9 - SD In Virtual Relationships

Question 1

Overview of sd in virtual rs

Answer 1

One prominent difference between face-to-face and virtual relationships is the fact that self-disclosure tends to occur much faster in virtual relationships.

One reason for this is the anonymity associated with virtual relationships;

people tend to hold off disclosing personal information in real life for fear of
ridicule or rejection,

unless they are confident that they can trust the person and that information won’t be leaked to mutual friends.

However, there is much
less risk of this in virtual relationships.

Question 2

Hyper personal model

Answer 2

Walther (2011) proposed the hyperpersonal model of virtual relationships,

as self-disclosure in virtual relationships happens faster than in face-to-face ones,
virtual relationships quickly become more intense and feel more intimate and meaningful.

They can also end more quickly, however, as it is
difficult to sustain the same level of intense self-disclosure for a long time.

may feel more intimate because it is easier to manipulate self-disclosure online than face-to-face.

Participants in online conversations have more time to edit their responses to present themselves in a more positive light; Walther (2011) calls this selective
self-presentation.

Projecting a positive image will make a virtual partner want to disclose more personal information, increasing the intensity of the relationship

Question 3

Eval of hyper personal model

Answer 3

• Whitty and Joinson (2009) conducted research which clearly demonstrates the effect of being online on self-disclosure. They discovered that in online
  discussion forums both questions and answers tend to be more direct, probing and intimate than in everyday face-to-face interactions, as the hyperpersonal model would predict.
• Research has found that relationships which begin online are more durable than other relationships, rather than ending more quickly as the hyperpersonal
  model suggests. This is because of more open self-disclosure early on in the relationship (McKenna and Bargh, 2000).
• Self-disclosure varies depending on the online context. People disclose more on gaming sites than they do on dating websites because the latter is more
  likely to lead to face-to-face encounters in the future.

Question 4

Reduced cue theory

Answer 4

Spoull and Kiesler (1986) suggested that self-disclosure in virtual relationships might be LESS open and honest than face-to-face ones. In real life we rely on a lot of subtle cues, such as facial expressions and tone of voice, which are absent in virtual relationships. According to reduced cue theory, reduction in nonverbal communication leads to deindividuation because it diminishes people’s
feelings of individual identity and brings on behaviours that people usually restrain themselves from displaying, such as aggression. This may make online communications more aggressive, and the consequence of this is less selfdisclosure from other people, as they fear verbal aggression.

Question 5

Eval of reduced cue theory

Answer 5

• Reduced cue theory was developed when social media lacked face-to-face interaction, meaning they were much less rich in non-verbal communication than real life interactions. However, advanced technology allows for live interaction, which is much more similar to real life interactions.
• Non-verbal communication is not absent from virtual relationships, the cues are just different, e.g. emoticons are used as substitutes for facial expression and intonation. The timing of responses is also an important form of non-verbal communication (Walther and Tidwell 1995).