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Due to its particular conditions, the Internet increases opportunities for lies and deception compared to offline interactions. In online dating, misrepresentation of the self is an issue of particular relevance. Previous studies have shown that searching for a mate online is accompanied by a high risk of being deceived. This paper focuses on the rarely-considered perspective of the receivers of deception. Our study will first investigate deception patterns of men and women in online dating profiles. In a second step, modes of detecting deception (email, telephone, face-to-face, etc.) are analyzed. Using online survey data of 3,535 users of a German dating site, results show (1) gender-specific deception patterns: Women are more likely to misrepresent their physical attractiveness; men are more likely to misrepresent information on marital status, intended relationship, and height. (2) These gender-specific deception patterns are associated with specific detection modes. Women are more likely to detect specific male deceptions during e-mail communication in an early stage of dating, whereas men are more likely to detect specific female deceptions at the first face-to-face meeting. These results highlight the link between different kinds of deception, characteristics of the receiver and its detection via different communication technologies. Implications of the results for the mating process are discussed.Due to the architecture of online dating sites, self-presentationespecially in the user profile, but also in subsequent communication via e-mail messages or a chat systemis a major requirement for mating on the Internet, as it is a means for users to convey information about themselves to other actors. On the basis of their information, other users evaluate them and decide if it seems promising to contact them or answer an incoming contact from them.Therefore, at least one ideal-typical aim can be given for self-presentation on dating sites: Users will want to attract a maximum of attention from relevant partners by portraying themselves as interesting and attractive (cf. e.g. Ellison, Heino, and Gibbs 2006). A combination of the users" complete control over self-presentation, and respondents" reliance on this presentation, leads to an increasing risk of deception, e.g., responding to a profile which does not fully or sometimes even at all correspond to reality. The problem of strategic self-and misrepresentation has found particular attention in the various collaborations of Ellison, Gibbs, Hancock, Heino and Toma (Ellison, Heino and Gibbs 2006; Gibbs, Ellison and Heino 2006; Hancock, Toma and Ellison 2007; Toma, Hancock and Ellison 2008). Overall, the findings of this line of research indicate that, rather than fundamentally misrepresenting important characteristics, users of dating sites "optimize" their profile in accordance with their expectations of what potential partners might look for. Zillmann, Schmitz,and Blossfeld (2011) were able to show that users deceive corresponding to their own characteristics o...

With the increasing dissemination and usage of online mate choice, finding a partner via the Internet has attracted remarkable public attention in the last decade. Several, mostly negative prejudices toward online mate choice – especially regarding its risks and disadvantages – circulate constantly throughout the mass media and form public perceptions. This article presents common stereotypes on this (still) new phenomenon, derived from an investigation of newspapers online and offline, online guides, blogs, and discussion forums and confronts them with the empirical facts. Based on several descriptive analyses, we discuss whether and to what extent ten prevalent beliefs correspond to the empirical reality of finding a mate via the Internet in Germany. Zusammenfassung Mit ihrer wachsenden Verbreitung ist die Partnerwahl im Internet zu einem bemerkenswerten Gegenstand des öffentlichen Diskurses geworden. Viele, meist negativ konnotierte Annahmen über die Eigenschaften und den Ablauf der Partnerwahl im Internet, insbesondere hinsichtlich ihrer Risiken und Nachteile, zirkulieren heute in den Medien und beeinflussen deren öffentliche Wahrnehmung. In diesem Beitrag präsentieren wir weit verbreitete Stereotype zum (immer noch) neuen Phänomen der Partnerwahl im Internet. Diese Klischees und Vorurteile, die in (Online-) Zeitungen und Zeitschriften, Online-Ratgebern, Blogs und Diskussionsforen recherchiert wurden, werden mit empirischen Fakten konfrontiert. Basierend auf verschiedenen deskriptiven Analysen diskutieren wir, ob bzw. inwieweit zehn populäre Vorstellungen mit der empirischen Realität der digitalen Partnersuche in Deutschland übereinstimmen.

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