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...e Walther, 2002). Thus, the nature of some messages on Facebook is such that they might not have been posted had the writers expected a wide and diverse audience to access them. As we will show, garnering impressions from online information is nothing new, although the kinds of information social networking technologies present and the manner in which impressions form may be. Impression formation and online venues People spend considerable effort in order to form and to manage impressions, especially when anticipating or engaging in the initial stage of interactions (Berger & Calabrese, 1975; Goffman, 1959). Being able to self-present in a positive manner has been tied to social (and even physical) survival (Hogan, Jones, & Cheek, 1985). Nearly two decades of research has focused on the impressions people garner among those who they initially encounter via interactive CMC, that is, CMC in which participants’ discourse—synchronous or asynchronous—is the basis for impressions. The central issue in that research tradition is that the nonverbal features that typically stimulate impressions offline are unavailable through text-based e-mail, group discussions, or real-time chat. Whereas early research...

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...tes and their creators (see Marcus, Machilek, & Schutz, 2006), much of the literature relies on speculation or anecdotal evidence. Miller (1995), for instance, suggests that users intentionally present themselves on the Web through self-description, photographs, links to other Web pages, and by the style and format (text, font, color, and background choices), structure, and vocabulary of their Web pages. More systematic evidence has identified several elements that raise or lower Web sites’ credibility, including being recommended by others and being linked to from another credible Web site (Fogg, 2003; Fogg et al., 2001). People use various features to assess personalities of the Web site creators (Vazire & Gosling, 2004). They rely both on things that site creators deliberately display and on things that creators unintentionally display to assess the character of the creator of the original site. These elements are important in understanding how observers appraise Facebook profiles: how they take in the intentionally built profile material as well as the unintentional, that is, the material left on one’s profile site by friends in one’s electronic and/or physical social network. These ben...

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...iated by the profile owner but that nevertheless connect to that individual’s profile, that make social networking technologies such as Facebook unique. This investigation focuses on the impression-connoting potential of these postings. Do people garner interpersonal impressions from Facebook materials? It appears they do both for acquainted and for unacquainted targets. People already know many of the individuals they view on Facebook. More than 90% of Facebook users employ Facebook to stay in touch with or stay abreast of the activities of longtime acquaintances such as high school friends (Ellison, Steinfield, & Lampe, 2007). According to Tufekci and Spence (2007), more than half of the Facebook users reported having found out something very important about friends from their profiles. With respect to previously unacquainted individuals, some system creators promote their sites as a means for ‘‘making new friends’’ (Donath & boyd, 2004, Facebook Friends and Individual Evaluations J. B. Walther et al. 30 Human Communication Research 34 (2008) 28–49 ª 2008 International Communication Association p. 71). In such cases, Facebook may provide the primary basis for impressions. According to Ellison et al. (2007), appro...

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... or asynchronous—is the basis for impressions. The central issue in that research tradition is that the nonverbal features that typically stimulate impressions offline are unavailable through text-based e-mail, group discussions, or real-time chat. Whereas early research suggested that J. B. Walther et al. Facebook Friends and Individual Evaluations Human Communication Research 34 (2008) 28–49 ª 2008 International Communication Association 31 interpersonal impressions were occluded by CMC, alternative positions established contrary findings. For instance, social information processing theory (Walther, 1992) posits that CMC users readily translate the production and detection of affective messages from nonverbal behavior to verbal equivalents, although doing so may require more time and message exchanges in order to achieve normal levels of impressions (see, for review, Walther, 2006). The impressions garnered via CMC, however, may or may not be just like those that occur from face-to-face encounters. In online interaction, there are fewer cues to observe and those that remain are under greater control of the persons to whom those cues pertain. Jacobson (1999) found that the initial impressions t...

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... Web sites as a ‘‘highly controlled context’’ where self-expression consists almost exclusively of identity claims, they also note that ‘‘no real-world environment can be completely free of behavioral residue’’ (p. 124). Inadvertent elements such as broken links, spelling and grammar errors, and other ‘‘unintentional cues’’ exist and impact the judgments people make. Using a random selection of personal Web pages from the Yahoo! directory, observers rated each personal Web page on the personalities of the Web page authors along the dimensions of the five-factor model (FFM) of personality (see McCrae & Costa, 1999). The authors of those Web pages also completed self-report FFM instruments, and there were high levels of interrater and rater–author consensus on all the factors of the FFM. Facebook Friends and Individual Evaluations J. B. Walther et al. 34 Human Communication Research 34 (2008) 28–49 ª 2008 International Communication Association These applications of the lens model to home pages, including both ‘‘otherdirected identity claims’’ and ‘‘interior behavioral residue,’’ in that the information presented is deliberately or incidentally associated with the sender and interpreted by observers as s...

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...nds’ photographs on a target profile raises targets’ physical attractiveness perceptions whereas physically unattractive friends reduce targets’ physical attractiveness. In addition to the potential assimilation of perceived physical attractiveness from the presence of others’ photos, there may be second-order effects on social evaluations that are also inferred from the apparent attractiveness of one’s Facebook friends. There is a long-standing association between physical attractiveness and positive personality impressions, leading researchers to conclude that ‘‘what is beautiful is good’’ (Dion, Berscheid, & Walster, 1972). Whether or not the attribution of goodness transfers from one’s friends to one’s self is unknown but could be a potent effect of Facebook representations. This, too, is likely to exhibit an assimilation effect, as with the transfer of physical attractiveness perceptions predicted in H1. That is, a profile holder may seem ‘‘better’’ as a result of appearing to have physically attractive friends (assimilation). However, as in the case of physical attractiveness perceptions, it is also possible that a profile owner may be perceived as ‘‘worse’’ in comparison to one’s presumably desirable, phys...

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...l left on one’s profile site by friends in one’s electronic and/or physical social network. These benchmarks, however, do not enhance our theoretical understanding of the matter. By examining some theories related to person perception via the artifacts that surround them, we gain more focused insights not only into perceptions of individuals in general but also how those perceptions are affected by context effects, that is, by concurrent information about an individual’s associates and how, by assimilation, one’s associates affect one’s image. The Brunswikian lens model Brunswik’s lens model (Brunswik, 1956; Gigerenzer & Kurz, 2001) describes one process by which individuals make inferences about the characteristics of others. According to this approach, individuals produce behaviors and generate artifacts that reflect their personalities. These personality ‘‘by-products’’ are available for observers to judge. In other words, the model supposes that environmental cues function as a lens through which observers make inferences about the underlying characteristics of a target. The lens model discusses the utility of various cues in J. B. Walther et al. Facebook Friends and Individual Evaluations H...

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... by new communication technologies. As computer-mediated communication (CMC) has diffused, successive technological variations raise new questions about interpersonal impressions. For example, with people meeting via text-based CMC—e-mail, discussion groups, or chat spaces of various kinds—a variety of questions arose about impression formation and management. These included whether and at what rate impressions are formed online (Walther, 1993), how online impressions may be like or unlike offline impressions (Jacobson, 1999), and how people judge the authenticity of self-presentation online (Donath, 1999). With further developments of Internet-hosted technologies, however, people can garner Corresponding author: Joseph B. Walther; e-mail: jwalther@msu.edu Human Communication Research ISSN 0360-3989 28 Human Communication Research 34 (2008) 28–49 ª 2008 International Communication Association information about one another in other ways than direct online give-and-take. As Ramirez, Walther, Burgoon, and Sunnafrank (2002) noted, information seekers can mine static repositories of individuals’ prior interactions or deliberate profiles in archives of group discussions or in personal and institution...

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...se expectations may be; see Walther, 2002). Thus, the nature of some messages on Facebook is such that they might not have been posted had the writers expected a wide and diverse audience to access them. As we will show, garnering impressions from online information is nothing new, although the kinds of information social networking technologies present and the manner in which impressions form may be. Impression formation and online venues People spend considerable effort in order to form and to manage impressions, especially when anticipating or engaging in the initial stage of interactions (Berger & Calabrese, 1975; Goffman, 1959). Being able to self-present in a positive manner has been tied to social (and even physical) survival (Hogan, Jones, & Cheek, 1985). Nearly two decades of research has focused on the impressions people garner among those who they initially encounter via interactive CMC, that is, CMC in which participants’ discourse—synchronous or asynchronous—is the basis for impressions. The central issue in that research tradition is that the nonverbal features that typically stimulate impressions offline are unavailable through text-based e-mail, group discussions, or real-time chat. Wherea...

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...istics on Facebook profiles. An original experiment involved mock-up Facebook profiles that alternately featured attractive or unattractive elements surrounding invariant central profile material. These variations affected observers’ impressions of credibility and attractiveness, all without the target of these judgments having changed. Facebook Facebook is a social networking Web site initially built for college communities. It is organized around social networks corresponding to schools and, recently, other institutions and locales. Like other online social networking sites (see for review, Donath & boyd, 2004; Stutzman, 2006), Facebook provides a formatted Web page J. B. Walther et al. Facebook Friends and Individual Evaluations Human Communication Research 34 (2008) 28–49 ª 2008 International Communication Association 29 profile into which each user can enter a considerable amount of personal information in response to stock questions about his- or herself. On Facebook, this may include birthdate, e-mail address, physical address, hometown, academic demographics (year, major), hobbies, sexual orientation, relationship status, course schedule, favorite movies, music, books, quotations, online club...

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...they did respond, than in comparable face-to-face discussions. Because online impressions are controllable, they are often suspect. Online users can organize the information flow and enhance self-image by strategically selecting how and what to convey to the receiver (Herring & Martinson, 2004; Walther, 2007; Walther, Slovacek, & Tidwell, 2001). Inflating or even manipulating others’ perceptions of oneself has come to be expected, and no small portion of online users’ disclosures involves a modicum of exaggeration, even with good chances of meeting offline observers of their online portraits (Ellison, Heino, & Gibbs, 2006). One way in which Facebook differs from other online sites for self-presentation has to do precisely with the degree to which some personal information is presented by means other than disclosure by the person to whom it refers. In many other communication settings, as Petronio (2002) notes, people make active decisions about when and how they will self-disclose. These decisions involve a complex process in which people set rules about how and when they will divulge private information, negotiate those rules with other people, and make decisions on disclosure based on violations of those rul...

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...r creators (see Marcus, Machilek, & Schutz, 2006), much of the literature relies on speculation or anecdotal evidence. Miller (1995), for instance, suggests that users intentionally present themselves on the Web through self-description, photographs, links to other Web pages, and by the style and format (text, font, color, and background choices), structure, and vocabulary of their Web pages. More systematic evidence has identified several elements that raise or lower Web sites’ credibility, including being recommended by others and being linked to from another credible Web site (Fogg, 2003; Fogg et al., 2001). People use various features to assess personalities of the Web site creators (Vazire & Gosling, 2004). They rely both on things that site creators deliberately display and on things that creators unintentionally display to assess the character of the creator of the original site. These elements are important in understanding how observers appraise Facebook profiles: how they take in the intentionally built profile material as well as the unintentional, that is, the material left on one’s profile site by friends in one’s electronic and/or physical social network. These benchmarks, however, do...

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...er, 2007; Walther, Slovacek, & Tidwell, 2001). Inflating or even manipulating others’ perceptions of oneself has come to be expected, and no small portion of online users’ disclosures involves a modicum of exaggeration, even with good chances of meeting offline observers of their online portraits (Ellison, Heino, & Gibbs, 2006). One way in which Facebook differs from other online sites for self-presentation has to do precisely with the degree to which some personal information is presented by means other than disclosure by the person to whom it refers. In many other communication settings, as Petronio (2002) notes, people make active decisions about when and how they will self-disclose. These decisions involve a complex process in which people set rules about how and when they will divulge private information, negotiate those rules with other people, and make decisions on disclosure based on violations of those rules. However, social networking sites to some extent obviate an individual’s rules, negotiations, and disclosure decisions by placing discretion at the mercy of their social networks: ‘‘While (individuals) may have control over the content they disclose on their university-housed webpage...

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...rules about how and when they will divulge private information, negotiate those rules with other people, and make decisions on disclosure based on violations of those rules. However, social networking sites to some extent obviate an individual’s rules, negotiations, and disclosure decisions by placing discretion at the mercy of their social networks: ‘‘While (individuals) may have control over the content they disclose on their university-housed webpages, friends . can post discrediting or defamatory messages on users’ Facebook websites,’’ according to Mazer, Murphy, and Simonds (2007, p. 3). Walther and Parks (2002) considered the interplay of online self-generated claims and other-generated clues in their formulation of the ‘‘warranting’’ value of information, or the perceived validity of information presented online with respect to illuminating someone’s offline characteristics. The warranting value of information is hypothesized to be a function of the degree to which that information is perceived to be immune to manipulation from the target to whom the information pertains. Several forms of high-warrant information have been nominated that meet Facebook Friends and Individual Evaluations J. B. Walthe...

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... in their study of personality judgments based on personal offices and bedrooms. They proposed four mechanisms that linked individuals to the environments that they inhabit: self-directed identity claims, other-directed identity claims, interior behavioral residue, and exterior behavioral residue. Self-directed identity claims are ‘‘symbolic statements made by occupants for their own benefit, intended to reinforce their self-views’’ (p. 380). Other-directed identity claims are ‘‘symbols that have shared meanings to make statements to others about how they would like to be regarded’’ (p. 380). Gosling et al. (2002) conceptualize interior behavioral residue as ‘‘physical traces of activities conducted in the [immediate] environment’’ (p. 381). Gosling et al. note that though interior behavioral residue generally refers to past behaviors, they may reflect anticipated future behaviors that may occur in the immediate environment. Exterior behavioral residue is conceptualized as a ‘‘residue of behaviors performed by the individual entirely outside of those immediate surroundings’’ (p. 381). Using these elements, research has extended Gosling et al.’s (2002) use of Brunswik’s lens beyond physical space to inc...

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...people, usually with respect to physical features. Hancock and Dunham (2001) found that participants in an online task-focused discussion of limited duration tended to make fewer judgments about the personalities of their partners, but more intense ratings on the judgment scales to which they did respond, than in comparable face-to-face discussions. Because online impressions are controllable, they are often suspect. Online users can organize the information flow and enhance self-image by strategically selecting how and what to convey to the receiver (Herring & Martinson, 2004; Walther, 2007; Walther, Slovacek, & Tidwell, 2001). Inflating or even manipulating others’ perceptions of oneself has come to be expected, and no small portion of online users’ disclosures involves a modicum of exaggeration, even with good chances of meeting offline observers of their online portraits (Ellison, Heino, & Gibbs, 2006). One way in which Facebook differs from other online sites for self-presentation has to do precisely with the degree to which some personal information is presented by means other than disclosure by the person to whom it refers. In many other communication settings, as Petronio (2002) notes, people make active de...

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...when she is female. These results reflect what has come to be known as the sexual double standard when making social judgments or forming impressions of others. The sexual double standard pertains to the differences in individuals’ evaluations of men and women who engage in premarital sexual behaviors: Men who engage in such encounters receive respect or admiration, whereas women who engage in similar behavior are often shunned or denigrated by society. This effect has been shown to be a pervasive belief in Western cultural ideology and the subject of much scholarly research (see, for review, Crawford & Popp, 2003; Marks & Fraley, 2006). Not only do these findings suggest a double standard, they also reinforce concerns over the potential of Facebook dynamics to reinforce stereotypes and behaviors that are potentially harmful to college students (see, e.g., Bugeja, 2006; cf. Haley, 2006). We might speculate that if greater attractiveness is perceived for males who misbehave, confirmatory and rewarding reactions by others might reinforce such behaviors or set observational learning dynamics into play encouraging others to behave in a similar manner. In addition to these value implications, this study off...

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...les to be viewed as less attractive. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2958.2007.00312.x Forming and managing impressions is a fundamental process, and one that has been complicated by new communication technologies. As computer-mediated communication (CMC) has diffused, successive technological variations raise new questions about interpersonal impressions. For example, with people meeting via text-based CMC—e-mail, discussion groups, or chat spaces of various kinds—a variety of questions arose about impression formation and management. These included whether and at what rate impressions are formed online (Walther, 1993), how online impressions may be like or unlike offline impressions (Jacobson, 1999), and how people judge the authenticity of self-presentation online (Donath, 1999). With further developments of Internet-hosted technologies, however, people can garner Corresponding author: Joseph B. Walther; e-mail: jwalther@msu.edu Human Communication Research ISSN 0360-3989 28 Human Communication Research 34 (2008) 28–49 ª 2008 International Communication Association information about one another in other ways than direct online give-and-take. As Ramirez, Walther, Burgoon, and Sunnafrank (2002) noted, infor...

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...er to achieve normal levels of impressions (see, for review, Walther, 2006). The impressions garnered via CMC, however, may or may not be just like those that occur from face-to-face encounters. In online interaction, there are fewer cues to observe and those that remain are under greater control of the persons to whom those cues pertain. Jacobson (1999) found that the initial impressions that individuals held about their partners through interactions in a multiplayer chat environment were discordant with later offline impressions of the same people, usually with respect to physical features. Hancock and Dunham (2001) found that participants in an online task-focused discussion of limited duration tended to make fewer judgments about the personalities of their partners, but more intense ratings on the judgment scales to which they did respond, than in comparable face-to-face discussions. Because online impressions are controllable, they are often suspect. Online users can organize the information flow and enhance self-image by strategically selecting how and what to convey to the receiver (Herring & Martinson, 2004; Walther, 2007; Walther, Slovacek, & Tidwell, 2001). Inflating or even manipulating others’ ...

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...ns of the same people, usually with respect to physical features. Hancock and Dunham (2001) found that participants in an online task-focused discussion of limited duration tended to make fewer judgments about the personalities of their partners, but more intense ratings on the judgment scales to which they did respond, than in comparable face-to-face discussions. Because online impressions are controllable, they are often suspect. Online users can organize the information flow and enhance self-image by strategically selecting how and what to convey to the receiver (Herring & Martinson, 2004; Walther, 2007; Walther, Slovacek, & Tidwell, 2001). Inflating or even manipulating others’ perceptions of oneself has come to be expected, and no small portion of online users’ disclosures involves a modicum of exaggeration, even with good chances of meeting offline observers of their online portraits (Ellison, Heino, & Gibbs, 2006). One way in which Facebook differs from other online sites for self-presentation has to do precisely with the degree to which some personal information is presented by means other than disclosure by the person to whom it refers. In many other communication settings, as Petronio...

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...rection as physical attractiveness ratings change. Rather than focus on global ‘‘goodness’’ in the present case, we will focus on common interpersonal evaluations that are sensitive to communication variations. Although any number of attributes might be examined, the nonphysical aspects of interpersonal attractiveness—social and task attractiveness—along with source credibility are common evaluative dimensions in impressions of interaction partners, and their factor-based measures have been used in communication research for over 3 decades (see Burgoon, Walther, & Baesler, 1992). According to McCroskey and McCain (1974), social attractiveness represents liking, for example, the degree to which a target is seen as a likely friend, whereas task attractiveness connotes the degree to which a target is seen as a valued and respected task partner (see, for review, Rubin, Palmgreen, & Sypher, 1991). Source credibility pertains to how people evaluate others as acceptable information sources, and generally pertains to their expertise and trustworthiness, although the precise factors comprising credibility may vary due to a variety of reasons (see, for review, Rubin et al., 1991). With regard to the effect of friends’...

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... with different sources and raters (see, e.g., Cronkhite & Liska, 1976). Therefore, researchers conducted a principal components factor analysis with Varimax rotation using these criteria for factor retention: (a) factors display eigenvalues of 1.5 or greater, (b) scree analysis displayed improvement in variance accounted through addition of a dimension, and (c) factors contain at least three items with primary loading of 0.60 or greater and secondary loadings below 0.40. A three-factor solution accounting for 51.5% of the variance emerged, with factors similar to the dimensions prescribed by Berlo et al. (1970); Cronbach reliability estimates were acceptable for qualification, a = .87, including such items as Experienced/Inexperienced, Qualified/Unqualified, and Informed/Uninformed; safety, a = .89, including Just/Unjust, Honest/Dishonest, and Safe/Dangerous; and dynamism, a = .87, which included Bold/Timid, Active/ Passive, and Energetic/Tired. Although individual subscales might vary independently, and the qualification and safety dimensions may be those most commonly associated with the commonplace notion of credibility, no precision is lost in testing these components simultaneously. Finally, pa...

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...and managing impressions is a fundamental process, and one that has been complicated by new communication technologies. As computer-mediated communication (CMC) has diffused, successive technological variations raise new questions about interpersonal impressions. For example, with people meeting via text-based CMC—e-mail, discussion groups, or chat spaces of various kinds—a variety of questions arose about impression formation and management. These included whether and at what rate impressions are formed online (Walther, 1993), how online impressions may be like or unlike offline impressions (Jacobson, 1999), and how people judge the authenticity of self-presentation online (Donath, 1999). With further developments of Internet-hosted technologies, however, people can garner Corresponding author: Joseph B. Walther; e-mail: jwalther@msu.edu Human Communication Research ISSN 0360-3989 28 Human Communication Research 34 (2008) 28–49 ª 2008 International Communication Association information about one another in other ways than direct online give-and-take. As Ramirez, Walther, Burgoon, and Sunnafrank (2002) noted, information seekers can mine static repositories of individuals’ prior interactions or d...

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...s that others say about a target may be more compelling than things an individual says about his- or herself. It has more warrant because it is not as controllable by the target, that is, it is more costly to fake. Aside from interactive exchanges, people leave and make impressions via the Internet by the intentional and unintentional characteristics conveyed by home pages on the World Wide Web (www). Although there are numerous studies focusing on personal Web sites and their creators (see Marcus, Machilek, & Schutz, 2006), much of the literature relies on speculation or anecdotal evidence. Miller (1995), for instance, suggests that users intentionally present themselves on the Web through self-description, photographs, links to other Web pages, and by the style and format (text, font, color, and background choices), structure, and vocabulary of their Web pages. More systematic evidence has identified several elements that raise or lower Web sites’ credibility, including being recommended by others and being linked to from another credible Web site (Fogg, 2003; Fogg et al., 2001). People use various features to assess personalities of the Web site creators (Vazire & Gosling, 2004). They rely ...

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...Several forms of high-warrant information have been nominated that meet Facebook Friends and Individual Evaluations J. B. Walther et al. 32 Human Communication Research 34 (2008) 28–49 ª 2008 International Communication Association this classification. Information gained about someone through others in that person’s social network is one example. People try to find out about one another via common nodes in overlapping social networks for several reasons: to reduce uncertainty about the partner, for example, and to do so without direct knowledge of the target that s/he is being inquired after (Parks & Adelman, 1983). Moreover, the objectivity and validity of third-party information should be considered more reliable than self-disclosed claims of the same nature. Thus, in a Facebook profile, things that others say about a target may be more compelling than things an individual says about his- or herself. It has more warrant because it is not as controllable by the target, that is, it is more costly to fake. Aside from interactive exchanges, people leave and make impressions via the Internet by the intentional and unintentional characteristics conveyed by home pages on the World Wide Web (www). Although th...

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... technical access to their systems, users of many types of virtual communities develop a strong expectation of privacy about their online postings and exchanges. Research has documented that both online community participants (Hudson & Bruckman, 2004) and teenagers (Rifon, Vasilenko, Quilliam, & LaRose, 2006) feel quite negatively about having their messages studied in research. Individuals often feel that they should be free from observation online and that they have legal and/or ethical rights to such freedom (no matter how technologically or legally misplaced those expectations may be; see Walther, 2002). Thus, the nature of some messages on Facebook is such that they might not have been posted had the writers expected a wide and diverse audience to access them. As we will show, garnering impressions from online information is nothing new, although the kinds of information social networking technologies present and the manner in which impressions form may be. Impression formation and online venues People spend considerable effort in order to form and to manage impressions, especially when anticipating or engaging in the initial stage of interactions (Berger & Calabrese, 1975; Goffman, 1959). ...

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...ttractiveness in the same positive or negative direction as physical attractiveness ratings change. Rather than focus on global ‘‘goodness’’ in the present case, we will focus on common interpersonal evaluations that are sensitive to communication variations. Although any number of attributes might be examined, the nonphysical aspects of interpersonal attractiveness—social and task attractiveness—along with source credibility are common evaluative dimensions in impressions of interaction partners, and their factor-based measures have been used in communication research for over 3 decades (see Burgoon, Walther, & Baesler, 1992). According to McCroskey and McCain (1974), social attractiveness represents liking, for example, the degree to which a target is seen as a likely friend, whereas task attractiveness connotes the degree to which a target is seen as a valued and respected task partner (see, for review, Rubin, Palmgreen, & Sypher, 1991). Source credibility pertains to how people evaluate others as acceptable information sources, and generally pertains to their expertise and trustworthiness, although the precise factors comprising credibility may vary due to a variety of reasons (see, for review, Rubin et al., 1...

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...krishna, 2006). The shock was due in part to Facebook users’ presumption that Facebook, like other virtual communities, is or should be private, if not technologically then by convention. Users often expect that the messages they leave about themselves and others are secluded to other college students or college personnel. Although a wider audience than expected may have technical access to their systems, users of many types of virtual communities develop a strong expectation of privacy about their online postings and exchanges. Research has documented that both online community participants (Hudson & Bruckman, 2004) and teenagers (Rifon, Vasilenko, Quilliam, & LaRose, 2006) feel quite negatively about having their messages studied in research. Individuals often feel that they should be free from observation online and that they have legal and/or ethical rights to such freedom (no matter how technologically or legally misplaced those expectations may be; see Walther, 2002). Thus, the nature of some messages on Facebook is such that they might not have been posted had the writers expected a wide and diverse audience to access them. As we will show, garnering impressions from online information is nothing n...

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...omprising credibility may vary due to a variety of reasons (see, for review, Rubin et al., 1991). With regard to the effect of friends’ apparent physical attractiveness on a profile owner’s task attractiveness and credibility, we hypothesize the opposite direction than we do for physical and social attractiveness. Physical attractiveness has been associated with lower observers’ perceptions of competence. ‘‘Physical beauty. can impose limitations on the kinds of performances others view as credible. Beautiful people may be considered unapproachable or unintelligent,’’ according to a review by Burgoon and Saine (1978, p. 263). Once again, it is likely but not certain whether such an attribution of an individual’s abilities is bestowed due to or in contrast to Facebook Friends and Individual Evaluations J. B. Walther et al. 36 Human Communication Research 34 (2008) 28–49 ª 2008 International Communication Association one’s friends’ attractiveness. Moreover, because the deleterious effect of physical attractiveness on competence discussed by Burgoon and Saine was documented more clearly for female than male targets, a research question is offered to guide investigation of the pattern’s occurrence in Faceboo...

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...profile site by friends in one’s electronic and/or physical social network. These benchmarks, however, do not enhance our theoretical understanding of the matter. By examining some theories related to person perception via the artifacts that surround them, we gain more focused insights not only into perceptions of individuals in general but also how those perceptions are affected by context effects, that is, by concurrent information about an individual’s associates and how, by assimilation, one’s associates affect one’s image. The Brunswikian lens model Brunswik’s lens model (Brunswik, 1956; Gigerenzer & Kurz, 2001) describes one process by which individuals make inferences about the characteristics of others. According to this approach, individuals produce behaviors and generate artifacts that reflect their personalities. These personality ‘‘by-products’’ are available for observers to judge. In other words, the model supposes that environmental cues function as a lens through which observers make inferences about the underlying characteristics of a target. The lens model discusses the utility of various cues in J. B. Walther et al. Facebook Friends and Individual Evaluations Human Communication Researc...

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...riters expected a wide and diverse audience to access them. As we will show, garnering impressions from online information is nothing new, although the kinds of information social networking technologies present and the manner in which impressions form may be. Impression formation and online venues People spend considerable effort in order to form and to manage impressions, especially when anticipating or engaging in the initial stage of interactions (Berger & Calabrese, 1975; Goffman, 1959). Being able to self-present in a positive manner has been tied to social (and even physical) survival (Hogan, Jones, & Cheek, 1985). Nearly two decades of research has focused on the impressions people garner among those who they initially encounter via interactive CMC, that is, CMC in which participants’ discourse—synchronous or asynchronous—is the basis for impressions. The central issue in that research tradition is that the nonverbal features that typically stimulate impressions offline are unavailable through text-based e-mail, group discussions, or real-time chat. Whereas early research suggested that J. B. Walther et al. Facebook Friends and Individual Evaluations Human Communication Research 34 (2008) 28–49 ª 200...

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...that J. B. Walther et al. Facebook Friends and Individual Evaluations Human Communication Research 34 (2008) 28–49 ª 2008 International Communication Association 31 interpersonal impressions were occluded by CMC, alternative positions established contrary findings. For instance, social information processing theory (Walther, 1992) posits that CMC users readily translate the production and detection of affective messages from nonverbal behavior to verbal equivalents, although doing so may require more time and message exchanges in order to achieve normal levels of impressions (see, for review, Walther, 2006). The impressions garnered via CMC, however, may or may not be just like those that occur from face-to-face encounters. In online interaction, there are fewer cues to observe and those that remain are under greater control of the persons to whom those cues pertain. Jacobson (1999) found that the initial impressions that individuals held about their partners through interactions in a multiplayer chat environment were discordant with later offline impressions of the same people, usually with respect to physical features. Hancock and Dunham (2001) found that participants in an online task-focused...

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...ge in premarital sexual behaviors: Men who engage in such encounters receive respect or admiration, whereas women who engage in similar behavior are often shunned or denigrated by society. This effect has been shown to be a pervasive belief in Western cultural ideology and the subject of much scholarly research (see, for review, Crawford & Popp, 2003; Marks & Fraley, 2006). Not only do these findings suggest a double standard, they also reinforce concerns over the potential of Facebook dynamics to reinforce stereotypes and behaviors that are potentially harmful to college students (see, e.g., Bugeja, 2006; cf. Haley, 2006). We might speculate that if greater attractiveness is perceived for males who misbehave, confirmatory and rewarding reactions by others might reinforce such behaviors or set observational learning dynamics into play encouraging others to behave in a similar manner. In addition to these value implications, this study offers additional theoretical implications. The findings suggest support for the social information processing theory of CMC (Walther, 1992) and the warranting principle articulated by Walther and Parks (2002). It is relatively well documented that people use inf...

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...ith later offline impressions of the same people, usually with respect to physical features. Hancock and Dunham (2001) found that participants in an online task-focused discussion of limited duration tended to make fewer judgments about the personalities of their partners, but more intense ratings on the judgment scales to which they did respond, than in comparable face-to-face discussions. Because online impressions are controllable, they are often suspect. Online users can organize the information flow and enhance self-image by strategically selecting how and what to convey to the receiver (Herring & Martinson, 2004; Walther, 2007; Walther, Slovacek, & Tidwell, 2001). Inflating or even manipulating others’ perceptions of oneself has come to be expected, and no small portion of online users’ disclosures involves a modicum of exaggeration, even with good chances of meeting offline observers of their online portraits (Ellison, Heino, & Gibbs, 2006). One way in which Facebook differs from other online sites for self-presentation has to do precisely with the degree to which some personal information is presented by means other than disclosure by the person to whom it refers. In many other communication settin...

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...and ‘‘I find this person very attractive physically’’; a = .86. Participants also rated profile owners on credibility using the 15 bipolar adjective items from Berlo, Lemert, and Mertz (1970). Credibility measurement is known to Figure 1 Sample Facebook profile mock-up. Faces have been blurred for publication. Facebook Friends and Individual Evaluations J. B. Walther et al. 40 Human Communication Research 34 (2008) 28–49 ª 2008 International Communication Association be context sensitive; it yields different factor structures in different settings with different sources and raters (see, e.g., Cronkhite & Liska, 1976). Therefore, researchers conducted a principal components factor analysis with Varimax rotation using these criteria for factor retention: (a) factors display eigenvalues of 1.5 or greater, (b) scree analysis displayed improvement in variance accounted through addition of a dimension, and (c) factors contain at least three items with primary loading of 0.60 or greater and secondary loadings below 0.40. A three-factor solution accounting for 51.5% of the variance emerged, with factors similar to the dimensions prescribed by Berlo et al. (1970); Cronbach reliability estimates were acceptable for...

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... ones, and told half the subjects that an association existed between the individuals in the pictures, or did not. When there was a presumed relationship, an assimilation effect took place: Average-attractiveness photos were rated more attractive than neutral when they appeared alongside attractive faces; average-attractiveness photos appeared less attractive when presented along with low-attractive faces. Research by Geiselman, Haight, and Kimata (1984) tested whether these effects occurred in combinations of four photos and two photos; assimilation effects persisted across these conditions. Kernis and Wheeler (1981) extended these effects to observation of live interaction, where results were similar. In the present case, however, the assimilation of ostensible friends’ photos surrounding the target’s photo on that target’s perceived attractiveness describes very well the potential of Facebook profiles to arouse these effects and influence perceptions of a target’s attractiveness. J. B. Walther et al. Facebook Friends and Individual Evaluations Human Communication Research 34 (2008) 28–49 ª 2008 International Communication Association 35 H1: The presence of physically attractive friends’ photographs on a...

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...se results reflect what has come to be known as the sexual double standard when making social judgments or forming impressions of others. The sexual double standard pertains to the differences in individuals’ evaluations of men and women who engage in premarital sexual behaviors: Men who engage in such encounters receive respect or admiration, whereas women who engage in similar behavior are often shunned or denigrated by society. This effect has been shown to be a pervasive belief in Western cultural ideology and the subject of much scholarly research (see, for review, Crawford & Popp, 2003; Marks & Fraley, 2006). Not only do these findings suggest a double standard, they also reinforce concerns over the potential of Facebook dynamics to reinforce stereotypes and behaviors that are potentially harmful to college students (see, e.g., Bugeja, 2006; cf. Haley, 2006). We might speculate that if greater attractiveness is perceived for males who misbehave, confirmatory and rewarding reactions by others might reinforce such behaviors or set observational learning dynamics into play encouraging others to behave in a similar manner. In addition to these value implications, this study offers additional theoreti...

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...the target. When profilers choose to associate with the other users, or ‘‘friends,’’ they allow them ‘‘user privileges’’ to post to their profile walls. Thus, the behavioral residue left by their Facebook friends can be construed as sanctioned, at least in the eyes of observers. Context effects In addition to the Brunswikian lens, research focusing on ‘‘context effects’’ in person perception also suggests that characteristics of other people who appear together with a target affect perceived attractiveness of the target. In this case, research has focused on physical attractiveness judgments. Melamed and Moss (1975) demonstrated context effects by showing pairs of photographs to research participants. A photo depicting an individual of average attractiveness was shown along with a very attractive or a very unattractive individual in the other of the pair. When participants were told nothing about any relationship between those individuals in the photo, a contrast effect occurred: Average faces were rated less attractive when paired with a more attractive face, and average faces rated more attractive when paired with a less attractive face. However, in their second experiment, Malamed and Moss presented a...

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...duals meet offline at college, they check the other’s Facebook profile to learn more about that person and whether there are any common friends or experiences. This checking may happen when such newly met individuals return home to their computers or, we have been told anecdotally, is even done almost immediately after meeting, surreptitiously, using Web-enabled mobile phones. Others are using Facebook to garner information about users as well. The Yale Daily News created shock waves when it reported that numerous employers have utilized Facebook to seek information about potential employees (Balakrishna, 2006). The shock was due in part to Facebook users’ presumption that Facebook, like other virtual communities, is or should be private, if not technologically then by convention. Users often expect that the messages they leave about themselves and others are secluded to other college students or college personnel. Although a wider audience than expected may have technical access to their systems, users of many types of virtual communities develop a strong expectation of privacy about their online postings and exchanges. Research has documented that both online community participants (Hudson & Bruck...

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... correspondence, March 7, 2007). In addition to his or her own profile, all users have a ‘‘wall’’ on their Facebook profiles, where their friends can leave messages to the owner in public. In other words, those peer-to-peer messages can be viewed by other registered users. These postings contain the friend’s default photo from his or her own profile, as well as a verbal message. The messages may express sentiments or reflect common or individual activities between the target and/or the friend. They may even reflect a desire to embarrass the profile owner, according to a popular press account (Haskins, 2005). Individuals may not know, for some interval of time, that particular comments have been posted to their walls. Even if they do, they tend not to remove friends’ postings from their profiles. Doing so is possible but defeats the spirit of Facebook’s very utility and implicitly challenges the rules of friendship. Therefore, even if people question what has been said about them, they may follow Facebook norms and leave questionable posts on display. Half of the Facebook users in Tufekci and Spence’s (2007) survey reported the discovery of unwanted pictures posted by other people, linked to thei...

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...t to Facebook users’ presumption that Facebook, like other virtual communities, is or should be private, if not technologically then by convention. Users often expect that the messages they leave about themselves and others are secluded to other college students or college personnel. Although a wider audience than expected may have technical access to their systems, users of many types of virtual communities develop a strong expectation of privacy about their online postings and exchanges. Research has documented that both online community participants (Hudson & Bruckman, 2004) and teenagers (Rifon, Vasilenko, Quilliam, & LaRose, 2006) feel quite negatively about having their messages studied in research. Individuals often feel that they should be free from observation online and that they have legal and/or ethical rights to such freedom (no matter how technologically or legally misplaced those expectations may be; see Walther, 2002). Thus, the nature of some messages on Facebook is such that they might not have been posted had the writers expected a wide and diverse audience to access them. As we will show, garnering impressions from online information is nothing new, although the kinds of information social networking te...