HoW BAd U R entirely dependent on user experience

The New York Times recently posted an article describing some fascinating research completed at Carnegie Mellon. Basically, it said that students were over four times more likely to admit to bad behavior on a website that appeared unprofessional as compared to its official-looking counterpart(4.7% versus 19.7%, respectively).

While the sites clearly differed appearance-wise, test subject interaction indicates further disparities in perception of appropriate usage. The fact that the students chose to use the sites in two completely different fashions illustrates the importance of considering one's audience: the presentation of a web site can completely alter its usage. In short, this research serves to prove that design truly does drive user experience.