Who’s Who in That Picture? The Association between Profile Picture Content and Social Well-Being

Authors

  • Alyss M Hudson Eastern Kentucky University
  • Jonathan S Gore Eastern Kentucky University

Abstract

Despite significant interest in social well-being and its association with Facebook use, research on profile picture content has been overlooked. The current study asked participants (n = 158) to log into their Facebook account, access their profile pictures, and categorize the content of their profile pictures. Participants then completed an online personality survey at a later date. The results confirmed hypotheses that a high amount of pictures of oneself with close others will be associated with higher levels of social well-being, and a high amount of pictures involving the self only, strangers (celebrities and fantasy) and distant others (deceased, pet) will be associated with lower levels of social well-being. The study also showed important differences between men and women in the association between social well-being and the use of distant others and strangers as profile pictures.

References

Al-Saggaf, Y., & Nielsen, S. (2014). Self-disclosure on Facebook among female users and its relationship to feelings of loneliness. Computers in Human Behaviors, 36, 460-468.

Back, M. D., Stopfer, J. M., Vazire, S., Gaddis, S., Schmukle, S. C., Egloff, B., & Gosling, S. D. (2010). Facebook profiles reflect actual personality, not self-idealization. Psychological Science, 21, 372-374.

Chang, W., & Lee, C. (2013). Trust as a learning facilitator that affects students’ learning performance in the Facebook community: An investigation in a business planning writing course. Computers and Education, 62, 320-327.

Cheek, J. M., & Buss, A. H. (1981). Shyness and sociability. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 41, 330-339.

Cross, S. E., & Madson, L. (1997). Models of the self: Self-construals and gender. Psychological Bulletin, 122, 5-37.

Deters, F., & Mehl, M. R. (2013). Does posting Facebook status update increase or decrease loneliness? An online social networking experiment. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 4, 579-586.

Disabato, D. J., Goodman, F. R., Kashdan, T. B., Short, J. L., & Jarden, A. (2015). Different Types of Well-Being? A Cross-Cultural Examination of Hedonic and Eudaimonic Well-Being. Psychological Assessment, 1-12

Fitts, S. D., Sebby, R. A., & Zlokovich, M. S. (2009). Humor styles as mediators of the shyness-loneliness relationship. North American Journal of Psychology, 11, 257-272.

Grabner-Krauter, S., & Bitter, S. (2015). Trust in online social networks: A multifaceted perspective. Forum for Social Economics, 44, 48-68.

Hamid, N. P., & Lok, D. P. P. (2000). Loneliness in Chinese adolescents: A comparison of social support and interpersonal trust is 13 to 19 year olds. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 8, 45-63.

Hormuth, S. E. (1990). The ecology of the self: Relocation and self-concept change. European monographs in social psychology.

Hudson, A. M., & Gore, J. S. (2017). A picture is worth a thousand posts: An examination of personality and profile picture content. The Journal of Social Media in Society, 6(1), 170-188.

Hum, N. J., Chamberlin, P. E., Hambright, B. L., Portwood, A. C., Schat, A. C., & Bevan, J. L. (2011). A picture is worth a thousand words: A content analysis of Facebook profile photographs. Computers in Human Behavior, 27, 1828-1833.

Jackson, T., Fritch, A., Nagasaka, T., & Gunderson, J. (2002). Towards explaining the association between shyness and loneliness: A path analysis with American college students. Social Behavior and Personality, 30, 263-270.

Jantzer, A. M., Hoover, J. H., & Narloch, R. (2006). The relationship between school-ages bullying and trust, shyness, and quality of friendships in young adulthood: a preliminary research note. School Psychology International, 27, 146-156.

Li, C., Dang, J., He, S., & Li, H. (2013). Shyness and loneliness: The multiple mediating effects on self-efficacy. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 45, 1251-1260.

Nosko, A., Wood, E., & Molema, S. (2010). All about me: Disclosure in online social networking profile: The case of Facebook. Computers in Human Behavior, 26, 406-418.

Nunnally, J. C. (1978). Psychometric Theory (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Orr, E. S., Sisic, M., Ross, C., Simmering, M. G., Arseneault, J. M., & Orr, R. R. (2009). The influence of shyness on the use of Facebook in an undergraduate sample. Cyberpsychology and Behavior, 12, 337-340.

Poulin, M. J., & Haase, C. M. (2015). Growing to trust: Evidence that trust increases and sustains well-being across the life span. Social Psychological and Personality Sciences, 6, 614-621.

Roche, T. M., Jenkins, D. D., Aguerrevere, L. E., Kietlinski, R. L., & Prichard, E. A. (2015). College students’ perceptions on inappropriate and appropriate Facebook disclosures. Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research, 20, 86-96.

Rose, A. J., & Rudolph, K. D. (2006). A review of sex differences in peer relationship processes: Potential trade-offs for the emotional and behavioral development of girls and boys. Psychological Bulletin, 132, 98-131.

Rotenberg, K. J. (1994). Loneliness and interpersonal trust. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 13, 152-173.

Rotenberg, K. J., MacDonald, K. J., & King, E. V. (2004). The relationship between loneliness and interpersonal trust during middle childhood. The Journal of Genetic Psychology: Research and Theory on Human Development, 165, 233-249.

Rotenberg, K. J., Addis, N., Betts, L. R., Corrigan, A., Fox, C., Hobson, Z., Renninson, S., Trueman, M., & Boulton, M. J. (2010). The relation between trust beliefs and loneliness during early childhood, middle childhood, and adulthood. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36, 1086-1100.

Rotter, J. B. (1967, 1971). Interpersonal Trust Scale. Department of Psychology, University of Connecticut.

Russell, D. W. & Cutrona, C. E. (1988). Development and evolution of the UCLA Loneliness Scale. Unpublished manuscript, Center for Health Services Research, College of Medicine, University of Iowa.

Ryan, T., & Xenos, S. (2011). Who uses Facebook? An investigation into the relationship between the Big Five, shyness, narcissism, loneliness, and Facebook usage. Computers in Human Behavior, 27, 1658-1664.

Sheldon, P. (2012). Profiling the non-users: Examination of life-position indicators, sensation seeking, shyness, and loneliness among users and non-users of social networking sites. Computers in Human Behavior, 28, 1960-1965.

Skues, J. L., Williams, B., & Wise, L. (2012). The effects of personality traits, self esteem, loneliness, and narcissism on Facebook use among university students. Computers in Human Behaviors, 28, 2414-2419.

Tagg, J. (1993). Burden of representation: Essays on photographies and histories. Minneapolis, MN: The University of Minnesota Press.

Valenzuela, S., Park, N., & Kee, K. F. (2009). Is there social capital in a social network site? Facebook use and college students’ life satisfaction, trust, and participation. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 14, 875-901.

Ye, Y., & Lin, L. (2015). Examining relations between locus of control, loneliness, subjective well-being, and preference for online social interaction. Psychological Reports: Mental and Physical Health, 116, 164-175.

Zak, A., Brewer, E., Clark, K., DeAngelis, R., Nielsen, M., & Turek, C. (2000). Once bitten, twice shy: The effects of past partner experiences on current love and trust. North American Journal of Psychology, 2, 71-74.

Zhao, J., Kong, F., Wang, Y. (2013). Shyness and subjective well-being: The rule of emotional intelligence and social support. Social Indicators Research, 114, 891-900.

Downloads

Published

2017-12-19