Abstract:
We extend prior research of deceitful behavior
by studying the reactions of those who are targets of
deception and how a specific attribute of communication
media, cue multiplicity, influences such reactions. We
report on a laboratory experiment involving dyads asked to
engage in a stock share purchase exercise. We find that
when a broker is perceived to act deceitfully by the buyer,
the buyer reacts with negative affect (anger) which provokes subsequent acts of revenge against the broker.
Importantly, we find that media with higher cue multiplicity attenuate buyer anger as well as lessen the propensity for the buyer to seek retaliatory acts of revenge. We
further find that moral anger mediates the effect of buyers’
perceived deception on revenge.