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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Relationship Between Loneliness and

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1 2 3 4UCLA Loneliness Score Average

Chat Frequency and UCLA Loneliness

Score Average (Not Significant)

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