Social psychology and the internet

Question 1

Describe social presence theory and who made it

Answer 1

Short et al: face to face interaction more rich than computer interaction (gestures, visual cues etc) - psychological distance far in CMC

critisism: Models made too early to really know about it

Question 2

Describe social information processing theory

Answer 2

Walther: CMC initially restricts emotionally, but users develop creative means (ie smilies) –> change shape of medium

Question 3

Hyperpersonal communication

Answer 3

visual anonymity my optimise individuals self-representation - slow down in response get people to think about things

Question 4

What is flaming?

Answer 4

=Trolling:hostile and abusive online behaviour

Question 5

Describe virtual self from the view of Sherry Turkle

Answer 5

Online spaces as identity workshops: opportunity to reinvent ourselves - fragmented self but still feel sense of unity through authentic version of self.

People spending more time on social media = more loneliness

Question 6

The self in myspace

Answer 6

mediating ever-changing practises of self, but not all communication is self-producing

Readiness potential - self in potential

Question 7

Virtual communities according to Rheingold

Answer 7

Reaction to disappearance of informal public spaces - defines virtual communities in terms of personal relations

Question 8

what is meant by imagined audience

Answer 8

ie people following you on twitter (@reply function) - affects how people tweet - balance personal authenticity and audience expectations

Question 9

Methods and ethics in technological research

Answer 9

implications for informed consent, withdrawal etc when doing online interviews/focus groups / virtual tasks

considerations: ethics, sampling methods, analytic tools, ways of creating a sustainable information society.