MODALITY SWITCHING IN ONLINE DATING: IDENTIFYING THE COMMUNICATIVE FACTORS THAT MAKE THE TRANSITION FROM AN ONLINE TO AN OFFLINE RELATIONSHIP MORE OR LESS SUCCESSFUL BY LIESEL L. SHARABI DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Communication in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2015 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Professor John Caughlin, Chair Professor Leanne Knobloch Associate Professor Karrie Karahalios Associate Professor Artemio Ramirez, University of South Florida Abstract Perhaps one of the most significant turning points in online dating occurs when partners decide to meet face-to-face (FtF) for the first time. Existing theory proposes that the affordances of the Internet can lead people to develop overly positive impressions of those they meet online, which could prove advantageous for relationships initiated on online dating sites. However, empirical evidence suggests that while such hyperpersonal impressions can intensify the development of mediated relationships, they can also result in disillusionment if the first date fails to meet both partners’ expectations. Accordingly, this dissertation set out to uncover the communicative factors responsible for more or less successful transitions offline. Drawing from the computer- mediated communication (CMC) and personal relationships literatures, the present study introduced a conceptual model of relationship success in online dating and tested it using a longitudinal survey design. Participants (N = 186) were surveyed before and after their first date with someone they met on an online dating site or mobile dating app. As part of the survey, they also supplied the emails they had sent to their partner so their communication could be observed. Findings indicated that participants’ perceptions of their partner and communication processes— including perceived similarity, uncertainty, amount of communication, deception, self-disclosure, algorithmic matching, and algorithmic beliefs—predicted first date success. Furthermore, the association between participants’ perceptual processes and first date success varied as a function of how much communication, disclosure, and deception took place in the relationship prior to the first FtF meeting. The results have theoretical implications for research on CMC and personal relationships, as well as practical implications for online dating sites and their users. ii To Brian, with love. iii Acknowledgements Although I have many people to thank for their support and encouragement throughout the dissertation process, there are a few individuals in particular who truly made this dissertation possible. I would like to start by thanking my advisor, John Caughlin, for teaching me that good research starts with asking the right questions. Of all the things I have learned from you, the one that will stick with me the most is how to think about old ideas in new ways, and for that I am especially grateful. I am incredibly fortunate to have had such a fantastic advisor to guide me through my doctoral education. I am also indebted to my committee: Leanne Knobloch, Karrie Karahalios, and Art Ramirez. Your direction throughout the many phases of this dissertation project was invaluable. I am humbled to have had the opportunity to work with such a prestigious group of scholars—you have all given me something to aspire to. To my research assistants, Keith Berman and Alexandra Mages, thank you for your tireless efforts on this project over the past year. I could not have asked for a better research team. You will be missed. And lastly, I am deeply appreciative of everyone out there in the ether of the Internet who took the time to participate in this study—without you, this dissertation would have never come to fruition. Whether online or off, I hope you find what you are searching for. iv Table of Contents Chapter One: Introduction ...........................................................................................................1 Chapter Two: Literature Review .................................................................................................5 Chapter Three: Preliminary Study ............................................................................................45 Chapter Four: Method ................................................................................................................57 Chapter Five: Results ..................................................................................................................72 Chapter Six: Discussion .............................................................................................................295 References ...................................................................................................................................318 Appendix A: Interview Protocol ...............................................................................................340 Appendix B: Interview Demographic Items ............................................................................341 Appendix C: Recruitment Flyer ...............................................................................................342 Appendix D: Survey Measures .................................................................................................343 v Chapter One: Introduction One of the most obvious changes to courtship in the past few decades has been the rise of online dating. Recent data from the Pew Internet and American Life Project (Smith & Duggan, 2013) shows that of all single American adults who are in search of a partner, 38% have tried online dating. Perhaps not surprisingly then, Cacioppo, Cacioppo, Gonzaga, Ogburn, and VanderWeele (2013) found that 34.95% of marriages between 2005 and 2012 began online. Looking only at people who met their romantic partner on the Internet, just under half did so through online dating (45.01% of marriages, Cacioppo et al., 2013; 38.50% of romantic relationships, Hogan, Li, & Dutton, 2011). As these statistics suggest, now more than ever, people are turning to the Internet to satisfy their needs for human companionship. Consequently, understanding how relationships are initiated and developed on online dating sites is worthy of additional attention, as it has implications for millions of Americans (Smith & Duggan, 2013). Romantic partners who meet on online dating sites are likely to encounter a number of twists and turns on the path towards a more intimate and committed relationship. Whereas some of these turning points can occur in any romantic relationship, such as the first kiss, the first introduction to the other person’s family, or the first declaration of love (Baxter & Bullis, 1986), others are specific to the online context. For relationships that originate on online dating sites, perhaps the most significant transition is when two individuals decide to meet face-to-face (FtF) for the first time. Existing research suggests that the future of an online relationship often hinges on the timing of the first FtF encounter. Field studies have shown that romantic partners who are introduced to one another on the Internet are not always in a hurry to move the relationship offline (Baker, 1998, 2002). Yet others have demonstrated that partners who take longer to meet in person often experience worse relational outcomes than do those who move the relationship 1 offline relatively quickly. Ramirez, Bryant, Fleuriet, and Cole (2015), for example, found that online daters reported the most positive perceptions of their partner when they wasted little time before meeting him or her FtF. Given that most online daters presumably do not want their relationships to remain online forever, more work is clearly needed if we are to advise them on best practices for navigating this important transition. The hyperpersonal model of computer-mediated communication (CMC; Walther, 1996) provides a useful heuristic for examining the transition to FtF contact in online dating. Walther’s (1996) hyperpersonal model explains how characteristics of the sender, receiver, and channel combine in ways that can lead people to develop impressions, intimacy, and affinity in their online relationships that exceed what would be expected offline. Although these hyperpersonal impressions can be enhancing for relationships that remain online, they may also set people up for disillusionment when they do eventually decide to meet in person. Consistent with this reasoning, scholars have already begun to speculate that the same affordances that make CMC hyperpersonal can also result in disappointing FtF interactions (Ramirez & Zhang, 2007). From this perspective, it would seem that the first FtF meeting would indeed be a turning point in online dating with the potential to change the developmental trajectory of the relationship. What remains to be seen, however, is whether there are factors beyond just how much two people communicate online that can account for why some relationships flourish following the transition while others fail. For instance, how partners communicate prior to meeting FtF for the first time is likely to matter as well, and it may help explain precisely why a greater amount of time spent communicating online can be detrimental to relationships. The relationships literature is rife with research on the communicative processes that are responsible for successful relational development. However, the dating landscape has undergone