Pre-seminar reflection 3

Journal: Computers in Human Behaviour

Impact Factor: 2.489

This journal addresses the empirical studies of computer usage from a psychological perspective. Thus, the computer is only discussed as a medium and not as a technological device as such. Therefore, the articles in the journal handle problems related to humans’ behaviour when using computers and their different softwares.

I’ve chosen the article “Who interacts on the web?: The intersection of users’ personality and social media use”, written by Correa, Hinsley, & de Zuniga for the journal Computers in Human Behaviour . The article was published on the 26’th of October 2009.

The article tries to map users’ behaviour, from a group of US adults (varying in age), in social media - and what factors, from an existing literature-based framework, work as motivators for this particular behaviour. The factors researched were: extraversion (to what extent the user seeks interaction with others), emotional stability (whether the user has mental problems of any kind), and openness to experience (if the user is welcoming to new experiences or not). Thus, from these factors the authors of the article tried to pinpoint what kind of attributes lead to what kind of social media behaviour.

The findings show that a high extraversion and openness to experiences lead to an increased amount of interaction in social media platforms, whereas a higher emotional stability lead to lower engagement. Although the results varied by age and gender, the findings mentioned were relatively general. However, for instance only men with a higher emotional instability were more frequent users, while extraversion in younger users increased social media usage more than with older users. Also, openness to experiences resulted in more engagement with mostly the older users.

1. Briefly explain to a first year university student what theory is, and what theory is not.

Sutton & Staw (authors of “What Theory is Not”) define “theory” as “the answers to queries of why”, whereas Gregor (author of “The Nature of Theory in Information Systems”) states that it could for instance be “a mental view”, or a “contemplation”. Thus, I would describe theory as a solution, often based on practicalities, which is not practical but is accounted for from some form of empirical evidence and research. For instance, research data and statistics are not theory, but can be the basis for it. Also, as is mentioned by Sutton & Staw, theories are answers to why e.g. acts, events, and thoughts occur - they enhance our understanding of that which is around us.

2. Describe the major theory or theories that are used in your selected paper. Which theory type (see Table 2 in Gregor) can the theory or theories be characterized as?

The theories used in the article correspond to what Gregor describes in his table of theories as #4: “Explanation and Prediction (EP)”. This is since the article, and entire journal for that matter, bases its theoretical approach on empirical data in psychology which points towards people’s behaviour. Thus, not only does the theory speak of what is, why, when, and where, but also what will be - since it’s connected to the psyche of user behaviour and its motivators in social media engagement.

3. Which are the benefits and limitations of using the selected theory or theories?

The use of theories corresponding to Gregor’s definition of “Explanation and Prediction” simply gives the reader a vision of how a user will behave when confronting social media. Thus, the article doesn’t speak of potential designs social media platforms could use in order to conform to their user behavior (as it would had they used theories of Gregor’s “Design and Action” clausule). However, this use of theory leaves the reader with a framework for addressing the issue in the way they see fit. For instance, a software developer can now use this research to create better and more user friendly experiences in their solution.