Examining the Attributional Links Between Message Quality and Outcomes of Emotional Support Received on Facebook

ABSTRACT

Facebook users can receive high quality emotional support in response to their posts, but not all emotional support is of the same quality nor does it all benefit support receivers. Receivers’ perceptions of supportive messages influence the outcomes they experience. This study assessed support receivers’ attributions for the helpful support offered to them on Facebook to understand how their perceptions of the causes of that support may explain why some messages produce more beneficial outcomes than others. Participants (N = 147), who comprised predominantly white, female Facebook users in the United States, identified the most helpful comment on a recent support-seeking post on Facebook, rated the extent to which they made three types of attributions (dispositional, interpersonal, and medium) for the comment, and rated their corresponding emotional improvement. Raters coded the level of verbal person-centeredness (VPC) of each comment. Supportive messages with higher levels of VPC corresponded with more dispositional attributions and fewer medium attributions. Dispositional attributions also explained why the level of VPC of the most helpful comments was positively associated with emotional improvement.

KEYWORDS:

• Supportive communication
• attributions
• verbal person-centeredness
• emotional improvement
• Facebook

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Emily M. Buehler

Emily M. Buehler (Ph.D., University of Iowa) is an assistant professor in the Brian Lamb School of Communication at Purdue University.

Andrew C. High

Andrew C. High (Ph.D., The Pennsylvania State University) is an associate professor in the Department of Communication Arts and Sciences at The Pennsylvania State University.

Rachael E. Bishop

Rachael E. Bishop is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Communication Arts and Sciences at The Pennsylvania State University.

Joshua D. Johnson

Joshua D. Johnson is a Ph.D. student in the Brian Lamb School of Communication at Purdue University.

Daniel A. Lee

Daniel A. Lee is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Communication Arts and Sciences at The Pennsylvania State University.

Amanda E. Lilly

Amanda E. Lilly is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies & Philosophy at Utah State University.