Abstract
We examined whether self-generated (status updates) or other-generated (wall-posts) information on Facebook influenced the impression formed of the target individual. Along with examining reliance on particular types of information, we explored the valence (positive/ neutral/ negative) of the information, as reliance on self-generated or other-generated information may depend on whether self-presentation is perceived (i.e., presenting oneself positively / not negatively). Self-presentation may be perceived if the targets have positive/ neutral statuses, while negative statuses would indicate a lack of self-presentation. In line with previous research, participants should rely on other-generated information (wall-posts) to form an impression when participants are viewed to have self-presented (positive / neutral status updates), as this information could be viewed as unreliable. Forty participants rated nine Facebook profiles where statuses and wall-posts portrayed personality traits varying in valence. Each profile consisted of a neutral profile photo, three status updates (all positive, negative, or neutral) and three wall-posts (all positive, negative, or neutral). Materials were established in two pilots. Impression formation was measured as perceived social, task, and physical attractiveness of the target individual. Participants also ranked the profiles for likeability. Supporting our expectations, other-generated information (wall-posts) dominated impression formation for social attractiveness when self-generated information (status updates) was positive/ neutral. Task attractiveness was affected by information valence, regardless of source (self or other). Despite the inclusion of neutral photos, physical attractiveness was affected by self-generated information, with negative statuses lowering physical attractiveness. We suggest that these findings have implications for impression formation beyond the Facebook setting. The 557 traits analyzed in Pilot 1 are available as supporting information (S1 Dataset) and may be useful for other impression formation researchers.
Highlights
When 17-year-old Ashleigh Hall befriended Peter Chapman on Facebook she thought she was chatting to a teenage boy, not to a 33-year-old convicted sex offender
Pilot 2 aimed to obtain photos of nine females who were statistically average for physical attractiveness
Results for social attractiveness supported our hypotheses that: (1) the extent to which an individual is perceived as socially attractive depends on the information given by their friends, if they describe themselves in a positive/ neutral manner; (2) when an individual presents negative information, this will be relied on to form an impression
Summary
When 17-year-old Ashleigh Hall befriended Peter Chapman on Facebook she thought she was chatting to a teenage boy, not to a 33-year-old convicted sex offender. When they met, he posed as his alter ego’s father, before suffocating her and dumping her body in a field [1]. When forming an impression of an individual, people may be wary of this selfpresentation motivation, and may discount information given by the individual themselves. We explored this notion by examining whether information given by the individual (self-generated) was neglected in favor of information given by others, when forming impressions
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