Deck 10: Social Information Processing Theory

Question 1

Which of the following is defined as a hostile online language that creates a toxic climate for relationship development and growth?

A) warranting
B) hedging
C) attacking
D) flaming

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Walther's SIP theory describes ________ through online communication.

A) relationship development
B) relationship maintenance
C) self-image construction
D) self-concept development

Answer 2

A

Question 3

According to Walther, over an extended period of time, what will happen to relationships that are based on online communication?

A) They will fade out.
B) They will be similar in intimacy to those developed face to face.
C) They will be more impersonal.
D) They will last longer.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which of the following factors is needed by online communicators to produce the same amount of impression formation and relationship development as face-to-face communicators, especially when the online channel is primarily text-based?

A) personalization of message content
B) extended time
C) increased amount of social information conveyed
D) directness of messages

Question 5

Which of the following is the label nonverbal researchers use to describe how people perceive, use, and respond to issues of time in their interaction with others?

A) haptics
B) proxemics
C) chronemics
D) vocalic

Question 6

Which of the following best describes a hyperpersonal relationship?

A) a relationship that is started offline and maintained via online communication
B) a relationship that is completely face-to-face
C) a relationship where one or both partners feel more intimate in person than via online communication
D) an online relationship that is more intimate than if partners were physically together

Question 7

________ is defined as a perceptual process whereby one observes what people do and then tries to figure out what they're really like.

A) Mindfulness
B) Attribution
C) Pragmatism
D) Hedging

Question 8

Which of the following describes an added benefit of nonsimultaneous online communication compared with face-to-face interactions?

A) Messages can be sent quicker and are more sincere.
B) Messages are less distorted or affected by noise.
C) Messages are more believable and trustable.
D) Messages can be planned, contemplated, and edited to be more mindful and deliberate.

Question 9

Which of the following is defined as the tendency for a person's expectation of others to evoke a response from them that confirms what was originally anticipated?

A) self-fulfilling prophecy
B) humanism
C) mindfulness
D) selective self-presentation

Question 10

In the context of information that is posted on social media, which of the following statements is true about the warranting value?

A) People are highly likely to accept information with a high warranting value as true.
B) Information posted by a profile owner has a high warranting value.
C) Information posted by others that is beyond an owner's direct control has a low warranting value.
D) People are likely to assign the same warranting value to information that comes from profile owners and that from other site users.

Question 11

Social information processing (SIP) theory is consistent with social penetration theory and uncertainty reduction theory, which both assume that as people gain information about others, their affinity for others grows as well.

Question 12

Social information processing theory focuses on personal information made available through online communication and its effects on relational development without addressing impression formation.

Question 13

Walther failed to confirm his theory through experimental testing.

Question 14

Joseph Walther finds that messages spoken in person might take about four times longer to say online.

Question 15

In the context of chronemics, replying quickly to emails and text messages yields the most negative impressions.

Question 16

Joseph Walther claims that through selective self-presentation, people who meet online have an opportunity to make and sustain an overwhelmingly positive impression.

Question 17

Based on online communication's asynchronous quality, users can send and receive messages nonsimultaneously.

Question 18

After consideration, Walther now believes that online communication is an inherently inferior medium for relational communication.

Question 19

Joseph Walther suggests that hyperpersonal communication is unlikely to improve relationships between groups with a strong history of tension and conflict.

Question 20

Relationships are ________ if they are more intimate than the romances or friendships would be if the partners were physically together.

Question 21

Walther suggests that it takes ________ for online communication relationships to reach the same intimacy level as face-to-face messages.

Question 22

Describe the link among interpersonal information, impression formation, and relationship development.

Question 23

In the absence of nonverbal cues, how are verbal cues used to develop impressions regarding interpersonal communication?

Question 24

Explain Walther's empirical research of SIP theory. Be sure to explain how the study was conducted and what the researchers found.

Question 25

Explain the four-to-one time differential between relationships developed through online communication and those developed in person.

Question 26

What is a hyperpersonal relationship?

Question 27

What does it mean that online communication is asynchronous? What are the benefits or costs as a result?

Question 28

How might online communication perpetuate a self-fulfilling prophecy?

Question 29

On re-examination, Walther questions the rate at which relationships based on online communication develop compared with those based on face-to-face interactions. State your position. Which type of relationship develops more quickly?

Question 30

Joe Walther states that online communication, which lacks most nonverbal cues, offers the opportunity to form just as rich impression of another person as does face-to-face communication. However, what two important elements does he stress must be present to achieve the same amount (or more) of closeness?

Question 31

Both social penetration theory and social information processing theory suggest that relationships develop through self-disclosure. How are the theories similar and different in their predictions about relationships?

Question 32

According to Pearce and Cronen, reality is co-created through interactions with others. Is it necessary to physically meet others to be co-creators? How might SIP theory intersect with CMM to describe co-creating realities with others we've never met in person?

Question 33

Evaluate SIP theory as a scientific theory. How well does it hold up?

Question 34

Can SIP theory be falsified?

Question 35

In relationships developed through online communication, how might Berger's three strategies for reducing uncertainty (passive, active, and interactive) be modified to fit the medium?