The Influence of Responses to Self-Disclosure on Liking in Computer-Mediated Communication

The relationship between self-disclosure and liking another person is well-known, as is the prevalence and importance of self-disclosure in computer-mediated interactions. The effects of conversation partners’ responses to disclosures are an overlooked issue, implicated but not examined in most previous research. An original experiment examined whether different forms of response to self-disclosure in computer-mediated communication affect liking differently. Participants engaged in dyadic online chat with either their friend or a stranger. An interviewer communicated one of three types of response to another individual’s self-disclosures: reciprocal self-disclosures, compliments, or neutral deflections. Both reciprocal self-disclosure and compliments generated greater liking than did deflection. The effects of response types on attraction did not differ between friends and strangers. The findings indicate the importance of different forms of response to self-disclosure in interpersonal attraction online and the role of responsiveness to disclosure in initial as well as established relationships.