Gender Differences in Deception and Its Detection Under Varying Electronic Media Conditions

Studies have shown that deception in the hiring process is common. Since more people are using computer mediated communication for job interviewing, it is important to understand how those modes of communication affect deception and its detection. Differences in gender may affect the communication process. Very little research has been conducted on gender and deception via electronic media. This paper presents hypotheses concerning gender differences in deception and detection in job interviewing situations using various electronic communication media. Theories of deception, media richness, social presence and research on gender differences form the basis for hypotheses concerning the influence of gender and social presence on deception and its detection. The hypotheses were tested in a laboratory experiment. Results show that there was a statistically significant difference in deception detection for gender. Females were better at detection than males. These results suggest that future research in gender and deception is warranted.