Thesis Defence: In-person vs. text-based support: Relationships between social anxiety, communication attitudes, and support effectiveness

Sage Lynn Wiebe, supervised by Dr. Susan Holtzman, will defend their thesis titled “In-person vs. text-based support: Relationships between social anxiety, communication attitudes, and support effectiveness” in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology.

An abstract for Sage Lynn Wiebe’s thesis is included below.

Defences are open to all members of the campus community as well as the general public. Registration is not required for in person defences.

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ABSTRACT

Social support can have wide-ranging positive effects on emotional well-being, particularly during times of stress. Digitally mediated communication has become a common means of connecting with supportive others, raising questions of whether digital support, such as texting, can match the effectiveness of in-person support. Conflicting theories and empirical results to date may be due to individual differences impacting one’s experience of digitally mediated communication and support. The current research investigated the role of social anxiety symptoms in users’ reported overarching attitudes, preferences, and tendencies surrounding digitally mediated support in daily life, and how this may relate to the effectiveness of in-person versus text-based support in two lab-based experiments. In Experiment 1, participants underwent a psychological stress task followed by receiving support either in person or via texting from a research confederate. Experiment 2 followed a similar procedure but with support from a close friend. Participants’ levels of positive (“happy,” “calm”) and negative (“anxious”) affect, along with satisfaction with support, were measured. Higher symptoms of social anxiety were associated with a greater preference for and utilization of asynchronous digital communication (such as texting) for support in daily life. However, findings from Experiment 1 indicated that those with higher social anxiety symptoms have significantly higher anxiety following text-based support, compared to in-person support. Otherwise, the effectiveness of in-person versus text-based support did not vary based on social anxiety symptoms. Thus, while digital communication may be preferred by more socially anxious individuals, this doesn’t seem to translate to better outcomes for mood and satisfaction with support. This research has important implications, suggesting the need for a more nuanced understanding of effective support for those with higher social anxiety levels in relational and therapeutic contexts.