Intimacy Link in Computer-Mediated Communication

The article that I am doing my research analysis on is titled The Disclosure– Intimacy Link in Computer-Mediated Communication: An Attributional Extension of the Hyperpersonal Model. It focuses on the differences that attributions of self-disclosure on computer mediated communication (CMC) and face to face (FtF) interaction. In regards to communication, the article utilizes the social penetration theory, a theory which states that intimacy and self-disclosure are the main factors in developing interpersonal relationships(Altman & Taylor, 1973). With the social penetration theory in mind, research sought out to compare the result of self-disclosure on relationship intimacy in CMC as opposed to FtF interaction. The hyperpersonal model which explains that people communicating via CMC edit the way they present themselves, sculpting an ideal image in regards to the way they present attributions in development of interpersonal relationships. The hyperpersonal model is influential in this article and is the basis for the author’s theory on attribution. The authors hypothesize that: (H1) Relative to low self-disclosure, high self-disclosure leads to more intimacy in CMC than FtF interactions, (H2) Interpersonal attributions mediate the proposed intensification effect of medium on the disclosure–intimacy link, and (H3) the effect of self-disclosure on interpersonal attributions is greater in CMC than FtF interactions (Jiang, Bazarova, & Hancock, 2011).

To study these hypotheses the authors developed an experiment based on a 2 x 2 design which placed the communication medium (FtF vs. text-based CMC) and self-disclosure level (high vs. low) as between subject variables. In the experiment the authors accepted the level high/low self-disclo...

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...f-disclose information equally. Anyone with half a brain knows that females and males think very differently despite their physical similarities. That aspect was the one major weakness I noticed but other than that I would say this was a fantastic article.

Works Cited

Jiang, L., Bazarova, N. N., & Hancock, J. T. (2011). The disclosure-intimacy link in computer-mediated communication: An attributional extension of the hyperpersonal model. Human Communication Research, 37(1), 58-77. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2958.2010.01393.x

Altman, I., & Taylor, D. (1973). Social penetration: The development of interpersonal relationships. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Walther, J. B., Anderson, J. F., & Park, D. (1994). Interpersonal effects in computer-mediated interaction: A meta-analysis of social and anti-social communication. Communication Research, 21, 460–487.