Facebook rejection, acceptance the subject of PhD thesis

University of Southern Queensland PhD student Tanya Machin is researching the psychological aspects of Facebook interactions

University of Southern Queensland PhD student Tanya Machin.
University of Southern Queensland PhD student Tanya Machin.

Not getting any likes for your awesome updates on Facebook may lead consumers to feel excluded or rejected, according to research being undertaken at the University of Southern Queensland.

A new research project by PhD student, Tanya Machin, gave participants a list of 39 items to rank on their Facebook usage based on a scale ranging from `never’ to `always.’

She found four factors that motivated Facebook use: Meeting people, relationship maintenance, monitoring relationships and seeking information.

For example, one participant said they would use Facebook to meet people who are more interesting than the people they met face-to-face. Another respondent said they would use the site to get information about university-work courses from other students.

According to Machin, “very few” psychological studies have been conducted on Facebook users.

“In most social situations people are cued to rejection and acceptance so it’s interesting to see what cues people pick up from Facebook such as negative comments or the number of people who like their status updates or photos,” she said.

Machin claimed participants reacted to rejection, both real and perceived, on social media differently.

“There are many things that people can take as rejection, such as seeing friends tag each other in statuses and check-ins that you’re not part of,” she said. “Even people posting about their exciting social lives or fun activities can cause some people to feel excluded.”

Machin is now planning a second Facebook study to extend her research about rejection and acceptance cues. This will examine individuals who felt excluded due to a possible Facebook rejection and compare their reactions with people who feel socially accepted on the site.

Her thesis will be completed by the end of 2015.

Follow CMO on Twitter: @CMOAustralia, take part in the CMO Australia conversation on LinkedIn: CMO Australia, or join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CMOAustralia

Signup to CMO’s new email newsletter to receive your weekly dose of targeted content for the modern marketing chief.

Join the newsletter!

Or

Sign up to gain exclusive access to email subscriptions, event invitations, competitions, giveaways, and much more.

Membership is free, and your security and privacy remain protected. View our privacy policy before signing up.

Error: Please check your email address.
Show Comments

Latest Videos

More Videos

More Brand Posts

What are Chris Riddell's qualifications to talk about technology? What are the awards that Chris Riddell has won? I cannot seem to find ...

Tareq

Digital disruption isn’t disruption anymore: Why it’s time to refocus your business

Read more

Enterprisetalk

Mark

CMO's top 10 martech stories for the week - 9 June

Read more

Great e-commerce article!

Vadim Frost

CMO’s State of CX Leadership 2022 report finds the CX striving to align to business outcomes

Read more

Are you searching something related to Lottery and Lottery App then Agnito Technologies can be a help for you Agnito comes out as a true ...

jackson13

The Lottery Office CEO details journey into next-gen cross-channel campaign orchestration

Read more

Thorough testing and quality assurance are required for a bug-free Lottery Platform. I'm looking forward to dependability.

Ella Hall

The Lottery Office CEO details journey into next-gen cross-channel campaign orchestration

Read more

Blog Posts

Marketing prowess versus the enigma of the metaverse

Flash back to the classic film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Television-obsessed Mike insists on becoming the first person to be ‘sent by Wonkavision’, dematerialising on one end, pixel by pixel, and materialising in another space. His cinematic dreams are realised thanks to rash decisions as he is shrunken down to fit the digital universe, followed by a trip to the taffy puller to return to normal size.

Liz Miller

VP, Constellation Research

Why Excellent Leadership Begins with Vertical Growth

Why is it there is no shortage of leadership development materials, yet outstanding leadership is so rare? Despite having access to so many leadership principles, tools, systems and processes, why is it so hard to develop and improve as a leader?

Michael Bunting

Author, leadership expert

More than money talks in sports sponsorship

As a nation united by sport, brands are beginning to learn money alone won’t talk without aligned values and action. If recent events with major leagues and their players have shown us anything, it’s the next generation of athletes are standing by what they believe in – and they won’t let their values be superseded by money.

Simone Waugh

Managing Director, Publicis Queensland

Sign in