Lecture 10. Online dating

Question 1

What is the main driving dynamic of online dating and what are the other factors?

Answer 1

Main driving factor is self-presentation.

Other dynamic: deception, online communication, first impression, authenticity

Question 2

Why do we form romantic relations?

Answer 2

Need for intimacy and closeness are the human needs (self-determination theory)

Question 3

What is the Staircase model by Knapp’s?

Answer 3

It shows the stages of relational development.

1. coming together
2. relation maintenance
3. coming apart

Question 4

How do people form intimate relationships?

Answer 4

1. spatial proximity - Segal
2. perceived attractiveness - halo effect
3. self- presentation
4. similarity attitudes - cognitie dissonance theory
5. mutual attractiveness - self-esteem
6. self-disclosure

Question 5

Who is using online dating?

Answer 5

• sexual orientating
• recently broke up/moved - need for new social network
• middel aged people
• busy people

Question 6

What is the social compensation hypothesis?
And the rich get richer hypothesis?
Valkenburg & Peter et. all 2014 did a research study. Which of the two hypothesis were confirmed?

Answer 6

Social compensation hypothesis; people with less social skills can compensate, they benefit more form online dating sites.

Rich get richer: people with social skills will be even better online, will be even more successful.

Result: rich get richer confirmed. If you have an anxiety, you will visit less websites, they do not benefit.

Question 7

What do they mean with the loop of the hyper personal model of CMC (Walther, 1996)

Answer 7

We can selectively present our selves, pick and chose or hide attitudes (selective self-presentation), other side is that the receiver see this highly presentation, the idealized version.

We know that online dating profiles aren’t necessary true, but we tend to believe it. We take it for granted. We idealize it. This creates a loop of oversized expectations confirmed by online dating profiles.

Question 8

Toma et. all 2008 - separating fact from fiction (study 1) researched if people lie on profiles. What were the outcomes ?

Answer 8

People lied a lot (specially on weight and height). There are some gender differences on acceptance; social status, occupation, education and relationship status. Males are more tolerant.

Question 9

What are the countermeasures of lying online?

Answer 9

• recordability
• anticipation of future interaction
• modality switching form online to offline

Question 10

Ellison et al. 2011 (study 2 on self-presentation) studied how people saw there profiles. What were the main findings and conclusion of this study?

Answer 10

People saw their profile as a promise. Profile does not differ fundamentally.

1. asynchrony - how we look in the future
2. magnitude - small lies are ok
3. ideal self

Question 11

What is the difference in the finding of Ellison et al. 2011 between asynchrony and ideal self?

Answer 11

asynchrony is how we wanna look in the future there is a time difference. Ideal self is what we do in general.

Question 12

The third study on self presentation was conducted by Ranzini & Lutz (2016). They looked at lies on Tinder. What were the main findings and the conclusion of the study?

Answer 12

• Self validation and self esteem were important motivators.
  the more self-esteem you have, the more you reveal about the true self. the more validation you need, the more deceptive you will be.

Conclusion:

• motivation: looking for friends and committed realationships related to more authentic self-presentation. Sex. and self-validation are related to deceptive self-presentation.
• personality: self esteem more likely to use tinder for relationships. Loneliness correlated to self-validation entertainment and traveling.