Relationships -> Virtual Relationships

Question 1

Hyper-Personal Model

Answer 1

Walther argued that there is increased self-disclosure in virtual relationships and this means that virtual relationships become deeper/more intimate more quickly than face-to-face relationships. Virtual relationships can also end more quickly, however, as it is difficult to sustain the same level of intense self-disclosure. Individuals online can engage in selective self-presentation where they only show/reveal what they choose to reveal. Participants in online conversations have more time to edit their responses to present themselves in a more positive light. Projecting a positive image will make a virtual partner want to disclose more personal information, increasing the intensity of the relationship.

Question 2

Strengths of the Hyper-Personal Model

Answer 2

Whitty and Joinson conducted research which clearly demonstrates the effect of being online on self-disclosure. They discovered that in online discussion forums both questions and answers tend to be more direct, probing and intimate than in everyday face-to-face interactions, as the hyper-personal model would predict.

Question 3

Weaknesses of the Hyper-Personal Model

Answer 3

• McKenna and Bargh found that relationships which begin online are more durable than other relationships, rather than ending more quickly as the hyper-personal model suggests. This is because of more open self-disclosure early on in the relationship
• Self-disclosure varies depending on the online context. People disclose more on gaming sites than they do on dating websites because the latter is more likely to lead to face-to-face encounters in the future.

Question 4

Reduced Cue Theory

Answer 4

Spoull and Kiesler suggested that self-disclosure in virtual relationships might be less open and honest than face-to-face ones. In real life we rely on a lot of subtle cues, such as facial expressions and tone of voice, which are absent in virtual relationships. According to reduced cue theory, reduction in nonverbal communication leads to deindividuation because it diminishes people’s feelings of individual identity and brings on behaviours that people usually restrain themselves from displaying, such as aggression. This may make online communications more aggressive, and the consequence of this is less self-disclosure from other people, as they becoming the victims of aggression.

Question 5

Weaknesses of the Reduced Cue Theory

Answer 5

• Reduced cue theory was developed when social media lacked face-to-face interaction, meaning they were much less rich in non-verbal communication than real life interactions. However, advanced technology allows for live interaction, which is much more similar to real life interactions.
• Non-verbal communication is not absent from virtual relationships, the cues are just different, e.g. emoticons are used as substitutes for facial expression and intonation. The timing of responses is also an important form of non-verbal communication (Walther and Tidwell 1995)

Question 6

Absence of Gating in Virtual Relationships

Answer 6

Virtual relationships are not affected by some of the usual barriers (gates) that constrain relationship formation in real-life encounters. Factors such as distance, lack of physical attractiveness, social awkwardness are not as important online. This creates more opportunities for shy or less attractive people to develop romantic relationships.
The absence of gating online also means that people can establish virtual identities they could never create face-to-face. For example, a shy person can become more outgoing.

Question 7

Strengths of Absence of Gating in Virtual Relationships

Answer 7

• Zahoa et al. claim that the absence of gating has positive effects on people’s offline relationships. People create an online identity that is appreciated by others, and this enhances their overall self-image and increases the quality of their face-to-face relationships as well.
• Baker and Oswald suggest that the absence of gating in virtual relationships may be particularly useful for shy people. They asked 207 male and female participants to complete a questionnaire, scoring their answers in terms of shyness, internet use and perception of quality of their friendships. They found that those people who scored highly on shyness and internet use, perceived the quality of their friendships as high. The findings imply that as online communication helps people to overcome their shyness, so the quality of
  their face-to-face communication also improves.

Question 8

Weaknesses of Absence of Gating in Virtual Relationships

Answer 8

• Most of the research examining gating was conducted in the late 1990s and early 2000s. As technology is changing rapidly, so is the nature of online relationships; therefore, psychological research in this area risks becoming outdated by the time it is published. This lowers the temporal validity of research into virtual relationships
• People are involved in both online and offline relationships every day; it’s not an either/or situation. This means that there are fewer differences between virtual relationships and face to face relationships than research seems to suggest, and research examining virtual relationships often fails to take into account the effect of these relationships on a person’s offline interactions, and vice versa.