Abstract
Dependence power is defined by the control a less dependent partner is perceived to have by the more dependent individual in a close relationship. Guided by assumptions about dependence power, we examined how individuals manage perceived relational transgressions by partners on Facebook, distinguishing between face-to-face responses versus those that are expressed nonverbally (through monitoring or maintenance behaviors) on the site. Participants included 290 females and 210 males in a dating relationship who completed measures of dependence power and Facebook use. Participants then viewed a screenshot reflecting a hypothetical Facebook partner transgression that varied by potential threat (high versus low). Finally, participants completed measures of perceived threat and a measure of responses to the transgression (monitoring and maintenance). Dependence power was associated with perceptions of the threat of a transgression, the likelihood of confronting a partner face-to-face about the perceived transgression, and engaging in Facebook monitoring behavior after a perceived transgression. Dependence power was not significantly associated with maintenance responses.
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Notes
A “medium” condition was also included in the study, whereby participants were presented with the hypothetical partner transgression via a posting to a hypothetical timeline or a timeline picture. For the two medium conditions, the high threat condition (n = 124) contained an ambiguous photo that depicted either a male or female partner, with the faces blurred out, laughing together in a social setting, and the lower threat condition (n = 126) depicted two individuals in the same frame. All pictures presented to respondents were cross sex. There were no significant effects for medium of presentation.
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Samp, J.A., Palevitz, C.E. Managing Relational Transgressions as Revealed on Facebook: The Influence of Dependence Power on Verbal Versus Nonverbal Responses. J Nonverbal Behav 38, 477–493 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10919-014-0197-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10919-014-0197-x