Andrew M. Ledbetter

Attitudes Toward Online Social Connection and Self-Disclosure as Predictors of Facebook Communication and Relational Closeness

This investigation tested a theoretical model of communication behavior with specific Facebook friends, such that attitudes toward (a) online self-disclosure, and (b) online social connection, predict Facebook communication frequency and, in turn, relational closeness. Participants included both undergraduates and older adults. Results generally supported the model, with the interaction effect between self-disclosure and social connection directly predicting Facebook communication and indirectly predicting relational closeness. For both dependent variables, online social connection was a positive predictor at low and moderate levels of online self-disclosure, but high levels reduced the association to nonsignificance. One implication of these results was that high-warrant information may discourage those with social anxiety from social network site communication.

TUNES THAT BIND?: Predicting friendship strength in a music-based social network

Despite the popularity of social network sites based on common interests, the association between these shared interests and relational development is not well understood. This manuscript reports results of an empirical investigation of interpersonal relationships on Last.fm, a music-based social network site with a multinational user base. In addition to baseline descriptors of relational behavior, the chief goals of this study were to examine the degree to which Last.fm relationships are characterized by homophily (and particularly by shared musical taste), the extent to which communication via Last.fm is associated with other forms of communication (both offline and online), how such communication behavior is associated with demographic and relational characteristics, and whether these variables predict strength of relational development. Results indicate that although Last.fm relational partners exhibit shared musical taste, this shared taste is not associated with relational development. Rather, following media multiplexity theory, relational development is strongly and uniquely associated with communication behavior across almost all forms of communication (including Last.fm). These results suggest that shared interests may foster the creation of weak ties, but conversion of these connections to strong ties is relatively rare.

Relational quality and media use in interpersonal relationships

This study examines the relationship between relational quality and media use in relationships. In addition, the impacts of other potentially important variables such as the sex and relationship type of the participants and their partners are explored. College student participants focused on interaction experiences with an acquaintance, friend, romantic partner or family member. The results indicated that participant sex and partner sex did not affect reported media use, whereas relationship type had significant effects on the extent to which face-to-face and telephone communication were used. Relationships with acquaintances had the lowest relational quality and romantic relationships, while closer, were less satisfying than either family or friendship relationships. Same-sex relationships were perceived as more satisfying than cross-sex relationships. Finally, media use did not predict relational closeness or satisfaction.

Measuring Online Communication Attitude: Instrument Development and Validation

This paper reports a series of studies that develop an empirically-derived instrument for assessing online communication attitude, a multidimensional set of individual cognitive-affective constructs that influence media choice. The first study inductively develops an initial item pool and tests dimensional structure via exploratory factor analysis. The second study further refines this structure and also tests the association between online communication attitude and media use in same-sex friendships. Finally, the third study deductively tests global model fit via confirmatory factor analysis, and establishes concurrent validity with theoretically related communication constructs. Beyond identifying motives underlying media choice, the instrument developed here possesses heuristic potential for clarifying media choice theory and elaborating the association between communication competence and media choice.

More Than a Game: Friendship Relational Maintenance and Attitudes Toward Xbox LIVE Communication

Guided by media multiplexity theory, this manuscript reports an empirical investigation of relational maintenance and closeness between friends who communicate via Microsoft’s Xbox LIVE service. Attitudes toward self-disclosure and social connection across Xbox LIVE interacted to predict Xbox LIVE relational maintenance, with social connection attitude directly predicting offline communication frequency. Both Xbox LIVE relational maintenance and offline communication frequency interacted to predict relational closeness, with high closeness in the presence of either frequent Xbox LIVE maintenance or offline communication. These results suggest extending media multiplexity theory to account for individual attitudes toward new and existing media.

Patterns of media use and multiplexity: associations with sex, geographic distance and friendship interdependence

This study examines patterns of interpersonal media use in same-sex friendships. Using a refined version of Scott and Timmerman’s media use scale, participants reported the extent to which they used eight different communication media and the level of interdependence in the friendship. The results revealed four distinct factors of media use: asynchronous public communication, asynchronous private communication, social networking communication and synchronous offline communication. Both sex and geographic distance differences emerged on these factors and all factors except asynchronous private communication predicted friendship interdependence. These findings clarify underlying patterns of media use and suggest that both privacy and orality are salient properties delineating media types.

A Close Examination of Trait Reactance and Issue Involvement as Moderators of Psychological Reactance Theory

This study used psychological reactance theory (PRT) to investigate (a) the effectiveness of 2 message features (freedom-threatening language and character frame) and (b) the role of trait reactance and issue involvement as moderators of a perceived freedom threat. Within the context of organ donation, the results indicated no differences for character frame among the donor, recipient, or waiting list narratives. However, freedom-threatening language was positively associated with a perceived freedom threat. In turn, a perceived freedom threat was positively associated with state reactance, which was inversely, albeit nonsignificantly, associated with organ donation attitudes. Attitudes predicted intentions to be an organ donor. Results also revealed that trait reactance was positively associated with a perceived freedom threat. Although not associated with a freedom threat, issue involvement was positively associated with organ donation attitudes and intent to be a donor. Additionally, a trait reactance by issue involvement by freedom-threatening language interaction predicted a perceived freedom threat. Results are discussed with an emphasis on these moderators in PRT.

Family communication patterns as mediators of communication competence in the parent—child relationship

In this study we examined family conversation and conformity orientations as mediators of the association between young adults’ perceptions of their parents’ communication competence and their own self-reported communication competence. Participants included 417 young adult children from the United States. Although measurement invariance was established for both sons and daughters, separate models were tested to account for significant differences in correlations between both groups. For daughters, the association between perceptions of parents’ communication competence and their own competence was fully mediated by conversation orientations. For sons, conversation orientations only partially mediated the effects of parental communication competence. Conformity orientations did not emerge as a significant predictor of young adults’ competence, although perceptions of mothers’ competence were an inverse predictor of family conformity.

Media use and relational closeness in long-term friendships: interpreting patterns of multimodality

Although most friendships use a variety of media to stay in touch, many studies have ignored the multimodality of social life. This study uses media niche theory to consider: changes in patterns of media use across time, which modalities tend to be used in association with other modalities; and the association between specific modalities and relational closeness. Data assessing modality usage and degree of friendship closeness were collected on best friendship pairs in 1987 and 2002. The results suggest that postal mail use has declined between 1987 and 2002, telephone contact has become a particularly potent predictor of relational closeness, and face-to-face contact is a less stable indicator of closeness. Intimacy and efficiency or convenience emerge as two potentially important constructs for understanding how modalities are used for maintaining relational closeness.

Do online communication attitudes mitigate the association between Facebook use and relational interdependence? An extension of media multiplexity theory

Given Facebook’s popularity for the maintenance of interpersonal relationships, this investigation examined the extent to which frequency of Facebook communication with a specific friend predicts relational interdependence. The chief goal of the investigation was to extend media multiplexity theory by examining whether attitudes toward (a) online self-disclosure and (b) online social connection moderated this association. Results not only replicated previous findings that multiple media are associated with relational interdependence, but also supported the hypothesized moderation of online communication attitude. Based on these results, the manuscript explores how media multiplexity theory might be extended to account for communicator cognitions about communication media.