School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2019 Feb;22(2):158-165. doi: 10.1089/cyber.2018.0247. Epub 2018 Dec 12.
Self-disclosure is an essential component of social communication that has been associated with trust, liking, and ultimately strong relationships. As technology continues to develop, so do the number of methods to create and maintain relationships. While speaking face-to-face (FtF) remains the primary way to communicate, computer-mediated communication has become more common, meaning that research into self-disclosure has expanded to new domains, including virtual reality (VR). This study compared self-disclosure between three conversation contexts: FtF, online text-based (OTB) communication, or VR. Zero-contact dyads comprised female university students who completed 20-minute conversations guided by one of two discussion prompts: the closeness-generating or small talk procedure. These prompts were designed to either increase or not increase self-disclosure. These conversations were recorded and coded for the frequency of total, factual, cognitive, and emotional self-disclosures as objective measures. Participants' perceptions of personal and partner's self-disclosures were also assessed by questionnaires as perceived measures. FtF and VR conditions exceeded OTB communication in perceived and objective measures of self-disclosure. Although no significant differences emerged between FtF and VR conditions for factual or perceived self-disclosure, participants in the FtF condition had more total, cognitive, and emotional self-disclosures than VR conditions. Implications for communication and teletherapy are discussed. The present study offers preliminary evidence that VR could potentially rival FtF as a communication medium and be as effective in facilitating self-disclosure. Findings offer a starting point for research on social applications of VR.
自我表露是社会交流的一个重要组成部分，它与信任、喜欢，最终是稳固的关系有关。随着技术的不断发展，建立和维持关系的方法也越来越多。虽然面对面交流仍然是主要的沟通方式，但计算机介导的交流变得更加普遍，这意味着自我表露的研究已经扩展到新的领域，包括虚拟现实（VR）。本研究比较了三种对话情境下的自我表露：面对面交流、基于在线文本的（OTB）交流或 VR。零接触的对子由女大学生组成，她们完成了 20 分钟的对话，对话由两个讨论提示之一引导：亲密生成或闲聊程序。这些提示旨在增加或不增加自我表露。这些对话被记录下来，并根据总、事实、认知和情感自我表露的频率进行编码，作为客观测量。参与者对个人和伴侣自我表露的感知也通过问卷进行评估，作为感知测量。FtF 和 VR 条件在自我表露的感知和客观测量方面都超过了 OTB 交流。尽管 FtF 和 VR 条件在事实或感知自我表露方面没有出现显著差异，但 FtF 条件的参与者比 VR 条件有更多的总、认知和情感自我表露。讨论了对沟通和远程治疗的影响。本研究初步证明，虚拟现实有可能与面对面交流相媲美，成为一种有效的沟通媒介，并促进自我表露。研究结果为虚拟现实的社会应用研究提供了一个起点。
