry
%K self-enhancement
%K media affordances
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0093650216631094