Virtual Relationships

Question 1

Who proposed reduced cues theory?

Answer 1

Sproull and Kiesler

Question 2

Is self disclosure higher or lower in reduced cues theory?

Answer 2

Lower

Question 3

Give 2 examples of cues that may be lacked in virtual relationships.

Answer 3

Physical appearance, emotional state

Question 4

Why might communication in virtual relationships lead to a reluctance to self disclose?

Answer 4

Messages can come off as blunt or rude so the person is less likely to want to self disclose.

Question 5

What is deindividuation and disinhibition in virtual relationships?

Answer 5

A person loses their sense of identity (deindividuation) and acts in a way that they normally wouldn’t (disinhibition).

Question 6

Who proposed the hyper personal model?

Answer 6

Walther

Question 7

Is self disclosure higher or lower in the hyper personal model?

Answer 7

Higher

Question 8

Why do virtual relationships develop faster according to the hyper personal model?

Answer 8

They develop faster because self-disclosure happens earlier on, so the relationship becomes more intense and intimate more quickly.

Question 9

Why can relationships breakdown faster according to the hyper personal model?

Answer 9

Trust and knowledge of the other person is lacking as the relationship has developed so fast.

Question 10

Why are people in virtual relationships either hyper honest or hyper dishonest?

Answer 10

This is due to anonymity – people do not know your identity as well so you feel less accountable for your behaviour.

Question 11

What are gates? Give some examples.

Answer 11

Obstacles to forming relationship eg; unattractiveness, social anxiety etc

Question 12

What are the benefits of gates being absent in virtual relationships?

Answer 12

Attention is refocused away from superficial features and onto what the person discloses. This allows the person to be their true selves without worrying about factors such as appearance, leading to deeper relationships.

Question 13

What are the limitations of no gates in virtual relationships?

Answer 13

Virtual relationships create opportunities to create false identities, for example, by changing their age, gender etc. This means that people may not be who they say they are.

Question 14

Explain the strength of there being support for the absence of gating.
How does absence of gates benefit shy people?
How do face to face relationships formed by shy people compare with those formed online?
What percent of online relationships formed by shy people lasted at least 2 years compared to the percentage of face to face relationships?

Answer 14

Absence of gates helps shy and socially anxious people to form relationships. Researchers have studied online communication from socially anxious people and found that these people were able to express themselves more than in face to face situations. 71% of romantic relationships formed by shy people online lasted for at least 2 years compared to only 49% of face to face relationships. This suggests that shy people do benefit from online relationships.

Question 15

Explain the limitation of the theory not considering that relationships are multi modal.
What is a multi modal relationship?
What we disclose online may be influenced by our…………..Why?

Answer 15

Multi modal relationships occur online and face to face. This type of relationship is usually more common. What we disclose online is influenced by our offline interactions. This means that people might try to disclose less online as it could affect their face to face relationship.

Question 16

Explain the limitation of there being a lack of support for reduced cues theory.
Explain how non verbal cues be used differently online in the form of emojis or ignoring messages.
This suggests that cues are different online and not…

Answer 16

Non verbal cues online are different rather than absent. For example, the use of smiley faces can be used to convey a positive tone to a message as a substitute for a real facial expression. Replying to a persons post may also be seen as more intimate than an immediate message. Choosing not to reply to a message away might imply that the person is not as interested. This shows that there are various ways of displaying cues that are less obvious than cues in face to face relationships.

Question 17

Explain the limitation of there being a lack of support for the hyper personal model.
What did the studies meta analysed by Ruppel all investigate?
What did they find about findings from self report studies?
What did they find about findings from experimental studies?
Why does this contradict views proposed by the hyper personal model?

Answer 17

Ruppel meta analysed 25 studies that compared self disclosures in face to face and virtual interactions. They found that self report studies showed that the frequency, breadth and depth of self disclosures were all greater in face to face relationships. On the other hand, experimental studies showed no significant differences between face to face and virtual relationships in terms of self disclosure. This contradicts the hyperpersonal model’s view that greater intimacy in virtual relationships will lead to greater self disclosures than in face to face relationships.