Social Cues, Social Bonds, and Digitally Mediated Platforms

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

A Content Analysis of Top Selling Video Games and Their Production Staff

Previous research on video games in the United States has repeated the same mantra: women are sexualized, minimized, or just absent. This study evaluates the position and role of women, particularly women of color, in video games. Employing symbolic annihilation, standpoint epistemology, and tokenism, this study assesses characters and their connection to the production team (writers, producers, and directors). Current research on video games has not previously made a first-order linkage of this kind. I analyzed, using a structured content analysis, the extent to which women are present and what type of roles they occupy in forty-one top selling video games (2008 to 2012). The study found that women, particularly women of color, were often tokens or minorities, were more sexualized than men, less violent than men, less likely to possess a weapon, and occupy less active and meaningful roles. Women were often positioned as a commodity or a motivating factor for male character narratives. The research found that production teams consist predominately of white males and that there is no significant correlation between production staff members and the final product. The thesis explores the social implications of such dismal character representation in video games.Sociology, Department o