Pavica Sheldon

The Relationship Between Unwillingness-to-Communicate and Students’ Facebook Use

A survey with 172 students was conducted at a large southern research university to examine how unwillingness-to-commu- nicate in interpersonal communication influences gratifications sought and gratifications obtained from Facebook use. The study inves- tigated the relationship between two dimensions of unwillingness-to-communicate (approach-avoidance and reward) and different mo- tives of Facebook use. In addition, it examined the relationship between unwillingness-to-communicate and the behavioral and attitudinal outcomes of Facebook use (e.g., the number of hours spent on Facebook, duration of use, the number of Facebook friends, satisfaction with Facebook). Results of multiple regression analysis revealed that respondents who felt anxiety and fears in their face-to-face com- munication used Facebook to pass time and feel less lonely more than other respondents, but they had fewer Facebook friends. Overall, this paper finds evidence that people who are involved in online relationships are those who are willing to communicate in real life, rather than the opposite. Such results seem to justify the rich-get-richer hypothesis, which states that the internet primarily benefits extraverted individuals. Our results are in contrast to findings that socially anxious individuals are more likely to form relationships online.

Instagram: Motives for its use and relationship to narcissism and contextual age

Abstract Instagram is the fastest growing social network site globally. This study investigates motives for its use, and its relationship to contextual age and narcissism. A survey of 239 college students revealed that the main reasons for Instagram use are “Surveillance/Knowledge about others,” “Documentation,” “Coolness,” and “Creativity.” The next significant finding was a positive relationship between those who scored high in interpersonal interaction and using Instagram for coolness, creative purposes, and surveillance. Another interesting finding shows that there is a positive relationship between high levels of social activity (traveling, going to sporting events, visiting friends, etc.) and being motivated to use Instagram as a means of documentation. In reference to narcissism, there was a positive relationship between using Instagram to be cool and for surveillance. Theoretical contributions of this study relate to our understanding of uses and gratifications theory. This study uncovers new motives for social media use not identified in previous literature.

Profiling the non-users: Examination of life-position indicators, sensation seeking, shyness, and loneliness among users and non-users of social network sites

The aim of the current study is to explore if there are differences between users and non-users of social network sites in terms of their sensation seeking, life-position indicators, shyness, and loneliness. Using data from a survey of adults 19-76years old, results revealed that compared to an average Facebook user, a non-user is significantly older and scores higher on shyness and loneliness, is less socially active, and less prone to sensation seeking activities. Facebook is not a substitute channel of communication for those who are shy and lonely and lack face-to-face interactions. This study extends our knowledge of digital divide, uses and gratifications theory, and social enhancement hypothesis.

Voices that cannot be heard: Can shyness explain how we communicate on Facebook versus face-to-face?

Social networking sites have gained popularity among all populations, especially young adults. Personality traits were found to be predictive of how individuals use social media. Therefore, this study sought to examine the association between shyness and self-disclosure to a Facebook friend as well as self-disclosure to a face-to-face friend. Two studies were conducted. The first study tested how shyness and social loneliness are related to self-disclosure to a Facebook friend to whom an individual talks most often. The second, follow-up study tested how shyness is related to self-disclosure to a Facebook friend to whom a person speaks to only though Facebook, and also to a face-to-face friend to whom the participants talk only face-to-face and never through Facebook. Participants were college students from a large research university in the United States. Study 1 found a negative association between shyness and self-disclosure to a Facebook friend. Study 2 found a negative association between shyness and self-disclosure to a face-to-face friend. The theoretical implications and limitations are discussed.

A cross-cultural comparison of Croatian and American social network sites: Exploring cultural differences in motives for Instagram use

Although Instagram is one of the fastest growing social media, scholars are yet to examine cultural differences among users behavior. The current study compares motives for Instagram use between participants from two countries: Croatia, a highly collectivistic culture, and the United States, a typically individualist culture. Specifically, it examines the relationship between motives and behavioral outcomes of use (time spent on Instagram, the frequency of hashtagging, and the number of Instagram followers). Findings reveal that while motivations behind Instagram use do not vary across cultures, different forms of gratification determine how Instagram is used, and how culture moderates these relationships. Croatian students Instagram use reflects collectivist tendencies, primarily social interaction. American students use of Instagram reflects individualistic trends, namely self-promotion and documentation. In addition, American students self-promotion gratifications are significantly related to the amount of time spent on Instagram, although this effect is not apparent among Croatian students. While American students are inclined to use hashtags for documentation, Croatian participants tend to use hashtags for other reasons, including self-promotion, social interaction, and creativity. Croatian students Instagram use reflects collectivist tendencies (e.g., social interaction).American students Instagram use reflects individualistic tendencies (e.g., self-promotion).American students are inclined to use hashtags for documentation.Croatian students tend to use hashtags for self-promotion, social interaction, and creativity.

Testing Parental and Peer Communication Influence on Young Adults' Body Satisfaction

Few research studies have explored how parental communication influences childrens body image. Some studies have looked at parental communication orientation and the development of eating problems without distinguishing between the mothers and the fathers communication style and between the daughters and the sons body dissatisfaction. In addition, no study has compared the influence of family communication versus peer pressure on young adults’ body-image perceptions. The current investigation attempted to fill that void. Results of a survey conducted among 283 college students show the support for developmental and social comparison theories that argue that peers’ influence in adolescence is more significant than parents’ influence. Peer pressure is unavoidable and most often negative, especially for girls. Too much parental control can also negatively influence how college-aged women and men feel about their bodies. This is especially true for an opposite-sex parent.

You Did What? The Relationship Between Forgiveness Tendency, Communication of Forgiveness, and Relationship Satisfaction in Married and Dating Couples

Willingness to forgive is one of the most important factors contributing to healing and restoring damaged relationships. Although recent studies have emphasized the link between forgiveness and positive communication, this is among the first studies to examine how tendency to forgive influences the strategies married and dating couples use to communicate forgiveness to each other. According to the Vulnerability-Stress-Adaptation model, links among vulnerabilities, stressors, and behaviors lead to changes in marital satisfaction and stability. One hundred and seventy-four participants completed a survey regarding their attitudes and beliefs about forgiveness after an isolated transgression, as well as their general response tendency within a given relationship. Participants were also asked about the severity of transgression and their overall relationship satisfaction after the event. Results showed that dating couples who have a higher natural tendency to forgive use nonverbal (hugging, kissing) and explicit (“I forgive you”) strategies. Among married individuals, severity of transgression was a more important factor when deciding which forgiveness strategy to use.

Predicting Aggression, Conciliation, and Concurrent Rumination in Escalating Conflict

Interactions are characterized by opposite motives according to game theory. The purpose of this study was to explore how people judge the probability and advisability of conflict reactions in an unfolding dispute within a married couple using latent growth curve modeling (LGCM). Individuals participated in a study using two videotaped scenarios depicting marital conflict in which a spouse comes home after a long day at work only to criticize his or her partner for violating expectations of a good meal. One situation involved male-initiated conflict and female reactance, whereas another illustrated female-initiated conflict and male reactance. Participants were asked to predict the future reactions based on aggressive tactics (e.g., slapping the partner, insulting the partner) or prosocial and forgiving communication (e.g., apologizing, discussing the issue calmly) as well as the use of online, imagined interaction (II) rumination in which individuals replay arguments in their mind as well as thinking about what to say next during the argument. Results of the LGCM revealed support for various hypotheses in which it was predicted that the husband would be more likely to be conciliatory than the wife, and the wife would be more aggressive than her husband. II rumination was initially expected to increase and be advised before reaching a plateau. Findings are discussed in terms of game theory and II conflict-linkage theory.

Emergency Alert Communications on College Campuses: Understanding Students’ Perceptions of the Severity of a Crisis and Their Intentions to Share the Alert With Parents and Friends

The purpose of this research is to experimentally test the impact of emergency alert communications on college students’ threat assessment and resulting behavior. Four different stimuli are created to resemble an actual warning message about a tornado and a shooting crisis on a college campus. Results of the repeated measures MANOVA reveal that warning messages sent through text messages are perceived to be more serious than warning messages sent through social media. This is the case in both the shooting and tornado scenarios. In addition, an alert about a shooting is perceived to be more serious than a tornado alert. In terms of channels used to notify others about a disaster, word of mouth is the top choice for students.

Is Medium the Message? Perceptions of and Reactions to Emergency Alert Communications on College Campuses

One of the central missions of all institutions of higher education is to provide safe and secure learning environments. While most campuses across the United States are relatively safe, the tragic events at Virginia Tech in April 2007 revealed that campus communities are vulnerable and that technology may play a key role in better protecting it. After the shooting at Virginia Tech, a number of colleges in the United States started implementing their own emergency alert systems that could be used for any type of public crisis, including campus shootings, acts of terrorism, or natural disasters (Kopel, Sims, & Chin, 2014). Similarly, many universities have their own departments of emergency preparedness that help students prepare for an on-campus incident (Thompson & Schlehofer, 2014). They use warning channels such as voice calls, text messages, social media posts, and announcements posted on the schools’ official websites (Horton, 2012; Romano, 2013). However, there is little research about how students respond to those warning messages. The most relevant study was done by McGee and Gow (2012) at the University of Alberta in Canada. They did focus groups to examine how undergraduate students living on campus may respond to an emergency alert warning sent by the university through their cell phone.