Virtual relationships in social media Flashcards
Self-disclosure
Virtual relationships may involve less self-disclosure than face-to-face relationships
Reduced cues theory
Verbal and nonverbal cues are lacking, so participants lose their sense of identity (de-individuation) and their behaviour may become aggressive
Who proposed reduced cues theory
Sproull and Kiesler
Hyperpersonal model
People online control their self-presentation and select what to disclose, can be greater than face to face relationships (hyperhonest and hyperdishonest)
Who proposed the hyperpersonal model
Walther - 1996, 2011
Key features of hyperpersonal model
Sender of message has control over what to disclose and cues send than they would in FtF - selective self-presentation
Receiver gains positive impression of sender, give feedback and reinforces sender’s selective self-presentation
Anonymity
Bargh et al
Strangers on a train effect - aware other people do not know your identity, may feel less accountable, may disclose more
Absence of gating in virtual relationships
Absence of gating works by refocusing attention on self-disclosure
What is a gate
McKenna and Bargh
A gate is any obstacle to forming a relationship
FtF - gated - involves many features that can interfere eg physical unattractiveness, stammers and social anxiety
Benefits and drawbacks
When gates are absent - can develop to the point where self-disclosure becomes more frequent and deeper
Relationship can get off the ground when less likely to FtF
EVAL - lack of support for reduced cues
P - limitation as online nonverbal cues are different rather than absent
E - Walther and Tidwell - people in online interactions use other cues such as style and timing of messages
E - Taking too much time to reply is bad but taking too little is also bad, acronyms and emojis can all be used as effective substitutes for facial expressions and tone of voice
L - Hard for reduced cues theory to explain because it means virtual relationships can be just as personal as FtF ones
EVAL - lack of support for the hyperpersonal model
P - limitation as challenged by findings of meta-analysis
E - Ruppel et al - meta-analysis of 25 studies that compared self-disclosures in FtF and virtual interactions, found self-report studies showed frequency, breadth and depth were greater in FtF while experimental studies showed no significant difference between the two
E - contradicts the hyperpersonal model’s view that the greater the intimacy of virtual relationships should lead to more and deeper self-disclosures
L - questions credibility of the model
P - evidence FtF and virtual relationships do differ
E - Whitty and Joinson - evidence show how self-presentation is manipulated in virtual relationships such as questions asked in online discussions tend to be direct and intimate when compared to FtF small talk,
E - self-presentation can also be hyperdishonest such as inventing attractive qualities
L - supports model’s claims about hyperhonest and hyperdishonest self-disclosures and shows difference between FtF and virtual relationships
EVAL - support for absence of gating
P - strength as shy, lonely and socially anxious people find virtual relationships valuable
E - McKenna and Bargh saw that these people were able to express their true selfs
E - relationships of shy people online - 71% survived atleast two years, compares well with relationships for shy people who had 49%
L - suggests that shy people do benefit online presumably because the gating that obstructs ftF relationships is absent online
EVAL - online versus multimodal
P - two theories try to explain there is more self—disclosure in virtual relationships - hyperpersonal model and absence of gating
E - due to certain features unique to online relationships
E - Walther argues these theories fail to take into account all relationships are multimodel - both online and offline rather than either / or
L - what we choose to disclose in virtual relationships is influenced by our offline interactions and vice versa
