Self-Concept Change in Online Environments

• In Event: Top Student Papers in Human Communication and Technology

Abstract

Many of our online self-presentations are publicly available to any person with a web browser. Given that previous research suggests that public acts of self-presentation can influence identity, the present study examines whether text-based self-presentations alter self-concepts. Subjects were asked to portray an introvert or an extrovert in a public (blog post) or private (text document) space. Subjects in the public conditions were significantly different in their self-ratings of introversion and extroversion following the presentation; subjects in the private condition did not differ. These results are consistent with previous findings that audience can influence the internalization of self-presentations, and suggests that acts of public online self-presentation may influence the identity of internet users. Linguistic analysis of the self-presentations revealed that public presentations contained more words relating to certainty, suggesting that an audience may make self-presentations more definite in nature.. These findings indicate that expressions of certainty may be relevant to the public commitment effects that drive changes in self-concept.

Authors

• Amy L Gonzales, Cornell University

• Jeffrey T Hancock, Cornell University