An example of a relationship that moved from CmC to real life is how I met my friend Armand. The summer after graduating high school I had joined the class of 2010' to meet people before school started. I saw that on his profile Armand had an awesome picture of him throwing a kid to his back in the county wrestling tournament. I had wrestled since fourth grade so I sent Armand a message and we ended up talking a decent amount online. It turns out that we were assigned adjacent rooms in low rise six so there was no doubt I would end up being friends with him in real life.
I would apply hyperpersonal theory to this online/real relationship; Because all I knew about Armand was that he wrestled, I definitely saw that as being a defining factor of his personality. Normally I wouldn't find hyperpersonal impressions to be very accurate, but in this case my impression was spot on. Because I had wrestled for so long I could guess exactly what kind of person Armand was. I eventually found out that he took third in counties in Nassau county Long Island. The sort of person that makes it to counties is one who eats, breathes, and lives wrestling. My impression of Armand being confident and outgoing was very accurate. I didn't need to prolong the CmC portion of our meeting because I quickly realized that we'd get along really well. In this case having a hyperpersonal impression made it easier to get a feel for my friend's personality and interests.
Having common ground definitely made it easier to accept the exaggerated impressions given by the heyperpersonal theory. Wrestlers tend to be a little crazy and their commitment can be considered hardcore. I expected Armand to be the typical county placewinner; somewhat overconfident yet obviously possessing great skill and dedication. Due to the effect of the hyperpersonal impression I in a sense knew Armand before I really got to know him.
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5 comments:
"wrestlers tend to be a little crazy and their commitment can be considered hardcore."
I laughed out loud when I read this line. I attended a high school in which all of the wrestlers were notorious for their utter craziness. Each of them were stigmatized by the rest of the student body.
My experience with wrestlers has prompted the initial judgement I give each time. I completely understand your explanation of the hyperpersonal over-attributes accurately measuring your friends personality. Wrestlers just all seem to be so similar. So I understand how easy it is to make accurate judgements prior to in-depth meeting!
Great post!
It's interesting that you trusted your online impression formation so much just because you felt there was common group between you and Armand. That's assuming the stereotype or typical behavior of all wrestlers is consistent. This is a great example of how common ground lowers the barriers to forming rich impressions.
I agree with Ashley. That quote was so funny! Great job on your very last 245 post!
i cant believe Armand turned out to live next door to you, thats awesome. Its nice to see that these online networks are actually doing what theyre supposed to be doing, as friends are being made and such. I wonder if because wrestling seems like it is very important to you, the fact that Armand was a wrestler had a big impact on your initial judgment of him, despite anything else on his profile. So really, common ground played a major role, while all the other hyperpersonal model characteristics played a minimal role. It is interesting how for some people, impressions are formed based equally on all of the caracteristics, and for others, impressions are formed based on just one or two of the characteristics, depending on personal background and preference.
Your use of the hyperpersonal model is very unique, but well done. Common ground is definitely a major portion of creating a connection between two people. Its interesting that you contacted Armand solely on the grounds that he was a wrestler, and that it worked out so well for you. A good thing to consider would be how your spot on over-attribution affects the SIP theory, since you needed less time to really get to know him in person. I also believes URT plays a part because a positive outcome occurred when you discovered your assumptions to be correct. Great post!
Eric,
It was interesting to read about your positive experience with your friend Armand when leaving virtuality because unlike you, my experience was quite different. I believe that my experience may have been different from yours because my virtual partner utilized a lot of the properties from the Hyperpersonal Model (i.e., self-selection) to make himself appear to be someone that he is not entirely in real life. However, your friend seems to have fulfilled your expectations because of the common ground that you had with him as a wrestler. But I would like to mention that typically the Hyperpersonal Model leads to more exaggerated impressions of your partner than in FtF (either more positive or more negative), so your encounter may not have been exactly the Hyperpersonal model because your expectations were right on target. But, either way, great post!
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