Publication Date

8-2013

Advisor(s) - Committee Chair

Pitt Derryberry (Director), Aaron Wichman, Andrew Mienaltowski

Degree Program

Department of Psychology

Degree Type

Master of Arts

Abstract

The current study examined the relationship between affect changes or lack thereof when one logs onto Facebook or Yahoo!. Facebook was specifically chosen for examination in the current study due to its widespread use, its vast effect on society, and its unique features that allow users to obtain information and have social interaction at the same time. Yahoo! served as a control due to the fact that it is a highly popular site that has similar features of Facebook without having the social functions. Both sites allow users to observe news that is pertinent and of interest to them and both are popular; the main difference between the two sites is the social component that Facebook can offer that Yahoo! is unable to offer users. Findings suggest that logging onto Facebook increases positive affect and joy, but this is short lived. After a period of time on the website negative affect and anger increase. Further research needs to be conducted in order to understand what activities on Facebook lead to more or less affect modulation and future studies are discussed.

Disciplines

Applied Behavior Analysis | Communication Technology and New Media | Multicultural Psychology | Personality and Social Contexts | Psychology | Social Psychology

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