Self disclosure in virtual relationships AO3

Question 1

Who conducted research to contradict the hyper personal model of self-disclosure in virtual relationships?

Answer 1

Ruppal et al

Question 2

What did Ruppal et al do?

Answer 2

They carried out a meta-analysis of 25 studies that compared self-disclosure in face-to-face and virtual relationships

Question 3

What did Ruppal et al find?

Answer 3

They found that self-report studies showed that the frequency, breadth and depth of self-disclosures were all greater in face-to-face relationships than virtual relationships

Question 4

How does Ruppal et al’s research contradict the hyper personal model?

Answer 4

This contradicts the hyper personal’s model’s view that virtual relationships leads to deeper self-disclosure, limiting virtual relationships in social media

Question 5

What can much of the research into virtual relationships be criticised for?

Answer 5

It can be criticised for using self-report methods which are prone to social desirability bias

Question 6

What is social desirability bias and why may this occur in virtual relationships?

Answer 6

This is where participants may have lied about how much they self-disclose in a virtual relationship to present themselves in a better light, so they don’t appear like they have disclosed too much to people they have never met

Question 7

What does much of the research using self-report methods limit?

Answer 7

This limits the internal validity of the research and the extent it can be used to contradict the hyper-personal model of self-disclosure in virtual relationships