| Popis: |
The hyperpersonal model (Walther, 1995) proposes that idealization can occur when individuals meet and interact in text-based, cue-lean online environments. This study sought to understand the mechanisms that might predict one’s idealization of another, including their anxieties and uncertainty about the other. Further, this work incorporates the imagined interactions framework (Honeycutt, 2015), in an effort to explore the cognitive mechanisms that may lead to idealization. Participants (N = 79) took an online survey at time 1, then came to a lab to chat with an unknown partner, a confederate, at time 2. They completed a survey after the first chat, reporting their idealization of their partner, liking of the partner, and perceived similarity to the partner. After the first survey at time 2, anticipated future interaction was manipulated. Participants were either told they would meet their partner face-to-face in the next lab session or were not told anything about them. Following the manipulation, participants took another survey, measuring their anticipated future interaction and desired future interaction, as well as their uncertainty and desired uncertainty about the partner. Participants returned to the lab two days later to take another survey and engage in another chat. At this time, participants shared whether or not they had an imagined interaction with their partner after the first chat. The survey items measured the frequency and specificity of their imagined interactions, as well as the rehearsal of conversations using imagined interactions. Social anxiety did not predict one’s uncertainty about their partner nor their use of imagined interaction features. One imagined interaction feature, specificity, did predict one’s idealization of their partner. Idealization and desired future interaction had a relationship over time as well, with idealization after the first chat predicting a desire for future interactions, and desire for future interactions predicting idealization during the next lab session. |
