Attributing Loneliness Disclosure on Social Networking Sites: The Effects of Context Collapse and Blame Judgment on Support Provision
Year: 2019
Type: article
Abstract: Loneliness is a negative emotional experience that occurs due to perceived deficiency in social relationships (Peplau & Perlman, 1982).Self-disclosure of lonely feelings can facilitate coping.However, disclosing loneliness contains potential risks, especially in the contexts of social networking sites (SNSs).This dissertation aims to investigate how people perceive and interpret loneliness disclosure on SNSs, using the path model of blame as a framework (Malle, Guglielmo, & Monroe, 2014).An online experiment (n = 117) was conducted to look at: 1) the ways in which context collapse and relational closeness could predict perceived appropriateness of disclosing loneliness on SNSs, 2) how the perceived appropriateness of disclosing loneliness on SNSs impacts blame judgment, 3) the moderating effect of reason justification on the relationship between appropriateness and blame judgment, and 4) the effect of blameworthiness on subsequent support provision.Findings suggested that context collapse and relational closeness did not predict perceived appropriateness of disclosing loneliness on SNSs.The moderating effect of reason justification on the relationship between appropriateness and blame judgment did not work out.However, results showed that the perceived appropriateness of disclosing loneliness on SNSs was negatively associated with blame judgment.More blame attributed to people who disclosed loneliness on SNSs, the less willing recipients were to provide emotional, informational , and tangible support.Implications and limitations are discussed.iiiAcknowledgments I am deeply indebted to my advisor, Dr. Jesse Fox.Throughout my four years in doctoral program, Jesse inspired me by her passion for research.Jesse taught me how to do research rigorously, deal with daily hassles, and live my life for myself.Jesse believed in me and gave me endless encouragement and support.I cannot complete this
Author: Zhang, Guanjin
Institution: The Ohio State University
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7064330137