Download Effects of Communication Channels on Self Esteem

Communicating a Breakup
Running head: COMMUNICATING A BREAKUP
Communicating a Breakup: Effects of Communication Channels on Self Esteem
Nichole Nadalin
Lucy Miller
Western Washington University
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Communicating a Breakup
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Communicating a Breakup: Effects of Communication Channels on Self Esteem
Self Esteem
Rosenberg (1995) looks at Self-Esteem as having two branches to it, Global Self-Esteem
and Specific Self-Esteem. Rosenberg found that global self-esteem was associated more strongly
with psychological well-being
Rejectee Reactions
Research has showing that although a close relationship can be a primary source of
happiness for most people, the conclusion of a close relationship can be one of life’s most
upsetting events. Tashiro and Frazier (2003) reported that after the initial emotions subsided
participants reported an average of about five positive changes they have made to possibly
improve future relationships. Tashiro and Friazier (2003) also reported that participants who
attributed the breakup to the other person or environmental factors reported more distress.
Sabarra found in his 2003 study that participants who were more secure about themselves were
less likely to report high levels of non-acceptance and continued longing. He also found that less
secure individuals were more likely to experience high levels of non-acceptance and disbelief
that the relationship had ended.
Past research has shown that the reactions to a breakup can differ between the genders.
Perilloux and Buss (2008) found that women who were broken up with said that they felt sad,
confused, and scared while men reported less of these feelings when they were broken up with.
Perilloux and Buss also found that women reported a higher cost associated with the loss of
protection than men
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Mode of Communication
Face-to-Face communication is known as communicating in person, where each
communicator can see and hear the person they are speaking with. It is the form of
communication that has been around the longest. Kupritz, Cowell, and Bartley (2007) found that
participants preferred to receive personal, sensitive, or confidential information in a face to face
situation.
Text messaging is known as sending textual messages between mobile phones. Lin and
Tong (2007) reported that text messaging encourages social networks. In their study Lin and
Tong discovered that text messaging was useful to participants, college aged girls in Hong Kong,
in making friends. Lin and Tong further concluded that text messaging helps people
communicate in a more unhibited fashion and it helps to cross different communication styles,
for example crossing traditional gender role boundaries. Reid and Reid (2007) found that text
messaging was rated by lonely participants to be less intimate and should be used only as a last
resort. They also found that anxious participants reported using less voice calls preferring to text
message and were even able to achieve intimate contact.
Gender Reaction to Communication
According to Schmitt et al. (2003) women participants reported more severe reactions
after a breakup including emotional reactions, costs experienced, and coping strategies used.
*I had a really hard time with this section*
METHOD
Participants
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This study will have 120 (60 male and 60 female) undergraduate Psychology students
from a university in the Pacific Northwest. Participants will be between the ages of 18 and 30.
Participants will receive a consent form at the beginning and a debriefing sheet at the end of the
experiment. Each participant will receive a half credit in their 100 or 200 level Psychology
course for participating in the experiment.
Procedure
Twenty Participants will meet in a classroom with individual desks. Upon arrival the
experimenter will give them two copies of an informed consent form (see appendix D) and will
be asked to sign and return one copy and keep the second. They will then be asked to read a
scenario of a romantic relationship break-up. Participants will be randomly assigned to one
communication channel condition by the order in which they enter the room. The scenarios will
be organized in blocks so each condition is represented within three forms. Next they will
complete a survey about the break-up, answering questions as if it were them who was getting
rejected. Participants will be given a debriefing form as they leave the experiment (see appendix
E).
Materials
Scenarios. This study will have three different possible scenarios including a break-up
using face-to-face communication, text messaging or the phone (Appendix A). Every scenario
will describe the romantic relationship as being successful and will give the reason of growing
apart for the purpose of the breakup. The only difference will be the line that explains the form
of communication used to break up.
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Survey. The survey will have 20 items that will ask participants questions regarding their
perception of self worth after the break-up. Refer to Appendix B. Each category including their
perception of their past accomplishments, abilities in the future, appearance, and their
independence will have five questions. The survey will have a likert scale of five levels ranging
from strongly agree to strongly disagree, which will be scored 1-5. Questions 6,11,12, and 14
will be reverse coded. The higher the score, the higher self worth the participant perceives
themselves to have.
ANTICIPATED RESULTS
A 3(communication channel: face-to-face, text message, phone) x 2 (gender: male vs.
female) between subjects ANOVA will be conducted. As shown in figure 1 the researcher
expects males to have lower scores compared to females in each of the four categories, past
accomplishments, abilities in the future, appearance, and independence. In addition the
5
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
Male
2
Female
1.5
1
0.5
0
Past acomplishments
Future Abilities
Appearance
Independence
researcher expects participants to score highest in each of the four categories when the channel
of communication is face-to-face and it is expected that scores will be lowest when text
messaging is the channel of communication used.
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Communicating a Breakup
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Appendix A
Scenarios
Face to Face
Please imagine that you have been in a fairly successful romantic relationship for the past
year. Throughout the past year, you and your partner have only experienced minor arguments
and have been overall very happy with each other and your relationship. Now imagine that your
romantic partner has just broken up with you. This morning they came over to your house and
told you “I am really sorry, but I just feel that we have grown apart too much and it is just time to
move on, we need to break up.” They further told you that they have felt this way for almost a
month and have decided that it is just the best thing for the both of you.
Text Messaging
Please imagine that you have been in a fairly successful romantic relationship for the past
year. Throughout the past year, you and your partner have only experienced minor arguments
and have been overall very happy with each other and your relationship. Now imagine that your
romantic partner has just broken up with you. This morning they text you and wrote “I am really
sorry, but I just feel that we have grown apart too much and it is just time to move on, we need to
break up.” They sent another text saying that they have felt this way for almost a month and have
decided that it is just the best thing for the both of you.
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APENDIX B
Survey
Please imagine how you would feel if you went through the breakup that was just described.
Answer the questions by circling the statement that best suits the way you feel.
Gender:
Age:
1. My mood would be positive.
a. Strongly Agree
b. Somewhat Agree
c. Neutral
d. Somewhat Disagree
e. Strongly Disagree
2. Thinking about my current status as single I feel confident that I will have something fun
to do this Friday night.
a. Strongly Agree
b. Somewhat Agree
c. Neutral
d. Somewhat Disagree
e. Strongly Disagree
3. I feel proud of my academic accomplishments
a. Strongly Agree
b. Somewhat Agree
c. Neutral
d. Somewhat Disagree
e. Strongly Disagree
4. I am satisfied with my personal appearance.
a. Strongly Agree
b. Somewhat Agree
c. Neutral
d. Somewhat Disagree
e. Strongly Disagree
5. I feel positive that I will be able to have another relationship in the future.
Communicating a Breakup
a. Strongly Agree
b. Somewhat Agree
c. Neutral
d. Somewhat Disagree
e. Strongly Disagree
6. I do not feel confident that I will be able to succeed academically in the future.
a. Strongly Agree
b. Somewhat Agree
c. Neutral
d. Somewhat Disagree
e. Strongly Disagree
7. I feel confident that I will be successful in my future jobs.
a. Strongly Agree
b. Somewhat Agree
c. Neutral
d. Somewhat Disagree
e. Strongly Disagree
8. I have a positive self-image.
a. Strongly Agree
b. Somewhat Agree
c. Neutral
d. Somewhat Disagree
e. Strongly Disagree
9. I have succeeded in academics in the past.
a. Strongly Agree
b. Somewhat Agree
c. Neutral
d. Somewhat Disagree
e. Strongly Disagree
10. I am satisfied with my past relationships.
a. Strongly Agree
b. Somewhat Agree
c. Neutral
d. Somewhat Disagree
e. Strongly Disagree
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Communicating a Breakup
11. I am not satisfied with my social relationships in the past.
a. Strongly Agree
b. Somewhat Agree
c. Neutral
d. Somewhat Disagree
e. Strongly Disagree
12. I do not feel comfortable being independent after this break-up.
a. Strongly Agree
b. Somewhat Agree
c. Neutral
d. Somewhat Disagree
e. Strongly Disagree
13. I still feel comfortable with myself.
a. Strongly Agree
b. Somewhat Agree
c. Neutral
d. Somewhat Disagree
e. Strongly Disagree
14. I wish I did not feel so alone.
a. Strongly Agree
b. Somewhat Agree
c. Neutral
d. Somewhat Disagree
e. Strongly Disagree
15. I am comfortable being single.
a. Strongly Agree
b. Somewhat Agree
c. Neutral
d. Somewhat Disagree
e. Strongly Disagree
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APPENDIX C
CONSENT FORM:
Communicating a Breakup: Effects on Perceived Self Worth
(Experimenter Copy)
Purpose and Benefits:
People form impressions of other people quickly and easily, often with very little information. The
purpose of this study is to examine the outcomes of a breakup. The direct benefits to you if you
participate in this research may be that you will learn about how psychology experiments are run and
may learn more about yourself and your personal beliefs. In addition, others may benefit by learning
about the results of this research.
I UNDERSTAND THAT:
1) This experiment will involve completion of a questionnaire. Before answering the questionnaire
I will read a scenario of a break-up. My participation will take approximately 30 minutes, and I
will receive .5 research credits for my participation.
2) Although some people may find thinking about break-ups upsetting, there are no anticipated
risks or discomfort associated with participation. My participation is voluntary, I may choose not
to answer certain questions or withdraw my participation at any time without penalty.
3) All information is confidential. My signed consent form will be kept in a locked file cabinet
separate from the questionnaires. There will be no established link between my on these
questionnaires and any identifying person information (e.g., my name).
4) My signature on this form does not waive my legal rights of protection.
5) This experiment is conducted by Nichole Nadalin and Lucy Miller as part of PSY 303 under the
supervision of Dr. Alex Czopp in the Department of Psychology. Any questions that you have
about the experiment or your participation may be directed to me at
[email protected] or [email protected]
If you have any questions about your participation or your rights as a research participant, you can
contact Geri Walker, WWU Human Protections Administrator (HPA), (360) 650-3220,
[email protected].
If during or after participation in this study you suffer from any adverse effects as a result of
participation, please notify the researcher or the WWU Human Protections Administrator.
******************************************************************
I have read the above description and agree to participate in this study.
_______________________________________
Participant's Signature
_______________________________________
Participant's PRINTED NAME
_______________
Date
Communicating a Breakup
NOTE: Please sign both copies of the form and retain the copy marked “Participant.”
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Communicating a Breakup
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CONSENT FORM:
Communicating a Breakup: Effects on Perceived Self Worth
(Participant Copy)
Purpose and Benefits:
People form impressions of other people quickly and easily, often with very little information. The
purpose of this study is to examine how different communication channels used to initiate a break up
and the difference between the way men and women perceive communication. The direct benefits to
you if you participate in this research may be that you will learn about how psychology experiments are
run and may learn more about yourself and your personal beliefs. In addition, others may benefit by
learning about the results of this research.
I UNDERSTAND THAT:
1) This experiment will involve completion of a questionnaire. Before answering the questionnaire
I will read a scenario of a break-up. My participation will take approximately 30 minutes, and I
will receive .5 research credits for my participation.
2) Although some people may find thinking about break-ups upsetting, there are no anticipated
risks or discomfort associated with participation. My participation is voluntary, I may choose not
to answer certain questions or withdraw my participation at any time without penalty.
3) All information is confidential. My signed consent form will be kept in a locked file cabinet
separate from the questionnaires. There will be no established link between my on these
questionnaires and any identifying person information (e.g., my name).
4) My signature on this form does not waive my legal rights of protection.
5) This experiment is conducted by Nichole Nadalin and Lucy Miller as part of PSY 303 under the
supervision of Dr. Alex Czopp in the Department of Psychology. Any questions that you have
about the experiment or your participation may be directed to me at
[email protected] or [email protected]
If you have any questions about your participation or your rights as a research participant, you can
contact Geri Walker, WWU Human Protections Administrator (HPA), (360) 650-3220,
[email protected].
If during or after participation in this study you suffer from any adverse effects as a result of
participation, please notify the researcher or the WWU Human Protections Administrator.
******************************************************************
I have read the above description and agree to participate in this study.
_______________________________________
Participant's Signature
_______________
Date
_______________________________________
Participant's PRINTED NAME
NOTE: Please sign both copies of the form and retain the copy marked “Participant.”
Communicating a Breakup
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APPENDIX
Debriefing Form
This experiment was designed for a Psychology 303 class to analyze the effects of
communication channels on self worth after a romantic relationship break-up. It was
hypothesized that using a more involved channel of communication such as face-to-face would
help to keep the rejectee’s feelings of self worth high. Using the telephone was hypothesized to
have a stronger negative impact on the feelings of self worth, and using text messaging to convey
the break up was predicted to have the most negative impact on the feelings of self worth.
Thank you for your participation. If you have further questions or would like a copy of
the results please contact the following:
Nichole Nadalin: [email protected]
Lucy Miller: [email protected]
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References
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following romantic relationship breakups. Personal Relationships, 10(1), 113-128.
doi:10.1111/1475-6811.00039
Sbarra, D. A. (2006). Predicting the onset of emotional recovery following nonmarital
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Communicating a Breakup
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