To analyze a psychological space, I decided it would be interesting to join a singles chat. So I found a chat room in order to meet someone so that I could form an impression of them. It took me a little while to get over the fact that plenty of people in the chatroom were making crude comments and were simply there to talk to anyone that would listen. After about five minutes, a user by the name of "firefighter" asked if anyone was interested in a serious relationship. I obliged and entered into a private chat with this user.
At this point, I began to get a little nervous, regardless of the fact that he has no idea who I am or where I am from. Under the guise "Someonespecial", I could say anything I wanted. Even in the first few moments of our conversation, I was making impressions of this person. His ASL was that he was 20, male and from Georgia. I told him that I was 25 and from New York City, an immediate lie, but something I am able to do in an online space where he cannot see me. By doing this, I created an impression in his mind of who I wanted him to see. This Selective Self Presentation was done so that I did not have to portray my own self. I could be anyone that I wanted to be. Maybe he was doing the same thing, but I will never know. Anyway, as we continued our conversation, I continued to form generalized impressions of this guy in my head. He had no idea what Cornell was, he goes to a small, random university in the middle of nowhere in Georgia, he is going to school to become a diesel mechanic and he likes to rodeo. Immediately I start thinking that this guy is dumb. In terms of the hyperpersonal model, the over attribution process that I am applying to "firefighter" is that he gave me certain clues which I am over attributing to create a specific impression. For all I know, he could be extremely smart but very simplistic in the life he leads. I have no idea what his life is like, yet I classify him as stupid because of his descriptions of his Southern lifestyle.
I was also able to form impressions of "firefighter" in terms of the Big 5. He was very introverted until I actually mentioned that he was being shy. Then he seemed to open up more, saying that he was in fact not shy at all, he just did not know what boundaries to cross in this online chat we were having. He did not seem neurotic at all. He was very down to earth and did not seem anxious at all. Our conversation went very smoothly. Once we got past the idea of what boundaries to cross, "firefighter" was very open. We discussed each other's likes and dislikes (of which mine were all lies), career goals, and many other interesting life facts. He was very agreeable as well. He seemed like a caring person whom was very honest with me in all of my questions. "Firefighter" seemed conscientious as well because he was very sweet and not too aggressive in our conversation.
Overall, my conversation with "firefighter" was interesting. He seemed like a sweet Southern boy that actually wanted to get to know me. I actually felt kind of bad when I gave him a wrong email address, as he said "Bye! I'll write you later!" Who really knows if this guy was telling the truth, or if he in fact was a twenty year old guy? I mean, I was not telling the truth, so for all I know, he was not either. This is definitely a definite example of why the hyperpersonal model is so interesting in online environments. I was able to say anything I wanted to "firefighter" and he believed me. Everything we said to each other was completely intensified as we only talked for about a half-hour. I definitely exaggerated facts in order to get certain responses from him. These were facts that would not have been noticed in face to face conversation.
All in all, I believe that my conversation was a success. "Firefighter" seemed to believe everything I said, and I formed a very exaggerated, more than likely intensified impression of him.
Chatroom success
Monday, September 3, 2007
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3 comments:
Hi Jamie,
I really liked your post!...especially because before entering my chat room I was contemplating whether I should pretend to be a 20-something years old/m/south or simply myself. I ultimately decided to give out my real information.
I agree with the point you made regarding “Curious 1’s” real identity:
“…Who really knows if this guy was telling the truth, or if he in fact was a twenty year old guy? I mean, I was not telling the truth, so for all I know, he was not either…”
Before entering the chat, I was too busy coming up with lies and made-up stories that I didn’t think about the possibility of the other person doing the same. This idea only crossed my mind once I began conversing with “starrychild87”. After I had already revealed information about myself in the hopes of discovering interesting facts about her, I noticed that she contradicted herself a couple of times. I then started pondering on the reality of her statements and whether or not she was playing the “self-disclosure” trick on me. After our discussion came to an end, I became aware of all the exaggerations and conclusions I had drawn regarding “starrychild87’s” personality and I began thinking about all the possible exaggerations she could have made about me and my likes and dislikes.
Don’t you wish you could have met “curious 1” face to face after chatting with him for over an hour and writing a blog on your impressions?
Hey Jamie,
Let me start by saying that I am glad that somebody else felt nervous in a chatroom even though nobody else could tell who you really were. For some reason I found myself worrying about what I was saying to the people in my chatroom experience and thought they would easily tell I was lying, even though they could have been lying to me all along and I never would have known. I’m just glad I wasn’t the only one who felt that way.
I agree with your decision that your interaction represents the Hyperpersonal Model. This is supported by the fact that when you found out where he went to school and his interests, you began to think that he was dumb. I think many of us would have made the same conclusion with such little other information on him, using the over-attribution process.
One point of interest I saw in your post was that when you confronted him on being shy, he immediately began to be more outgoing. According to the behavioral confirmation aspect of the Hyperpersonal Model, if you thought of him as shy and he knew that, he should end up acting more shy. This was not the case, however. Sounds like you had a very interesting encounter!
Nice post, Jamie. You seemed to have a pretty strong interaction with firefighter. I’m curious as to whether or not you experienced behavioral confirmation. Did “firefighter” treat you like a 25 year old? Did this affect further lies you told? Also, why did you choose to present yourself the way you did? Which aspects about “yourself” did you choose to reinforce?
I also found it interesting how you thought he was a sweet, warm person, but remained skeptical about his honestly. Its interesting how little trust we have of strangers online; even though people are supposed to have a truth bias. I enjoyed how you considered your conversation a success even though you formed an exaggerated impression and lied to a complete stranger.
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