WHEN THE ALTERATION OF INFORMATION IS VIEWED AS DECEPTION - AN EMPIRICAL-TEST OF INFORMATION MANIPULATION THEORY

This study provides the first empirical test of Information Manipulation Theory. IMT posits that individuals manipulate information simultaneously along several different dimensions in verbally deceiving others, the result being a potentially infinite range of specific message types. In the companion to this piece (McCornack, 1992), different deception-provoking situations were generated, and examples of deceptive messages were produced and analyzed. In this report, messages involving various types of information manipulation were evaluated in terms of perceived deceptiveness and competence. Results suggest that manipulations of amount, veracity, relevance, and clarity of information all significantly influence perceived message deceptiveness and perceived message competence.