virtual relationships

Question 1

why might there be more self disclosure in virtual relationships?

Answer 1

• anonymity
• they don’t know your friends
• time to think about messages
• less embarrassment
• sexting

Question 2

why might there be less self disclosure in virtual relationships?

Answer 2

• more editing
• worry of blackmailing, trolling and catfishing.

Question 3

what are the two opposing theories of self disclosure in virtual relationships?

Answer 3

Reduced Cues Theory - Sprout & Kiesler (1986)
SD IS LOWER.

The Hyperpersonal Model - Walther (1996)
SD IS HIGHER.

Question 4

what does the reduced cues theory state about self disclosure in vr?

Answer 4

cues are lacking in CMC and are therefore less effective than FtF relationships.

this can lead to a person losing their identity an acting in a way they would not normally act. this leads to disinhibition.

so often CMC involves aggressive and blunt communication which leads to a reluctance in sd.

Question 5

what does research say about self disclosure? CULTURE

Answer 5

Yum & Hara (2005) found that US participants reported that greater disclosure in vr was associated with more trust while Korean participants

Question 6

what does research say about self-disclosure? INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

Answer 6

Peter (2005) found introverts were motivated to communicate online to compensate for their lack of social skills, to make friends online and to self-disclose.

extroverts also disclosed more in virtual relationships which helped to develop their relationships further too.

Question 7

what did Hollenbaugh & Everett investigate?

Answer 7

investigated factors related to self-disclosure in blogs.

Question 8

what were the methods of Hollenbaugh and Everett’s study?

Answer 8

• 154 responded to adverts on high traffic sites and met criteria of over 18, English speaking and post to their blog min of once a month.
• 5 blogs posted immediately before the study began selected.
• 2 coders individually carried out analysis of each blog, including hyperlinks, pictures and videos that were attached.
• Compared results to establish inter-rater reliability.

Question 9

what were the results of Hollenbaugh & Everett’s study?

Answer 9

• Younger bloggers disclosed more info than older bloggers.
• Female bloggers disclosed more than male bloggers.
• Young, female bloggers disclosed the most.
• There was an inverse relationship between visual anonymity and self-disclosure. Bloggers who posted more pictures and videos identifying themselves disclosed a greater amount of personal information.

Question 10

what was the conclusion of Hollenbaugh & Everett’s study?

Answer 10

Anonymity did not promote online disinhibition gender and age relate to disclosure in online relationships.

Question 11

what does the hyper personal model state?

Answer 11

states the CMC relationships are more personal and have greater self-disclosure than FtF.

CMC can also develop very quickly as self-disclosure happens earlier so they become more intense and intimate.

they can also end more quickly as there is not the level of trust between partners.

Question 12

what are the features of hyper personal self-disclosure?

Answer 12

1. The sender of the message has greater control on what to disclose (selective self-presentation) – they can present themselves in an idealised way. Self-disclosures can be intensely truthful (hyper honest) and or intensely false (hyper dishonest).
2. The receiver gains a positive impression of the sender and their feedback may reinforce the sender’s presentation.
3. Anonymity. When the other personal does not know your identity, you feel less accountable for your behaviour and may disclose more (Bargh et al, 2002).