Implications Of User Anxiety In The Evaluation Of Deception In Web Sites

In a pilot study, we investigated the effect of anxiety on users' susceptibility to deceptive information on Web pages. Specifically, we manipulated the perceived control and associated anxiety of participants with and without visual disabilities as they used an assistive technology, a screen reader. Preliminary findings indicated that anxious participants (i.e., without visual disabilities) using the unfamiliar assistive technology were more susceptible to deception and expressed more suspicion regarding the Web pages, We interpret these preliminary findings as consistent with the work of Whitson and Galinsky [1] and discuss implications for further research in Web site credibility determinations and users' susceptibility to deception.