Abstract
Presenting selves on social networking sites (SNSs) is a common phenomenon. SNSs provide people with free and convenient platforms for self-presentation. Focusing on WeChat, a popular SNS in China, the current study investigated how causality orientations (autonomy, control and impersonal orientations) were linked to both frequencies and strategies of online self-presentation. We also explored the mediating roles of basic psychological needs satisfaction/frustration in the focal relationships. A total of 200 WeChat users participated in our survey. The results showed that people with control and impersonal orientations held high frequencies of self-presentation. Basic psychological needs frustration mediated the positive relationships between control and impersonal orientations and self-presentation frequencies. A content analysis of WeChat Moments collected from 101 participants further revealed that an autonomy orientation facilitated the satisfaction of psychological needs and decreased self-derogation strategies of self-presentation. However, impersonal orientation decreased self-enhancement strategies and increased self-derogation strategies through psychological needs frustration. The findings highlight the importance of SNS users’ psychological characteristics for understanding their online self-presentation behaviors.
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