UC Riverside

This study examined social relationships, digital communication, and the identity processes involved in developing social bonds with strangers. Utilizing identity theory, social exchange theory, I theorized, tested, and formulated a model for the development of social bonds. I focused on critical social psychological mechanisms involved in identity processes, identity verification, role-taking, certainty, and positive emotions. The cumulation of this model generates social solidarity between interaction partners. At issue, however, is how this model may be affected when access to social cues is digitally mediated in the interaction. To address this aim, I conduct an experiment in which two strangers interact as “co-workers” in a workplace setting across a computer network as well as in person. There are, however, debates regarding the impact of social technologies on social bonds. These arguments often contain a discussion of social cues, such as eye contact, facial expressions, and body language, with some arguing that the reduction of social cues available in the interaction negatively impacts our ability to form meaningful relationships. To test these competing perspectives, I develop counter hypotheses with contrasting outcomes. On the one hand, I hypothesize that more social cues compared to less social cues will increase social bonds (H1a), transitioning into an interaction with more social cues will increase social bonds (H2a), and the effects of role-taking, identity verification, certainty, and positive emotions on social bonds will be stronger with more social cues compared to less social cues (H3a). On the other hand, I hypothesize that fewer social cues will increase bonds (H1b), transitioning into an interaction with fewer cues will increase social bonds (H2b), and that the processes leading up to social bonds will be stronger during interactions with fewer social cues (H3b). However, results do not support either sets of hypotheses. I did not find that decreasing or increasing access to social cues through digital interaction significantly affects the model depicted in Figure 1. Instead, I offer a third alternative perspective: people are adapting to fluctuations in the availability of social cues while technology is developing to bridge the absence of such cues.