Detection of Deception in a Virtual World

Lauren B. Collister

Abstract


This work explores the role of multimodal cues in detection of deception in a virtual world, an online community of World of Warcraft players. Case studies from a five-year ethnography are presented in three categories: small-scale deception in text, deception by avoidance, and large-scale deception in game-external modes. Each case study is analyzed in terms of how the affordances of the medium enabled or hampered deception as well as how the members of the community ultimately detected the deception. The ramifications of deception on the community are discussed, as well as the need for researchers to have a deep community knowledge when attempting to understand the role of deception in a complex society. Finally, recommendations are given for assessment of behavior in virtual worlds and the unique considerations that investigators must give to the rules and procedures of online communities.

Keywords


deception detection, online community, virtual world

Full Text:

PDF

References


Baym, N. (2010). Personal connections in the digital age. Malden, MA: Polity.

Blizzard Entertainment. (2004). World of Warcraft.

Buller, D. B., & Burgoon, J. K. (1996). Interpersonal deception theory. Communication Theory, 6(3), 203-242. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2885.1996.tb00127.x

Carlson, J., & Zmud, R. (1999). Channel expansion theory and the experimental nature of media richness perceptions. Academy of Management Journal, 42, 153-170. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/257090

Collister, L. B. (2013). Multimodality as a sociolinguistic resource: A case study of World of Warcraft. Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh. http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/18514/

Cooper, R. & Kahai, S. (2003). Exploring the core concepts of media richness theory: The impact of cue multiplicity and feedback immediacy on decision quality. Journal of Management Information Systems, 20, 263-29

DePaulo, B. M., Lindsay, J. J., Malone, B. E., Muhlenbruck, L., Charlton, K., & Cooper, H. (2003). Cues to deception. Psychological Bulletin, 129(1), 74-112.

Ekman, P. (1992). Telling lies: Clues to deceit in the marketplace, politics, and marriage. New York: W.W. Norton.

George, J. & Marett, K. (2008). Deceptive communication in e-collaboration. In S. Kelsey & K. St. Amant (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Computer Mediated Communication. Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/978-1-59904-863-5.ch023

Giordano, G. A. (2007). The effects of group member experience and task complexity on computer-mediated groups facing deception. Dissertation, Florida State University.

Giordano, G. A., Stoner, J. S., Brouer, R. L., & George, J. F. (2007). The influences of deception and computer-mediation on dyadic negotiations. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(2), 362-383. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00329.x

Giordano, G. A., Stoner, J. S., Brouer, R. L., & George, J. F. (2008). Computer mediated negotiations and deception. In S. Kelsey & K. St. Amant (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Computer Mediated Communication (220-229). Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/978-1-59904-863-5.ch017

Giordano, G. A. & Tilley, P. (2006). The effects of computer-mediation, training, and warning on false alarms in an interview setting. Communications of the AIS, 18(6).

Jordan, T. (1999). Cyberpower: The Culture and Politics of Cyberspace and the Internet. New York: Routledge.

MacCallum-Stewart, E. (2008). Real boys carry girly epics: Normalising gender bending in online games. Eludamos, 2(1).

Marett, K., & George, J. F. (2004). Deception in the case of one sender and multiple receivers. Group Decision and Negotiation, 13(1), 29-44.

Nakamura, L. (2009). Don’t hate the player, hate the game: The racialization of labor in World of Warcraft. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 26(2), 128-144. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15295030902860252

Nardi, B. (2010). My life as a night elf priest: An anthropological account of World of Warcraft. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

Steinkuehler, C. (2006). The mangle of play. Games and Culture, 1(3), 199-213. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1555412006290440

Thomson, R., & Murachver, T. (2001). Predicting gender from electronic discourse. British Journal of Social Psychology, 40, 193-208. http://dx.doi.org/10.1348/014466601164812

Trend, D. (2001). Reading Digital Culture. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Turkle, S. (1997). Tinysex and gender trouble. In Kemp, S. & Squires, J. (Eds.), Feminisms (516-520). New York: Oxford University Press.

Williams, D. (2010). The mapping principle, and a research framework for virtual worlds. Communication Theory, 20(4), 451–470. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2885.2010.01371.x




DOI: https://doi.org/10.5195/lesli.2013.6

Refbacks



Bookmark and Share