Shyness and Online Social Networking Services

Online social networking services are Internet websites that allow individuals to learn about and communicate with others. This study investigated the association between use of these websites and friendship quality for individuals varying in shyness. Participants (N = 241) completed questionnaires assessing their use of Facebook, an online social networking service, shyness, perceived available social support, loneliness, and friendship quality. Results indicated an interaction between shyness and Facebook usage, such that individuals high in shyness (when compared to less shy individuals) reported stronger associations between Facebook use and friendship quality. Facebook use, however, was unrelated to loneliness among highly shy individuals. Therefore, online social networking services may provide a comfortable environment within which shy individuals can interact with others

Intimacy as a Concept: Explaining Social Change in the Context of Globalisation or Another Form of Ethnocentricism?

This article focuses on intimacy in terms of its analytical potential for understanding social change without the one-nation blinkers sometimes referred to as 'methodological nationalism' and without Euro-North-American ethnocentrism. Extending from the concept of family practices, practices of intimacy are sketched and examples considered across cultures. The cultural celebration and use of the term 'intimacy' is not universal, but practices of intimacy are present in all cultures. The relationship of intimacy to its conceptual relatives is clarified. A brief discussion of subjectivity and social integration restates the relevance of intimate relationships and practices of intimacy to understanding social change in an era of globalisation, despite the theoretical turn away from embodied face to face relationships. Illustrations concerning intimacy and social change in two areas of personal life, parental authority and gender relations, indicate that practices of intimacy can re-inscribe inequalities such as those of age, class and gender as well as subvert them and that attention to practices of intimacy can assist the need to explain continuity as well as change.Love and Intimacy, Globalization, Ethnocentric, Social Change, Inequality, Discourse, Family Practices

Parent-Child Closeness and Coping Outcomes in Emerging Adulthood

Parents continue to play a pivotal role in their children’s social and emotional adjustment into emerging adulthood (Mounts et al., 2006). This project examined the effect of parent-emerging adult closeness on emerging adult coping responses, and whether this association varied as a function of parent-child contact. The sample consisted of 180 undergraduate students (M age = 19.6, SD = 1.05, 78% female) from the University of Vermont. Participants reported on their closeness with their parent(s), their coping responses, and their patterns of contact with their parent(s). As predicted, parent-emerging adult closeness was predictive of emerging adults’ coping responses. The relationship was not, however, moderated by mode or frequency of communication. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed

Parental rearing style as a predictor of attachment and psychosocial adjustment during young adulthood

Parental rearing-styles are crucial for psychosocial adjustment both during childhood and adulthood. The current study examined whether: (a) parental rearing-styles predicted psychosocial adjustment in young-adulthood, (b) this relationship was mediated by attachment styles , and ( c ) gender differences occur in these relationships. Two hundred and forty (103 male and 132 female) university students completed measures assessing parental rearing-style , current attachment style, romantic relationship satisfaction, friendship quality, self-esteem, and social competence. Multigroup structural equation modelling, conducted separately by gender, revealed that parental rearing-style predicted psychosocial adjustment during young-adulthood. Further, there was also evidence of gender differences and that self-models and other-models of attachment mediated this relationship. Together, these findings reinforce the importance of perceived parental rearing-style for subsequent psychosocial adjustment

Exploring the Dynamic of Mother-Adolescents Closeness

This study aims to look at the dynamic of mother-adolescent closeness, and to exploring the reasons why the adolescents feel close to their mother. A total of 1523 university student (male = 479 ; female = 1044) at Diponegoro University completed an open-ended questionnaire developed by Kim (2010) that asked how close they feel to their mother as well as the reason why they feel close to their mother. The data was analyzed using indigenous psychological approach of analyzing the content of open-ended responses. Results have shown that adolescents feel close to their mother because she fulfilling her children emotional needs (63.5%), fulfilling physical needs (15.1%), being a good role model (7.5%) and because of consanguinity (5.3%). More verification on details of categories are required for the future research on closeness between mother and child relationship. Key words: closeness, mother-adolescent relationship

Reconsidering power and distance

A wide range of studies indicate that power and distance affect the production and interpretation of language. However, this paper argues that greater consideration needs to be given to the conceptual nature of these dimensions, and to terminological usage. In the first half of the paper, the need for this consideration is explained. A number of pragmatic studies are examined, and this reveals that authors often use the same terms with different meanings, or different terms with the same meaning, and that the parameters are rarely explicitly defined. Then the paper reviews recent calls for an extra parameter of interlocutor relations to be added: for affect to be separated from distance. In the second half of the paper, relevant social psychological research is reported, and it is concluded that the number of ‘horizontal’ dimensions of interlocutor relations needs to be reconsidered. Power, on the other hand, emerges as a robust and relatively unitary dimension, yet its label has connotations that may not be cross-culturally valid

More Than Just Talking: The Role of Self-Disclosure in the Fast Friends Procedure

The Fast Friends (FF) procedure was developed to generate feelings of closeness in the laboratory through escalating, mutual self-disclosure by partners (Aron, Melinant, Aron, Vallone, & Bator, 1997). Research indicates that, in addition to generating feelings of closeness, self-disclosure can also benefit mood. This study examined not only the total, but also the relative amount of self-disclosure between dyad partners in the FF vs. control condition. It was found that while participants in FF engaged in more self-disclosure overall, disclosure within FF dyads was not equitable. Contrary to prediction, the FF procedure did not generate more positive feelings than the control condition. Results are discussed in terms of social penetration and information process theories. Recommendations for further investigation are considered

Connections with Coworkers on Social Network Sites: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

A large number of individuals are connected with their coworkers on social network sites (SNS) that are personal and professional (e.g., Facebook), with consequences on workplace relationships. Drawing on SNS, social identity and boundary management literatures, we surveyed 202 employees and found that coworkers’ friendship-acts (e.g., liking, commenting) were positively associated with closeness to coworkers when coworkers were of the same age or older than the focal individual, and with organizational citizenship behaviors towards coworkers (OCBI) when coworkers were of the same age. Harmful behaviors from coworkers (e.g., disparaging comment) were negatively associated with closeness (but not with OBCI) when coworkers were older than the focal individual. In addition, preferences for the segmentation of one’s professional and personal roles moderated the relationship between coworkers’ friendship-acts and OCBI (but not closeness) such that the positive relationship was stronger when the focal individual had low (vs. high) preferences for segmentation

When are Social Network Sites Connections with Coworkers Beneficial? The Roles of Age Difference and Preferences for Segmentation between Work and Life

Individuals are increasingly connected with their coworkers on personal and professional social network sites (SNS) (e.g., Facebook), with consequences for workplace relationships. Drawing on SNS research and on social identity and boundary management theory, we surveyed 202 employees and found that coworkers’ friendship acts (e.g., liking, commenting) were positively associated with closeness to coworkers when coworkers were similar in age to or older than the respondent and were positively associated with organizational citizenship behaviors towards coworkers (OCBI) when coworkers were similar in age. Conversely, harmful behaviors from coworkers (e.g., disparaging comments) were negatively associated with closeness when coworkers were older than the respondent, and with OCBI when coworkers were older than the respondent and coworkers’ friendship acts were high. Preferences for work-life segmentation moderated the relationship between coworkers’ friendship acts and OCBI (but not closeness) such that the positive relationship was stronger when the respondent had low (vs. high) preferences for segmentation. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of this study and propose an agenda for future research

The Level of Relational Self-Construal Moderates the Relationship between Disclosure and Well-Being

The present study was a quasi-experiment studying whether relational self-construal moderates the relationship between dyadic self-disclosure and well-being. Pairs of high or low relationals were randomly assigned to one of two disclosure conditions: closeness-generating or small-talk generating. After the conversation, participants completed well-being measures. It was hypothesized high relationals would experience higher well-being (higher happiness, state self-esteem, positive affect, and life satisfaction, and lower negative affect and loneliness) in a closeness-generating condition than in a small-talk condition. It was predicted low relationals would experience lower well-being (lower happiness, state self-esteem, positive affect, and life satisfaction, and higher negative affect and loneliness) in the closeness-generating condition than in the small-talk condition. Although no support was found for the hypotheses, high relationals rated themselves higher on happiness and positive affect than low relationals. It was also found that those in the closeness-generating condition had higher state self-esteem and life satisfaction ratings than those in the small-talk condition