RELATIONSHIPS (Virtual Relationships) Flashcards
What did research by eHarmony and Imperial College Business School find about online relationships?
Around 32% of relationships started between 2015 and 2019 began online, and by 2035, more people may meet their partners online than offline.
What are the two contrasting theories on self-disclosure in virtual relationships?
Reduced Cues Theory and the Hyperpersonal Model.
What does the Reduced Cues Theory suggest about virtual relationships?
They lack non-verbal cues such as facial expressions and tone, leading to deindividuation, disinhibition, and reluctance to self-disclose.
According to the Reduced Cues Theory, how does deindividuation affect communication?
It reduces people’s sense of individual identity, leading to blunt, impersonal, or even aggressive communication.
What does the Hyperpersonal Model suggest about virtual relationships?
They can be more personal and involve greater self-disclosure than face-to-face relationships due to selective self-presentation.
What is selective self-presentation in virtual relationships?
The sender controls what they disclose, presenting themselves in an idealized way that can be hyperhonest or hyperdishonest.
How does anonymity in virtual relationships encourage self-disclosure?
It reduces the fear of confidentiality breaches, rejection, or ridicule, similar to the ‘strangers on a train’ phenomenon.
What is meant by the absence of gating in virtual relationships?
Online interactions lack the physical and social barriers (e.g., appearance, social anxiety) that usually influence relationship formation.
How does absence of gating impact relationship formation?
It allows self-disclosure to occur more freely and helps individuals who struggle with face-to-face interactions to form connections.
What potential downside does the absence of gating in virtual relationships have?
It enables deception, as individuals can misrepresent themselves in ways that would be difficult in face-to-face interactions.
What evidence supports the idea that shy individuals benefit from virtual relationships?
Baker and Oswald (2010) found that shy students who used Facebook more perceived higher friendship quality than less shy students.
How does the evidence from Baker and Oswald (2010) support the absence of gating in virtual relationships?
It suggests social media helps shy individuals overcome barriers they face in forming relationships offline.
What is a limitation of the Reduced Cues Theory?
It fails to recognize that non-verbal cues still exist in virtual relationships, such as emoticons and message timing.
What research challenges the Hyperpersonal Model?
Ruppel et al. (2017) found that self-disclosure was greater in face-to-face relationships than in virtual ones, contradicting the model.
Why is the Reduced Cues Theory considered flawed?
Because it does not acknowledge the effectiveness of alternative online cues in expressing emotions and building relationships.
What does the counterargument from Whitty and Johnson (2009) suggest about online self-disclosure?
Online interactions often feature direct, probing, and intimate questions (hyperhonest) or exaggerated self-presentation (hyperdishonest).
Why is research into virtual relationships considered to have low historical validity?
Many studies were conducted before the rise of modern social media platforms, such as Snapchat and FaceTime.
How does the evolution of social media challenge early research on virtual relationships?
Modern platforms offer richer non-verbal communication, making early theories potentially outdated.
What is the main limitation of outdated virtual relationship theories?
They may not accurately explain interactions on modern platforms where visual and interactive communication is more prevalent.
