Beware the dark side: Cultural preferences for lying online.

Deceptive communication is a part of everyday life, regardless of one's geographical location or method of communication. Very little research has examined the role of espoused cultural values in the preferences that individuals hold when considering to deceive others. These preferences include the relationship and the sex of the target of the deception and the modality used for committing the deception. This study features a survey of Internet users from four countries that differ in cultural values. Results indicate that more lying occurs online no matter the country, but preferences for lying differ between nationalities.