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Figure 1
Analysis of survey results:
• In order to test my hypothesis and see if loneliness and
lying online were positively correlated, the relationship
between the ULCA Loneliness Score and the Chat
Room Survey Score were examined.
The Pearson correlation analysis was significant,
with r=.253, n=89, p= .008, with one-tailed, r2 =
.064 (Figure 1).
• To see how predictive the survey questions were
compared to the overall score in the UCLA Loneliness
Scale, the relationship between Question 4 (How often
do you feel that you lack companionship?) and the
average for the Loneliness Score were examined.
The Pearson Correlation analysis was significant,
with r=.710, n=89, p<.0005, with one-tailed, r2=.504
• To see if loneliness and online chat frequency were
positively correlated, the relationship between
Question 13 (How often do you chat online?) and the
overall UCLA Loneliness Score average were examined.
The Pearson correlation analysis was not significant,
with r=.044, n=89, p=.342, with one-tailed, r 2=.002
(Figure 2).
The Influence of Loneliness on Deception
in an Online Chat Room
Eastern Kentucky University
Recent literature has investigated loneliness as a function of
psychological well-being in online chat rooms. Galanxhi and Nah (2007)
examined deception in online chat rooms to see if people who lie in
online chat rooms experience increased levels of anxiety compared to
individuals who tell the truth. They found that participants who were
instructed to lie had increased levels of anxiety compared to participants
who told the truth. Participants who lied were also more likely to choose
an avatar that did not closely resemble themselves. Another study done
by Whitty (2002) studied how often people tell the truth and how open
they are in online chat rooms. She found that participants who spent 0-2
hours per week chatting online were more guarded and lied more about
themselves than those who spent 11-21+ hours online. However, current
research has yet to explore loneliness in relation to lying in online chat
environments. In the current study, we examined how loneliness and
honesty in an online chat room relate to one another.
Hypotheses 1. Given that we know loneliness is an important factor to consider
when looking at the amount of time spent using the internet and in
online chat rooms, I predicted that people with increased levels of
loneliness will be more likely to lie in an online chat room.
ParticipantsThe present study included 89 undergraduate psychology students
at Eastern Kentucky University, each of whom received course credit
for their participation. Participants gave their informed consent
before participating in the survey.
Survey Task
A survey was conducted to examine loneliness levels and honesty in
online chat rooms. Subjects were given a survey that contained three
sections. The first section measured their loneliness through a series
of 20 questions from Version 3 of the UCLA Loneliness Scale (Russell,
1980). The second section, honesty in online chat rooms, was
measured using 10 questions in the chat room survey I created. In
the third section, the amount of time participants chatted online was
measured using five questions asking about their internet use in the
chat room survey.
Figure 2
Methods
Introduction
• In the present study, we examined if loneliness and lying in an
online chat room have a relationship.
• It was found that loneliness and deception in an online chat
room did produce a positive correlation.
• How often participants lacked companionship (question 4) was
positively correlated to loneliness scores.
• The findings show that people who are lonely are more likely to
lie in online chat rooms. However, how frequently people chat
online is not related to loneliness. Therefore, in order to
eradicate lying from online chat rooms researchers may want
to examine online gaming and how being part of a video game
group relates to loneliness and lying in chat rooms. If a lonely
person is actively participating in a video game with group
gaming, they may feel less lonely and then be less likely to lie.
This would be compared to when lonely people just chat online
so researchers can examine if feeling as though they are a part
of a group decreases how often they lie or if they lie at all.
• Also in future studies, it is important researchers continue to
explore the relationship between loneliness and dishonesty in
chat rooms. An experiment needs to be done to determine
causality. Since my study used only college students as
participants, future studies also need to broaden their sample
to get an accurate measure of external validity.
References• Galanxhi, H., & Nah, F.F. (2007). Deception in cyberspace: A comparison of text-only vs. avatar-
supported medium. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 65(9), 770-783
• Whitty, M.T. (2002). Liar, liar! An examination of how open, supportive and honest people are in
chat rooms. Computers in Human Behavior, 18, 343-352.
Discussion
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Lyin
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Loneliness Score
Relationship Between Loneliness and
Lying in an Online Chat Room
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1 2 3 4UCLA Loneliness Score Average
Chat Frequency and UCLA Loneliness
Score Average (Not Significant)
Ch
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