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Factors affecting Observers’ Accuracy when Assessing Credibility: The Effect of the Interaction between Media, Senders’ Competence and Veracity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 November 2018

Letizia Caso ,
Fridanna Maricchiolo ,
Stefano Livi ,
Aldert Vrij  and
Nicola Palena
Letizia Caso*
Affiliation:
Università degli Studi di Bergamo (Italy)
Fridanna Maricchiolo
Affiliation:
Università degli Studi Roma Tre (Italy)
Stefano Livi
Affiliation:
Sapienza Università di Roma (Italy)
Aldert Vrij
Affiliation:
University of Portsmouth (UK)
Nicola Palena
Affiliation:
Università degli Studi di Bergamo (Italy)
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Letizia Caso. Università degli Studi di Bergamo. Scienze Umane e Sociali. 24129 Bergamo Lombardia (Italy). E-mail: letizia.caso@unibg.it
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Abstract

The present experiment examined how the interaction between senders’ communicative competence, veracity and the medium through which judgments were made affected observers’ accuracy. Stimuli were obtained from a previous study. Observers (N = 220) judged the truthfulness of statements provided by a good truth teller, a good liar, a bad truth teller, and a bad liar presented either via an audio-only, video-only, audio-video, or transcript format. Log-linear analyses showed that the data were best explained via the saturated model, therefore indicating that all the four variables interacted, G2(0) = 0, p = 1, Q2 = 1. Follow-up analyses showed that the good liar and bad liar were best evaluated via the transcript (z = 2.5) and the audio-only medium (z = 3.9), respectively. Both the good truth teller and the bad truth teller were best assessed through the audio-video medium (z = 2.1, good truth teller, z = 3.4, bad truth teller). Results indicated that all the factors interacted and played a joint role on observers’ accuracy. Difficulties and suggestions for choosing the right medium are presented.

Keywords

accuracycommunicationdetecting deceptionmedium
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 21 , 2018 , E49
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2018 

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