SELF-CONCEPT CHANGE IN TEXT BASED ENVIRONMENTS: AUDIENCE AND SELECTIVE SELF-PRESENTATION

Abstract

This study attempted to test the impact of audience and medium on selfconcept change as a result of self-presentation. A 2 (public/private) X 2 (introversion/ extroversion assigned trait) X 2 (FTF/CMC) experiment was used to test the relationship between self-presentation and self-concept change in different contexts. The prediction of an enhanced effect of self-presentation on self-concept change in text based mediums as a result of selective self-presentation was not supported. Predictions regarding the impact of online audiences on self-concept change were also not supported. Instead, an unexpected finding, in which extrovert-assigned subjects internalized introversion in private text based conditions, was observed. This finding is discussed in terms of Schlenker?s four-factor theory of self-identification.