ComputerMediated Communication

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Computer-Mediated Communication

• Intimate relationships

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Um, where were we?

• Marriage markets  exchange theory
• Exchange of differential characteristics
• Opportunity cost of staying with mate
• Lure of guaranteed replacement (big market)
• Love as solution to commitment problem
• So what can we learn from newspaper personal ads
  in 1984?

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Greek love styles

• Eros passionate love
• Ludus game-playing love (flirtation?)
• Storge companionate love (deep friendship)
• Pragma storge ludus practical love
• Mania eros ludus  intense, jealous love
• Agape eros storge  unselfish, giving love

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Analyzing magazine personals

• Fs seeking Ms same age or older
• Ms seeking younger Fs (or not much older)
• Homophily on personality traits, interests
• Men more likely to describe attractiveness
• Men also more likely to request photo
• A contradiction?

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So what happens when people actually make up
their minds?
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Shifting gears
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Selves actual, real, ideal

• Actual self  who you present usually
• Real or true self who you really are, but
  are prevented from presenting
• Ideal self  who you aspire to be

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Self-disclosure

• Progressive self-disclosure builds intimacy
• (Passion as function of change in intimacy?)
• Gating features preclude this process?
• Stranger on a train phenomenon Stranger in
  a chat room?

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Transitioning to face-to-face
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Liking in mediated channels

• Lab experiment interact with opposite-sex
  partner in one of three conditions
• Interact face-to-face for 20 min twice
• Interact first on IRC for 20 min,then
  face-to-face for 20 min
• Interact with one person face-to-face and one via
  IRC  actually same person

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