Perceived deceptiveness of verbal message: An examination of Information Manipulation Theory

The present study examined, based on Information Manipulation Theory, four hypotheses concerning perceived deceptiveness of verbal message, derived fr om preliminary research. The hypotheses were: (1) An ambiguous message is p erceived as more deceptive than an unambiguous one. (2) A message with cont ents of low frequency of occurrence and low verifiability is perceived as m ore deceptive than otherwise. (3) Perceived deceptiveness has a U-shaped re lationship with length of message. (4) A message violating two maxims is pe rceived as more deceptive than that violating only one. An examination usin g a questionnaire, with 102 business college students, supported hypotheses (I) and (2). Examination of hypotheses (3) and (4) is left for future rese arch. The computer program "GPOWER" was used in order to obtain appropriate sample size.