Citation

Biehl SA, Kahn JH. Cyberpsychol. Behav. Soc. Netw. 2016; 19(7): 446-452.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, Illinois State University , Normal, Illinois.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Mary Ann Liebert Publishers)

DOI

10.1089/cyber.2016.0110

PMID

27326830

Abstract

The provision of social support is a common function of many online communities, but a full understanding of the causal effect of emotion language on the provision of support requires experimental study. The frequency of positive- and negative-emotion words in simulated posts requesting emotional support was manipulated and presented to a sample of college students (N = 442) who were randomly assigned to read one of four simulated posts. Participants completed measures of the original poster's (OP's) distress, and they provided a response to the simulated post. These responses were subjected to a computerized text analysis, and their overall effectiveness was rated by two independent judges. Fewer positive-emotion and more negative-emotion words in the simulated post led to perceptions that the OP was distressed and unable to cope. Participant-generated responses to the post were highest in positive-emotion words when the simulated post was high in positive-emotion words, but low in negative-emotion words. Finally, simulated posts that were low in positive-emotion words received responses that were judged to be more effective than did simulated posts that were high in positive-emotion words. These findings have implications for understanding the role of emotion language on the exchange of online social support.

Language: en