Catalina L. Toma
ABSTRACT
People increasingly rely on social networking websites to initiate personal and professional relationships. This requires that a considerable amount of trust be placed in strangers solely on the basis of their online profiles. This paper examines how the nature of online information affects how trustworthy online daters are perceived. Visual (i.e., photographs) and textual (i.e., "about me" section) information is considered. Results show that textual information elicits the highest ratings of trustworthiness, and that the addition of a photograph decreases daters' perceived trustworthiness. However, the accuracy of trustworthiness impressions is low regardless of the type of information available, because of a truth bias. Results are discussed in terms of (1) hyperpersonal impression formation and the nature of truth bias; and (2) practical implications for building trustworthiness online.
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Index Terms
- Perceptions of trustworthiness online: the role of visual and textual information
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