Deception in online dating: A TCCM systematic literature review and future research agenda

Abstract

This systematic literature review provides a TCCM analysis (theories, contexts, characteristics, and methodology) of 38 research articles on ordinary deception in online dating. Our review shows that online dating deception research relies on a broad range of theoretical frameworks originating from different research disciplines (e.g. communication, deception, social cognition). However, little variation was found in terms of context, as dating profile creation and assessment was the online dating phase that was mostly studied. Furthermore, of the 43 empirical studies conducted in the 38 papers from the sample, the most frequently employed research method was the (online) survey, in which deception, in many forms (i.e. age, relationship status, identity), was considered as an outcome variable. Based on these findings, we present a future research agenda advancing the field of online dating deception.