To respond or not to respond: The effects of interpersonal goals on responsive Facebook behaviours

Past research indicates that compassionate interpersonal goals are associated with greater responsiveness to others. However, whether this extends to casual friends on social networking sites (SNSs) is unclear. The current research examined the effects of interpersonal goals on the likelihood of re...

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Main Authors: Danielle Villoresi, Stephanie Tobin, Jennifer Crocker, Tao Jiang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Masaryk University 2025-06-01
Series:Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberpspace
Subjects:
Online Access:https://cyberpsychology.eu/article/view/36766
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author Danielle Villoresi
Stephanie Tobin
Jennifer Crocker
Tao Jiang
author_facet Danielle Villoresi
Stephanie Tobin
Jennifer Crocker
Tao Jiang
author_sort Danielle Villoresi
collection DOAJ
description Past research indicates that compassionate interpersonal goals are associated with greater responsiveness to others. However, whether this extends to casual friends on social networking sites (SNSs) is unclear. The current research examined the effects of interpersonal goals on the likelihood of responding with one-click reactions, comments, and private messages to mock Facebook posts by casual friends. We also examined responding differences depending on post valence. A 3 (response: one-click reaction, comment, private message) x 2 (self-image goal: low, high) x 2 (compassionate goal: low, high) x 2 (post valence: positive, negative) x 2 (post domain: work, social) mixed-model experimental design tested our predictions among Facebook users (N = 389). Results revealed that either self-image or compassionate interpersonal goals at low levels of the opposing goal increased one-click reactions and comments. Additionally, post valence and domain influenced responding. Compassionate goals increased one-click reactions and comments when responding to positive posts and private messages when responding to negative posts. All response modes were more likely for the negative than positive social post, and one-click reactions and comments were more likely for the positive than negative work post. Our findings provide causal evidence that self-image and compassionate goals can increase responding to casual friends on Facebook. Moreover, whether people respond to Facebook posts can be influenced by SNS contextual factors such as the valence of a post and the varied ways to respond.
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series Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberpspace
spelling doaj-art-0c8d0e6e94dd4acb85b861fb89510db42025-08-20T03:30:02ZengMasaryk UniversityCyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberpspace1802-79622025-06-01193To respond or not to respond: The effects of interpersonal goals on responsive Facebook behavioursDanielle Villoresi0Stephanie Tobin1Jennifer Crocker2Tao Jiang3School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, AustraliaSchool of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, AustraliaOhio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United StatesStanford University, Stanford, California, United States Past research indicates that compassionate interpersonal goals are associated with greater responsiveness to others. However, whether this extends to casual friends on social networking sites (SNSs) is unclear. The current research examined the effects of interpersonal goals on the likelihood of responding with one-click reactions, comments, and private messages to mock Facebook posts by casual friends. We also examined responding differences depending on post valence. A 3 (response: one-click reaction, comment, private message) x 2 (self-image goal: low, high) x 2 (compassionate goal: low, high) x 2 (post valence: positive, negative) x 2 (post domain: work, social) mixed-model experimental design tested our predictions among Facebook users (N = 389). Results revealed that either self-image or compassionate interpersonal goals at low levels of the opposing goal increased one-click reactions and comments. Additionally, post valence and domain influenced responding. Compassionate goals increased one-click reactions and comments when responding to positive posts and private messages when responding to negative posts. All response modes were more likely for the negative than positive social post, and one-click reactions and comments were more likely for the positive than negative work post. Our findings provide causal evidence that self-image and compassionate goals can increase responding to casual friends on Facebook. Moreover, whether people respond to Facebook posts can be influenced by SNS contextual factors such as the valence of a post and the varied ways to respond. https://cyberpsychology.eu/article/view/36766interpersonal goalscompassionate goalsself-image goalssocial networking sitesocial mediaresponding
spellingShingle Danielle Villoresi
Stephanie Tobin
Jennifer Crocker
Tao Jiang
To respond or not to respond: The effects of interpersonal goals on responsive Facebook behaviours
Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberpspace
interpersonal goals
compassionate goals
self-image goals
social networking site
social media
responding
title To respond or not to respond: The effects of interpersonal goals on responsive Facebook behaviours
title_full To respond or not to respond: The effects of interpersonal goals on responsive Facebook behaviours
title_fullStr To respond or not to respond: The effects of interpersonal goals on responsive Facebook behaviours
title_full_unstemmed To respond or not to respond: The effects of interpersonal goals on responsive Facebook behaviours
title_short To respond or not to respond: The effects of interpersonal goals on responsive Facebook behaviours
title_sort to respond or not to respond the effects of interpersonal goals on responsive facebook behaviours
topic interpersonal goals
compassionate goals
self-image goals
social networking site
social media
responding
url https://cyberpsychology.eu/article/view/36766
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