A review of<scp>truth‐default</scp>theory: Implications for information behavior research

Zimmerman, Tara; Njeri, Millicent; Khader, Malak; Allen, Jeff; Rosellini, Amy; Eaves, Tresia

doi:10.1002/pra2.312

Proc Assoc Inf Sci Technol

2020

DOI: 10.1002/pra2.312

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A review oftruth‐defaulttheory: Implications for information behavior research

Tara Zimmerman

Millicent Njeri

Malak Khader

et al.

Abstract: Determining truth and accuracy of information is a key challenge in today's fast‐paced, global information economy dominated by social media. The field of Information Science, while publishing extensively on information seeking and use, has not done sufficient research into how individuals detect falsehood or deception in information they encounter. This paper describes Levine's Truth‐Default Theory (TDT) and links information behavior (IB) research to three vital aspects of the theory. Furthermore, this work … Show more

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Cited by 4 publications

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“…Through this process of translation, we develop a framework which can serve IB researchers examining how people detect and interact with misinformation. The authors previously explored TDT in relation to Wilson’s (2016) General Theory of IB (Zimmerman et al , 2020) but have expanded and more fully developed their concept in this work.…”

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Default to truth in information behavior: a proposed framework for understanding vulnerability to deceptive information

Zimmerman

Njeri

Khader

et al. 2022

ILS

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Purpose This study aims to recognize the challenge of identifying deceptive information and provides a framework for thinking about how we as humans negotiate the current media environment filled with misinformation and disinformation. Design/methodology/approach This study reviews the influence of Wilson’s (2016) General Theory of Information Behavior (IB) in the field of information science (IS) before introducing Levine’s Truth-Default Theory (TDT) as a method of deception detection. By aligning Levine’s findings with published scholarship on IB, this study illustrates the fundamental similarities between TDT and existing research in IS. Findings This study introduces a modification of Wilson’s work which incorporates truth-default, translating terms to apply this theory to the broader area of IB rather than Levine’s original face-to-face deception detection. Originality/value False information, particularly online, continues to be an increasing problem for both individuals and society, yet existing IB models cannot not account for the necessary step of determining the truth or falsehood of consumed information. It is critical to integrate this crucial decision point in this study’s IB models (e.g. Wilson’s model) to acknowledge the human tendency to default to truth and thus providing a basis for studying the twin phenomena of misinformation and disinformation from an IS perspective. Moreover, this updated model for IB contributes the Truth Default Framework for studying how people approach the daunting task of determining truth, reliability and validity in the immense number of news items, social media posts and other sources of information they encounter daily. By understanding and recognizing our human default to truth/trust, we can start to understand more about our vulnerability to misinformation and disinformation and be more prepared to guard against it.

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confidence: 99%

Default to truth in information behavior: a proposed framework for understanding vulnerability to deceptive information

Zimmerman

Njeri

Khader

et al. 2022

ILS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Even if you look confident, I am not sure you are telling the truth! The role of sender confidence on truthfulness judgment of emotional narratives

et al. 2023

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Judging truthfulness and detecting deception are critical in the criminal justice system as well as in many other applied contexts (e.g., clinical and business organizations). The ability to discriminate a truth-teller from a liar might be associated with the content of deception (e.g., emotional or high-stakes lies) or with the deceiver's characteristics, such as his/her level of confidence shown in lying. The two present studies aimed to manipulate the level of the sender’s confidence and to investigate its effect in deception vs. truthfulness judgments of written narratives varying in emotional content. A pilot sample (N = 124) assessed the stimuli validity of sixteen written narratives (Study 1): 8 deceptive vs. truthful narratives x four types of content (i.e., emotional/bereavement vs. emotional/car accident vs. emotional/quarrel vs neutral/holiday) with low confidence in the recall and 8 deceptive vs. truthful narratives x four types of content (i.e., emotional/bereavement vs. emotional/car accident vs. emotional/quarrel vs neutral/holiday) high in the confidence recall. An experimental sample (N = 428) was administered the two sequences of eight written narratives and for each narrative, veracity judgment, detection accuracy, and judgment confidence were assessed (Study 2). We found that the sender’s confidence, the veracity, and the content of the narratives affected receivers’ veracity judgments and detection accuracy. High confidence made receivers prone to judge bereavements and holiday narratives as truthful and quarrels narratives as deceptive. In addition, high confidence made judgments more accurate for truthful narratives on holidays compared with others, and for deceptive narratives on car accidents and quarrels than for other narratives. The present results are discussed in light of their practical implications for the legal field.

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Truthfulness Predominates in Americans’ Conceptualizations of Honesty: A Prototype Analysis

Reynolds,

Stokes,

Jayawickreme

et al. 2023

Pers Soc Psychol Bull

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Honesty is a near universally valued trait. However, the term honesty captures a litany of traits and behaviors, obscuring research on social perceptions and trait measurement of honesty and creating philosophical difficulties in accounting for what (if anything) unifies this diversity. We applied a prototype analysis approach to identify the most central elements of lay honesty conceptualizations, identifying elements that come to mind and are explicitly acknowledged as important to honesty. In five studies ( N = 1,442), U.S. American participants generated 6,000+ free responses characterizing honesty and indicated which subtraits and behaviors best represent honesty. Truthfulness was most central to lay honesty conceptualizations across all studies and several centrality indices (frequency among responses and participants, agreement across participants, priority in lists, explicit ratings), though several other features were prominent. Findings illuminate social perceptions of honesty, critique popular measurement of trait honesty, and offer empirical foundations for philosophical analysis of honesty.

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A review oftruth‐defaulttheory: Implications for information behavior research

Cited by 4 publications

References 13 publications

Default to truth in information behavior: a proposed framework for understanding vulnerability to deceptive information

Default to truth in information behavior: a proposed framework for understanding vulnerability to deceptive information

Even if you look confident, I am not sure you are telling the truth! The role of sender confidence on truthfulness judgment of emotional narratives

Truthfulness Predominates in Americans’ Conceptualizations of Honesty: A Prototype Analysis

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