After a long time of deciding which psychological space I wanted to enter, I ended up entering an online chat room called “the love shack.” This chat room was described to be the “hot spot” chat room for those who were interested not only in dating but for those looking for “true” love. I wondered what people would think and expect upon entering this chat room: did they really expect to find “true” love or was this a way to just talk with random strangers about love?
I expected to find a lot of people in this chat room to be active in voicing their opinions and information, but only a few were actively chatting. I noticed that the very first detail people asked for and gave out was the typical “age/sex/location” information. After observing for a couple of minutes, I introduced myself to be a college female student in the East Coast and found someone who was interested in talking to me.
“PrinceCharming” was a 20-year old college student who lived in
Even towards the end of our conversation, “PrinceCharming” left a pretty good impression on me. He seemed pretty genuine in expressing his pain from his previous relationship, and his hopes of finding someone new. When I asked him if he was looking for new love through this chat room, he confirmed his earlier answer by saying that he needed a complete stranger who would sympathize with him—he was not comfortable sharing his stories with real people in his life.
The hyperpersonal theory can be best used to describe my impressions of this person. The limited cues that described where he lived and his age already created a stereotypical image in my mind. The over-attribution process can also be applied in this conversation in that other partial cues, such as his story of making a sculpture for his past girlfriend, created exaggerations of his sensitivity trait that persisted throughout the rest of the conversation.
1 comment:
This first thing that came to my mind when I read your post was the immediate assumptions I made about this guy just based on his username. Just by choosing the name “PrinceCharming,” he exemplifies the hyperpersonal model in regards to selective self-presentation. With a name that refers to an ideal, fairy-tale man-of-every-girl’s-dreams, this guy carefully decided the impression that he wanted people to have of him. Also, by mentioning the statue he made for a girl he liked reaffirmed the sweet and sensitive impression he wanted to give off. Clearly though, his selectiveness succeeded in making others see him how he wanted to be seen. Before I had even read the post, I read the name “PrinceCharming” and immediately pictured a handsome, friendly, caring man who just wants to find his true love. Choosing a username is possibly the most important part of selective self-presentation because it is the first thing another user will see of yours and can give off strong first impressions. It’s quite amazing how one’s view of another can be completely determined by their username. Great post!
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