PSYC241 LECTURE 9
Today's Topics
Understanding yourself and technology - Helpful hint: No specific book chapter to read. Listen to online recordings of the lectures on this topic.
How social psychology affects health - Helpful hint: No specific book chapter to read. Listen to the online recording.
Time to ask questions: 2:30 PM - 3:00 PM
Understanding Yourself and Technology
Uses teaching materials from UOW Australia.
Lecture Outline
Quick overview of social media history
Facebook
Who uses social media?
Online safety
How social media affects people
The Future of the Online World
Rogers (2010), speaking at a conference about the future: - "Children born in 2019 will need to be told what 'offline' means because online will be their normal."
"Being online will be the usual way of life."
Birth of the Internet
Licklider (1960): One of the first to suggest a central "thinking place" for computers.
He imagined a Database: “a network of such centers, connected by a fast communication line, and linked to individuals through special leased lines.”
Community Memory
1973: A computer terminal was set up in a record shop in Berkeley.
It was designed as a place to:
Sell items
Find work
Share thoughts and ideas
This was the first electronic bulletin board.
Electronic Bulletin Boards
Example: A bulletin board where people could post messages (like old internet forums).
They were popular from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s.
People used text to share information.
Ways of communicating included:
Email.
Public message boards.
Birth of Social Networking
In 1985, the first online community, called Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link, was created.
It had online discussion groups about specific topics.
Because dial-up internet was expensive, it was mostly used by people in the same local area.
Users often met up in person afterwards.
How popular it is:- Famous saying: "YOU DON'T GET TO 500 MILLION FRIENDS WITHOUT MAKING A FEW ENEMIES".
Market Share Information: - 8.0% - This was the weekly share of website visits to Facebook from 2009-2010 (according to Hitwise Pty. Ltd.).
Usage:
August 2012: More than users around the world, as reported by Social Bakers.
About million daily users; grew to billion in 2014; expected to reach billion by 2020.
pieces of information are shared every week.
Specific Behaviors on Facebook
How people show themselves: Pempek et al. (2009) found that people have more control over the image they present online.
Ways people interact: Underwood et al. (2011) distinguished between people who communicate (talk directly) and those who broadcast (share widely).
Low-quality interactions led to people trying harder to manage how others see them; those seeking genuine connection also carefully manage their online image.
Reasons for Using Facebook (Joinson, 2008)
What Social Networking Sites (SNS) are used for:- Connecting with others.
Sharing who you are (photos, posts).
Browsing other people's networks.
Posting updates about your life.
Looking into others' lives: Viewing photos (Bumgarner, 2007; Raacke & Bonds-Raacke, 2008).
Feeling unsure in relationships: People who feel insecure in their relationships use Facebook more after experiencing emotional upset.
Stalking Behavior
Social Searchers: People who use Facebook to find information about individuals they know from real life (Lampe, Ellison & Steinfield, 2006).
Watching passively or making quiet contact: This means constantly looking at someone's profile; phrases like “Facebook Stalking… Admit You Do It” refer to repeated, unwanted online attention that can cause fear.
Cyberstalking: Using technology to stalk; this includes all types of online harassment.
Facebook Stalking Explained
This means using Facebook to secretly watch another user's online activities.
Impact: Too much viewing of profiles or pictures can be harmful, similar to traditional stalking, but it's much more common online.
Reasons for Facebook Stalking
Digital Peeping Tom: Social media makes this behavior easier.
Attachment Theory: This psychological theory helps explain why stalking behavior happens.
Adult Attachment Styles (Hazan & Shaver, 1987)
Different ways people relate to others:- Secure: Feel comfortable being close to others.
Anxious/Ambivalent: Often worry if their partner truly loves them.
Avoidant: Are concerned that others might get too close to them.
Prediction: Adult attachment styles can be predicted by remembering how interactions with parents were during childhood.
Insecure Attachments and Stalking
Studies show that cyber-stalkers often have anxious-insecure attachment styles (MacKenzie et al., 2008).
Preoccupied and Fearful Attachment Styles: These individuals tend to have more doubts about their relationships and watch their partners electronically more often (Fox & Warber, 2014).
How Different Attachments Engage in Facebook Stalking
Even people with secure attachment might look through others' Facebook profiles; those with avoidant attachment tend to deny they do this, even if their actions are similar.
Anxiously attached individuals are more likely to feel jealous and snoop.
Rejection: Often causes people to stalk to feel better about themselves, especially for those who are preoccupied with relationships.
Avoidants and Stalking
Avoidant individuals engage in Facebook stalking to get information while keeping their distance; after a breakup, they might feel resentful, which could lead to them retaliating through stalking.
Fearful Stalkers: They have low self-esteem and see others as unreliable; they constantly seek approval but then push others away.
Personality and Social Networking
Who uses social media:- People who are narcissistic and those with certain other personality traits (from the Big Five scales) are more likely to use social networking sites.
Traits like extraversion (outgoing), openness to new experiences, and neuroticism (emotional sensitivity) affect how people use Facebook in different ways.
The Big Five Personality Traits (Costa & McCrae, 1992)
OCEAN Model: This personality model is recognized across more than 50 cultures.
Traits Include: - Extraversion: Being outgoing and social;
Openness to Experience: Being curious and open-minded;
Neuroticism: How emotionally stable or unstable someone is.
How Personality Affects Facebook Use
High amounts of Facebook use were linked to: - Extraversion (Correa et al., 2009).
Openness to Experience (Ross et al., 2009).
Extraverts often use Facebook to make more social connections; those high in neuroticism try to control what information they share.
Personality and Stalking Patterns
Male Stalkers: Often diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) or Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD); they show feelings of anger and a need to control others.
Female Stalkers: More likely to be diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD); their emotions include obsession and a fear of being left alone.
Why Online Security Matters
Real-life example: A woman in Indiana was robbed because she shared her date night plans on Facebook.
Hiring practices: A 2006 survey by ExecNet showed that % of recruiters used search engines to check out job candidates; % found information that disqualified them (Beeger, 2007).
Observed Security Problems
Default Privacy Settings: % of users did not change the standard privacy settings (Lampe et al., 2008).
Many users were either unaware of or had not changed their Facebook privacy settings (Acquisti & Gross, 2006).
Narcissism and Online Security Risks
Narcissistic individuals tend to be more active online (Mehdizadeh, 2010), and they often have relaxed privacy settings (Utz & Kramer, 2009).
Narcissists also usually have more friends and post more about themselves (Buffardi & Campbell, 2008; Ong et al., 2011).
Personality and Facebook Security
People high in neuroticism might post often, even if it could lead to negative results (Amichai-Hamburger & Vinitzky, 2010).
Some research contradicts earlier findings about how personality affects Facebook use (Ross et al., 2009).
Conclusions on Social Networking's Impact
It's increasingly important to look at how secure our online identities are on social networking sites.
The findings about how individual differences affect security sometimes conflict.
It's very important to consider why people do what they do when studying how personality affects Facebook security.
Impact on Users
There's no proof that using the Internet makes people withdraw from others; however, they do spend less time watching traditional media like TV (Bargh & McKenna, 2004).
Debates on Internet Addiction
Experts still argue whether using the internet too much is actually a disorder.
Estimates suggest that % of people might meet the criteria for internet addiction (Weinstein & Lejoyeux, 2010).
Governments in the USA and Korea have even set up treatment centers for this.
Social Anxiety and Internet Usage
About % of the population suffers from social anxiety; they tend to avoid situations that make them fearful (like parties).
Safety behaviors: These are actions meant to reduce the chance of being judged negatively, leading to a preference for using the internet (Lee & Stapinski, 2012).
The Idea of the True Self
Definition: This is the person an individual genuinely believes they are; they need others to understand this true self.
Findings on Anonymity: Bargh et al. (2002) observed that people are better at describing their true selves when they are anonymous online.
True Self and Online Interactions
Users of online newsgroups and chat rooms showed higher levels of social anxiety and introversion.
Those who find they can express their true selves online experience less anxiety two years later (Amichai-Hamburger et al., 2002; McKenna et al., 2002).
Different Views on Internet Usage
Global Use View: This idea suggests that "the rich get richer"; meaning, how you behave offline often predicts how you'll behave online.
Deficiency View: This idea suggests that online interactions are used to make up for unsatisfying interactions in real life.
Social Networking Sites (SNS) and Attachment Theory
Heavy Use: Anxious and avoidant attachment styles are often linked to unhealthy internet and social media use.
Attachment Anxiety: This is connected to social media addiction; having a secure attachment actually reduces the risk of such addiction.
Final Thoughts on Attachment and Facebook
People with anxious attachment use Facebook to fulfill their need for connection; this raises questions about whether this improves or harms their real-life social experiences.
How Social Psychology Affects Health
Helpful hint: No specific book chapter to read. Listen to Lecture 21 in the online recording for 19/10/2016.
The Importance of Social Psychology in Health
The mind and body are connected.
Stress-related problems affect physical health, and these are tied to our psychological and social surroundings.
Having social support helps people cope better and have fewer symptoms of illness.
Theories from social psychology are key to explaining why people behave the way they do about their health.
Understanding Stress
Definition: Stress is a bad emotional experience that causes changes in our bodies, thoughts, and behaviors. - It happens when we feel that the demands on us are greater than our ability to cope; how much stress we feel depends on how each person interprets the situation.
Stress Effects in Animals
Research Discoveries: Stress weakens the body's immune system.
Visintainer and Seligman (1985) did experiments with young rats that were given unavoidable electric shocks; these rats were more likely to get cancer when they grew up.
Human Stress Consequences
Historically, stress at work was linked to higher rates of colon cancer ( times more likely, Courtney et al., 1993), even after considering age and smoking.
Stress Level and Health Problems
Longer and more severe stress makes people more likely to get sick, for example, the stress from being gay or belonging to a group that faces prejudice.
General Adaptation Syndrome and Health
Selye's Observation: He noticed that people in the hospital often had similar symptoms, regardless of their illness, suggesting a general reaction to stress.
Diseases of Adaptation: If we can't cope with stress, it can lead to problems like ulcers, high blood pressure, and heart attacks.
Stages of General Adaptation Syndrome
Three Stages: 1. Alarm Stage: When you recognize a threat, your body reacts with a physical rush, like increased adrenaline and a faster heart rate.
Resistance Stage: Your body stays physically alert because stress hormones continue to be released.
Exhaustion Stage: Long-term stress responses can harm the body and disrupt the systems that are supposed to reduce stress, leading to wear and tear.
Stress and Appraisal Models
Quote from Aaron Beck: "It’s not the problem that’s the problem, but how we see the problem that is the problem."
Lazarus's Theory: Stress comes from how we interpret a threat and our vulnerability to it, creating challenges in coping, rather than just from the stressful event itself.
The Cognitive Appraisal Model (Lazarus, 1966)
Two Ways of Thinking About a Situation: 1. Primary Appraisal: We first decide what the event means to us; is it harmful, dangerous, or a challenge?
Secondary Appraisal: We then evaluate our ability to cope and what resources we have to deal with the stressor.
Primary Appraisal Explained
Three Categories:- Harm/Loss: Damage that has already happened.
Threat: Expecting potential harm, getting ready for what might happen.
Challenge: Seeing the event as stressful but focusing on learning from it and becoming more confident.
Secondary Appraisal Explained
This is about judging your personal resources and options for coping; it directly influences your emotional reaction and what you do next.
How an Individual Sees a Situation (Visual)
Event > Primary Appraisal - No Stress: Perceived as harmless.
Stress: Perceived as a threat with not enough ways to cope.
Coping Styles - Lazarus & Folkman (1984)
Ways of Coping: Two main types:
1. Problem-Focused Coping: Directly deals with and tries to change the source of stress (e.g., studying hard for exams).
2. Emotion-Focused Coping: Manages the negative feelings related to stress without directly fixing the problem.
Problem-Focused Coping in Detail
This style works well when you can control the source of stress; you take active steps to solve the situation (e.g., fixing computer issues).
Limitations: It's not effective when you can't control the stressful situation, like dealing with a terminal illness.
Procrastination and Stress
Study by Tice and Baumeister (1997): People who procrastinated felt less stress at the beginning but experienced more stress and illness later in the semester.
Emotion-Focused Coping in Detail
This approach is used to handle emotions when the source of stress cannot be changed.
Examples of Methods:- Distracting yourself, writing in a journal about your feelings, praying, meditating, eating for comfort, and using alcohol or drugs.
Downsides of Emotion-Focused Coping
While it provides short-term relief, it can stop you from solving the problem in the long run, potentially leading to bad health outcomes.
Research Findings: Hiding your emotions can weaken your immune system, showing that usually, facing problems leads to better health (Epping-Jordan et al., 1994).
Gender Differences in How People Cope
Billings & Moos, 1981: Women reported using more emotion-focused coping strategies than men.
Negativity, Stress & Illness
Negative Affectivity: This is a constant state of bad moods, including anxiety, hostility, or depression, which can increase alcohol consumption and emotional instability.
Personality Traits and Heart Disease
Type A Behavioral Pattern: People with this pattern are impatient, hostile, always in a hurry, and often very competitive; this is known to be a risk factor for heart disease.
What Psychological Resilience Means
This is the ability to adapt, maintain well-being, and cope well even when facing threats; it can improve through positive experiences and help reduce stress responses.
Characteristics of Hardiness
Three C's (Commitment, Control, Challenge): - Challenge: Focusing on accepting and growing from change.
Commitment: Having a strong sense of purpose in life.
Control: Believing you have power over what happens (e.g., studies show nursing home residents given choices are happier).
The Idea of Psychological Control
Definition: The belief that you can influence events in your life, which helps you cope with stress effectively.
Lacking control is linked to worse health; feeling in control is related to self-belief (self-efficacy) and affects how you handle uncertainty.
Discussion on Explanatory Style
Pessimistic Explanatory Style: People with this style believe bad events are their fault and will last forever, which increases their risk of heart disease over time (Peterson and Seligman, 1987).
Comparing Explanatory Styles
Optimists generally handle stress better, leading to better moods and a stronger immune system; statistically, they have fewer heart attacks over time.
Findings from Long-Term Studies
Scottish study: Children with higher IQ scores were found to live longer; a -point increase in IQ was linked to a % longer lifespan.
Personality Traits for Good Health
Factors Include:- Positive emotions and an optimistic outlook.
High self-esteem, being trustworthy, reliable, easygoing, and having a good sense of humor.
Religious beliefs can also lead to stronger relationships, which contribute positively to health.
Conclusion
Various psychological ideas and research findings show the strong connections between personality traits, how we interact online, and our health behaviors.