Self-disclosure in Online versus “Face-to-Face” Counseling: A Survey among Clients (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Viktoria Binder ◽  
Markus Schott ◽  
Christiane Eichenberg
Keyword(s):  
Personal Information ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Online Counseling ◽  
Self Disclosure ◽  
Total N ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Counseling Outcome ◽  
Disinhibition Effect ◽  
Self Actualization ◽  
Online Disinhibition

BACKGROUND Research proves the effectiveness of psychological interventions in online settings. There is some evidence that people disclose more personal information online than in real life, however, the results appear inconsistent. OBJECTIVE The primary aim was to find out whether people in online counseling disclosed more than individuals receiving “face-to-face” counseling, whether there were differences between the two settings in regard to counseling outcome and whether people in online counseling disclosed more about the counseling to confidants. METHODS A survey was carried out in various counseling centers offering both online and “face-to-face” services. The Disclosure to Therapist Inventory-VI was used to assess the amount of self-disclosure in both settings. Clients’ attitudes towards revealing counseling aspects to other people in their lives were assessed using the Disclosure About Therapy Inventory. In total N= 80 respondents completed the survey, 31 participants received online counseling (38.8%), 49 people had “face-to-face“ counseling (61.3%). RESULTS Contradicting the hypothesis, the present study disproved the assumption that self-disclosure is higher in online counseling. Whereas both samples showed similar levels of disclosure on different counseling topics, clients in “face-to-face” situations revealed significantly more about two topics: self-actualization vs. adaptation (P= .010, d= 0.6) and self-doubt/shortcomings (P= .003, r= 0.33). Two treatment characteristics, namely counseling duration and motives affected the degree of disclosure. In regard to the counseling outcome participants were moderately satisfied in both groups. People in “face-to-face” counseling reported significantly better treatment outcome in regard to the increased capacity to relate well to others (P= .026, r= 0.25). The assumption that a higher level of self-disclosure is associated with better treatment outcomes was verified only for online counseling (P= .024, ß= .470). Clients in both settings disclosed moderately about aspects of their counseling to confidants with no significant differences between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS The present study could not prove the online disinhibition effect for the counseling setting. As the number of studies conducted on this topic is relatively small the present study calls for further research on larger samples. Thereby, incongruities on self-disclosure can be clarified, possibly leading to the revision of current theories or the development of new ones.

scholarly journals The benign online disinhibition effect: Could situational factors induce self-disclosure and prosocial behaviors?

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Noam Lapidot-Lefler ◽  
Azy Barak
Keyword(s):  
Eye Contact ◽  
Situational Factors ◽  
Prosocial Behaviors ◽  
Situational Factor ◽  
Online Chat ◽  
Self Disclosure ◽  
Disinhibition Effect ◽  
Self Reports ◽  
Joint Solution ◽  
Online Disinhibition

The current study, which focuses on the benign effects of disinhibition, was designed as a continuation of an earlier study conducted on the toxic effects of online disinhibition (Lapidot-Lefler & Barak, 2012). Using a factorial design, the study examined the effects of three online situational factors—anonymity, invisibility, and lack of eye contact—on inducing self-disclosure and prosocial behaviors as expressions of benign online disinhibition. Random pairs of adult strangers (n = 144) discussed a dilemma and were required to reach a joint solution using online chat. Self-disclosure and prosocial behavior effects were measured using participants’ self-reports, expert judges’ ratings of chat transcripts, and textual analyses of the conversations. Results suggested that the interaction between anonymity and invisibility had a significant effect on the revealing of emotions. Lack of eye contact, the interaction between anonymity and invisibility and the interaction between lack of eye contact and invisibility had a significant effect on the inducement of first-person words. The interaction between anonymity, invisibility and lack of eye contact had significant effects on the total self-disclosure score, yet no significant effects were found for prosocial behaviors. A discussion of the findings with regard to previous research on toxic online disinhibition suggests that different factors play a role in the inducement of benign vs. toxic online disinhibition effects. More research is required to substantiate current findings and determine the nature of the contribution of each situational factor.

An Exploratory Study of Client Perceptions of Internet Counseling and the Therapeutic Alliance

2005 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd Leibert ◽  
James Archer Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Therapeutic Alliance ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Clinical Work ◽  
Online Counseling ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Internet Counseling ◽  
Information Research ◽  
Nonverbal Information ◽  
Predominantly Female

Online counseling is a growing area of clinical work with relatively little empirical evidence about the kind of clients that use the medium, advantages and disadvantages of online counseling, and satisfaction with relationships and treatment service. Sociodemographics were collected on 81 self-selected clients using online counseling, and self-reported therapeutic alliance and satisfaction with online counseling were assessed for comparison to past studies of clients using traditional face-to-face counseling. Online clients were predominantly female, were already regular Internet users, and enjoyed the convenience and anonymity of the service. They were satisfied with their relationships and treatment online but not as satisfied as clients who have undergone traditional face-to-face counseling. The main disadvantage, the loss of nonverbal information, was offset by the advantage of anonymity when sharing shameful personal information. Research limitations and clinical implications of the study are discussed.

Multi-Modal Interaction Through Anthropomorphically Designed Communication Medium to Enhance the Self-Disclosures of Personal Information

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-85
Author(s):  
Nobuhiro Jinnai ◽  
Hidenobu Sumioka ◽  
Takashi Minato ◽  
Hiroshi Ishiguro ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Personal Information ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Communication Media ◽  
Communication Medium ◽  
Self Disclosure ◽  
Human Relationships ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Conversation Partner ◽  
The Relationship

Although current communication media facilitate interactions among individuals, researchers have warned that human relationships built through these media tend to lack the level of intimacy acquired through face-to-face communications. In this study, we investigate how the long-term use of humanlike communication media affects the development of intimate relationships between human users. We examine changes in the relationship between individuals while they converse with each other through humanlike communication media or mobile phones for approximately a month. The intimacy of their relationship was evaluated using the amount of self-disclosed personal information. The result shows that a significantly greater amount of self-disclosure is made through a communication medium with humanlike appearance and soft material compared with the use of a typical mobile phone. The amount of self-disclosure showed cyclic variation in the experiment through humanlike communication media. Furthermore, we discuss a possible underlying mechanism of this effect from the misattribution of a feeling caused by intimate distance with the medium to a conversation partner.

Effects of Priming on Online Discussion Behavior

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 335-335
Author(s):  
Hung-Tao Chen ◽  
Benjamin D. Horne
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Online Discussion ◽  
Online Learning Environment ◽  
Contextual Cues ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Disinhibition Effect ◽  
Red Color ◽  
Online Disinhibition ◽  
Negative Sentiment

Online disinhibition effect describes the phenomenon where people feel less restrained in an online environment. People are therefore more likely to express thoughts and opinions that they normally would not share in a face-to-face interaction (Suler, 2004). Online disinhibition effect could either be benign or toxic. Students and instructors in an online learning environment often experience toxic disinhibition in several forms, including arguments about grades, emotional outbursts, potential death threat to the instructor, personal attacks, swearing, and heated arguments using upper-case letters (Rose, 2014). Suler (2004) proposed six factors that contribute to the online disinhibition effect. These six factors include dissociative anonymity, invisibility, asynchronicity, solipsistic introjection, dissociative imagination, and minimization of authority. Not all six factors proposed by Suler (2004) have received equal empirical evidence. Also, not all factors are relevant to online learning environments. This study therefore focused on the factor of invisibility and the lack of contextual cues as a result of invisibility. One of the ways to provide contextual cues in a situation that lacks face-to-face interaction is through the usage of color signaling. Color signaling refers to the usage of colored text to convey information (Elliot, 2015; Lemarié, Lorch, Eyrolle & Virbel, 2008). This study looked at the effects of red color signaling, because the color red has been associated with dominance and aggression (Elliot, Maier, Moller, Friedman & Meinhardt, 2007). It is also often associated with some type of warning sign, such as a stop light or a stop sign (Elliot, 2015). The implicit warning and danger conveyed by the color red has been shown to result in inhibited performance, such that participants who were exposed to the color red had lower performance on the subsequent achievement task (Elliot, Maier, Reidman & Meinhardt, 2007; Gnambs, Appel & Batinic, 2010). Similar effects have also been demonstrated in online gaming situations, where red priming messages lowered the amount of negative language usage (Maher, 2016). It is therefore likely that red priming message could also lower any potential toxic disinhibition in an online learning environment. The current study included two experiments that tested the effects of red priming message and black priming message on 1) participants’ expressed sentiment in their open- ended discussion posts, 2) participants’ self-rating of verbal aggressiveness, and 3) the total number of words generated in the open-ended responses. Past studies have shown that red color could inhibit task performance and reduce offensive language, but it is not clear how a red color priming message might affect discussion posts in a simulated online classroom. Similarly, black color has been shown not to inhibit behavior, but it is not clear how a priming message such as “exercise courtesy and professionalism” might affect participants’ behavior in an online discussion post. Results from the study indicated that red priming message caused participants to rate themselves as less verbally aggressive. This was likely due to increased attention to the priming message and the implicit warning conveyed by the color red. There was evidence that red priming message lowered the amount of negative sentiment expressed in the discussion posts. The results approached statistical significance, but it was not significant probably due to the low levels of negative sentiment expressed. Black priming message was found to be ineffective in lowering verbal aggression rating or negative sentiment expression. The findings from the current study have practical implications in the design of online courses. Instructors could use red priming messages as a strategy to promote a less verbally aggressive and negative online discussion environment.

scholarly journals Online and Offline Behavior: Does one Predict Another?

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 98-108
Author(s):  
I.B. Bovina ◽  
N.V. Dvoryanchikov
Keyword(s):  
Emotional State ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Social Cues ◽  
The Other ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Disinhibition Effect ◽  
Online Disinhibition ◽  
Sharp Criticism ◽  
The Relationship

The aim of the paper is to analyze the relationship between online and offline behavior by using the online disinhibition effect as an example. A person behaves differently online in comparison with the same situations offline. The two forms of disinhibition are discussed: 1) benign or positive disinhibition, when a person shares very personal information, reveals his secrets, fears, does not hide his emotional state, his experiences, he tries to help the other, showing extreme generosity and care 2) toxic or negative disinhibition — when a person shows rudeness towards the other, expresses sharp criticism or even threats, visits the sites, the content of which is very difficult to understand. Appealing to constructs such as deindividuation, reduced social cues, self-awareness — sheds light on the online disinhibition effect and allows us to talk about how behavior on the network relates towards offline behavior.

scholarly journals How People Disclose Themselves Differently According To The Strength Of Relationship In SNS?

2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 2139
Author(s):  
Bitna Kim ◽  
Kyung-Shik Shin ◽  
Sangmi Chai
Keyword(s):  
Social Relationship ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Communication Process ◽  
Self Disclosure ◽  
Social Networking Services ◽  
Five Dimensions ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Virtual Spaces ◽  
Organizational Information ◽  
Depth Control

Self-disclosure is defined as “act of revealing personal information to others” (Archer, 1980, p.183). It plays a key role in development and maintenance of relationships.Since many companies adopt social networking services for their organizational information sharing platform, it is important to identify the process of creating and maintaining social relationship in virtual spaces for successful adoption of SNS. In this research, we identify a self-disclosure as a driving factor for initiating and maintaining online social relationships.This research assumes that the self-disclose strategy adopted by participants in a communication process would be very similar between a face to face communication and a communication through SNS. In addition, this study explores that how the strength of social relationship does affects participants’ self-discloser strategy in SNS.Self-disclosure on SNS is multidimensional and it consists of five dimensions; intent to disclose, amount, the positive-negative nature, the honesty-accuracy, and general depth-control of disclosure. Our research indicates that strength of relationship affect negatively the amount of disclosure on SNS. SNS users, in other words, less reveal themselves in terms of both frequency and duration to other user in strong tie than in weak tie. We found that strength of social ties significantly influenced dimensions of self-disclosure except for the positive-negative nature of disclosure.

ПСИХОЛОГІЧНА ДЕТЕРМІНАЦІЯ ДОМІНУЮЧОГО ІНСТИНКТУ У КОНСТРУКТИВНІЙ САМОРЕАЛІЗАЦІЇ ЖІНОК

1970 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 184-193
Author(s):  
Ольга Віговська
Keyword(s):  
Human Life ◽  
Healthy Children ◽  
Self Disclosure ◽  
Self Identity ◽  
Social Nature ◽  
Self Actualization ◽  
Rational Organization ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Age Range

У статті теоретично обґрунтовано феномен конструктивного самозбереження особистості як ознаки самоактуалізації, розкриття власного потенціалу і побудови перспективи розвитку особистості та емпірично виявлено ознаки психологічної детермінації домінуючого інстинкту у конструктивній самореалізації жінок з різним соціальним статусом. Зазначено, що проблема самозбереження асоціюється з особливостями прояву інстинкту самозбереження людини, але потреби вищого порядку зумовлюють соціальну природу її поведінки, яка локалізована у найвищій точці самореалізації. Теоретично обгрунтовано, що самореалізація визначає тенденцію раціональної організації життя людини та проявляється у її почутті задоволеністю життям. З’ясовано, що психологічну основу конструктивного самозбереження становлять індивідуально-типологічні характеристики людини, які відображають психофізіологічні та психосоціальні резерви самореалізації особистості. Розроблена програма емпіричного дослідження, а також комплекс використаних методів математичної обробки результатів дослідження дає змогу конкретизувати психологічний зміст детермінації домінуючого інстинкту у конструктивній самореалізації жінок вікового діапазону 35-45 років та з різним соціальним статусом. У жінок, які виховують проблемну (хвору) дитину, домінує інстинкт "егофільного типу", що виражається у їх надмірному егоцентризмі і супроводжується низькими показниками самоактуалізації, на відміну від досліджуваних жінок, які виховують здорових дітей і у яких на фоні вираженої тенденції до самоактуалізації домінує базовий інстинкт "дослідницького типу" та "лібертофільного типу". This article theoretically proves constructive phenomenon of self identity as signs of self-disclosure own potential and prospects of development of individual construction. In addition, it empirically showes signs of psychological determination of the dominant instinct in a constructive self-determination of women with different social statuses. It was noted that the issue of self-preservation is associated with the peculiarities of manifestation of self-preservation instinct of man, but it needs higher-order cause social nature of the behavior that is localized at the highest point of self-realization. It theorized that self-realization determines the trend of rational organization of human life and manifests itself in its sense of life satisfaction. It was found that the psychological basis of constructive self-preservation of the individual make individually-typological characteristics of a person that reflect physiological and psychosocial reserves of self-realization. The developed program of empirical research, as well as the methods used complex mathematical processing of results of research allows to specify the content of the psychological determination of the dominant instinct of constructive self-realization а women age range of 35-45 years and with different social status. Women who bring up the problem child dominates the instinct of self-preservation, which is reflected in their excessive self-centeredness, and is accompanied by low levels of self-actualization, as opposed to the study of women who are raising healthy children and that against the backdrop of a pronounced tendency to self-actualization, dominated by basic instinct "research type" and "independent type."

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