Self-disclosure and liking in computer-mediated communication

• Published in: Computers in human behavior Vol. 71; pp. 275 - 283
• Main Authors: Kashian, Nicole, Jang, Jeong-woo, Shin, Soo Yun, Dai, Yue, Walther, Joseph B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elmsford Elsevier Ltd 01.06.2017; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Attribution; Computer assisted research; Computer mediated communication; Human communication; Liking; Self disclosure; Social interaction; Social networks; Studies; User behavior; Self-disclosure; Computer-mediated communication; Liking; Attribution
• ISSN: 0747-5632; 1873-7692
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2017.01.041

This research investigated the process by which self-disclosure leads to liking in computer-mediated communication (CMC). Research has shown that CMC influences the attributions that individuals make regarding self-disclosure as well as the affection that they feel towards disclosers as a result of these attributions. However, little is known about the impact that attributions have on one's own reciprocal self-disclosure. In an original experiment, dyads of friends or strangers disclosed to one another in text-based CMC. After their discussion, a questionnaire assessed participants' liking toward their partners as well as their attributions regarding their partners' behavior. Results show that self-disclosure prompted receivers' interpersonal attributions, which led receivers to like their partners. But, receivers' interpersonal attributions did not lead to reciprocal disclosure. The results corroborate Jiang, Bazarova, and Hancock’s (2011) model that links self-disclosure and liking by way of interpersonal attributions, and demonstrate one disclosure-liking effect in CMC: People like those who self-disclose to them. This study provides further evidence for CMC's unique impact on the relationship between self-disclosure and liking, and contributes to our understanding of the interpersonal processes that lead to liking in CMC. •Interpersonal attributions mediate disclosure and liking in CMC.•Data support the proposition people like others who disclose in CMC.•Data do not support the proposition people disclose to those they like in CMC.•Data do not support the proposition people like those to whom they disclose in CMC.