Out of all of the many ways to communicate, paper and pen, email, face to face meetings, telephone and instant messaging, there sparks an interest within researchers to discover differences in honesty based on the medium.
Weinschenk, S., PH.D. (2011). 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People [Kindle]. pg. 154
In a study on honesty, the group that communicated via email lied more than the group communicating by hand.
Weinschenk, S., PH.D. (2011). 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People [Kindle]. pg. 154
A study conducted on performance review ratings using pen and paper versus email found that peers negative appraisals were more via email than when giving reviews in writing.
In a diary study by Jeff Hancock, participants confessed to being dishonest mostly on the phone and least in an email. Face to face and instant messaging results were of an equal conclusion and positioned in the middle of the other means.
Weinschenk, S., PH.D. (2011). 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People [Kindle]. pg. 154
“Albert Bandura, a social psychologist from Stanford University, hypothesized that people can and will become unethical as they distance themselves from the bad consequences of their actions. His team suggests that email causes that distancing because it is viewed as less permanent, and because people feel less trust and rapport online.”
Weinschenk, S., PH.D. (2011). 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People [Kindle]. pg 154
The Moral Disengagement Theory
Slide 6
Another Hancock study showed that people who lied wrote more words than those who told the truth. The group that lied also used less first-person references like I and me but used more second and third-person references like you, he, she, and they. An interesting fact that developed was the group being lied to were not very good at detecting the lie.
Weinschenk, S., PH.D. (2011). 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People [Kindle]. pg. 154
“If you’re designing surveys via email, realize that people are likely to be more negative than they would be using pen and paper.”
“If you are conducting a survey or getting audience feedback, be aware that telephone surveys will not get you as accurate a response as email or pen and paper surveys will.”
“Getting customer or audience feedback is most accurate when done in person, one-on-one.”
Weinschenk, S., PH.D. (2011). 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People [Kindle]. pg. 155