Title
Role of Affect in Self-Disclosure on Social Network Websites: A Test of Two Competing Models
Abstract
This study examines how affect influences self-disclosure on social network (SN) websites. We test two competing models that build on direct causation theory and affect heuristic theory, respectively. In a direct effect model, affect steers self-disclosure, independent of cognitive cost-benefit appraisals. The indirect effect model instead suggests that affect influences self-disclosure by adjusting perceptions of benefits and costs. The empirical comparison of the models relies on survey data from more than 500 university students. Overall, affect influences self-disclosure indirectly by adjusting the benefits people perceive. In particular, affect toward self-disclosure and toward SN websites relate positively to self-disclosure motivators; their perceived values appear amplified in the presence of positive affect. We also offer a plausible, alternative explanation of the observed positive relationship between privacy risk and self-disclosure according to an indirect effect model, in which self-disclosure is driven mainly by motivators, whereas the effects of inhibitors depend a posteriori on self-disclosure. These findings call for a reconsideration of any exclusive focus on the direct impacts of affect on technology use, as is common in previous research, and suggest the importance of affective factors for understanding social technology uses and managing customer relationships.
Year
DOI
Venue
2015
10.1080/07421222.2015.1063305
JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Keywords
Field
DocType
affect,dual processing approach,online privacy,online self-disclosure,social network sites
Social psychology,Survey data collection,Social network,Computer science,Causation,Self-disclosure,Affect (psychology),Cognition,Perception,Affect heuristic
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
32
2
0742-1222
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
15
0.45
28
Authors
3
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
jongtae yu1150.45
Paul Jen-hwa Hu22046112.56
Tsang-Hsiang Cheng314112.02