Recent research indicates that we are more likely to lie by email than by pen and paper.
Three separate studies carried out by DePaul University in Chicago each had the same findings: that people are not only more inclined to lie in email, but that they also feel more justified in their decision to do so.
The first two studies tested 48 business students’ propensity for honesty when splitting a (fictitious) pot of money with an anonymous partner, who wouldn’t know the exact quantity of cash in the kitty. Each participant was charged with telling their partner how much was available, and how the split would work, either by email or in a handwritten letter.
Of the 26 people who chose email, 24 lied about how much money there was, while only around half of the letter writers were economical with the truth. Follow-up questionnaires also showed that those sending emails were more comfortable with their decision to fudge the truth than their pen-wielding counterparts.
The researchers’ final study further reinforced these findings, even when participants knew their lies would later be revealed to the group. In the final scenario, 177 managers were divided into ‘companies’ of three people, each representing a different project, eligible for an unknown amount of extra funding. Only one member knew this figure and was elected to tell their ‘colleagues’ how much they would each get.
Despite knowing that the truth would later be revealed to others in the group, those corresponding by email felt more justified in lying about the money available: on average email users quoted $18.4 million, while on paper it averaged out at $21.24 million (the real total being $23 million).
The reasons for this apparent moral disparity seem to stem from our ability to psychologically distance ourselves from our actions. Email’s perceived informality and impermanence can make taking a holiday from our usual ethics seem both safer and more reasonable. The truth of the matter, of course, is that email is actually very difficult to delete entirely. And once it’s out in the electronic ether, it’s quite literally out of your hands, while the consequences of its content will almost definitely be on your head.
With the business world and more and more of our daily transactions taking place online, the findings of these studies are something we should all keep in mind.
The full research findings are published in our white paper, Lying online: why pen and paper is more honest. To access the paper, visit the Emphasis Research Centre.
Emphasis runs a one-day Effective email writing course, which examines how to write effective emails and avoid common pitfalls. Call us on +44 (0)1273 732 888 or email us to find out more.