Cross-cultural Deception in Polish and American English in Computer-Mediated Communication

Book excerpt: Deception is omnipresent throughout the evolution of life, inseparable from the development of various modes of communication. By effectively manipulating the behavior of others, apparently by taking advantage of recipients’ own rules, communicators are able to gain an advantage while negotiating meaning in a cross-cultural environment. Even though much research related to deceptive behavior and its detection has been conducted in recent years, little of it has concentrated on deception outside of a North American context. This monograph addresses that lacuna. Consistently, most research on deception has examined face-to-face verbal communication and ignored computer-mediated communication. In response, this book also provides detailed insights into how computer-mediated communication and adopted cultural values affect deceptive communication and deception detection across cultures, namely in Poland and the USA. It focuses on discussing theories about why cues to deception exist, theories specific to verbal cues to deception, and theories about computer mediation in communication. The book also proposes a research model postulating relationships between computer-mediated communication media, cue detection, media familiarity, national culture, espoused cultural values, veracity judgment success, and deceptive communicative behavior.