Perceived self and behavioral traits as antecedents of an online empathic experience and prosocial behavior: Evidence from South Korea

The current study identified and examined perceived self-traits and behavioral traits as antecedents of online empathic experiences and prosocial behavior. Our findings suggest that perceived self-traits (i.e., self-efficacy in online relationship and self-disclosure) are strongly associated with both empathic experiences and prosocial behavior. Findings for the behavioral trait, interaction pattern of an individual, indicate that patterns of an individual's networking produce mixed results in regard to association with prosocial behavior. Bonding networking was found to positively predict prosocial behavior, while bridging networking showed a negative association with the same dependent measure. Identity discrepancy and writing activities were also found to positively affect prosocial behavior. Overall, the finding of this study indicates that perceived self-traits tend to display stronger explanatory power over both empathy and prosocial behavior than do behavioral traits.     

Standing in others' shoes: The role of leader prosocial motivation in facilitating employee creativity

By reference to social learning theory, this research examines the effect of leader prosocial motivation on employee creativity through investigating the mediating role of employee perspective taking and the moderating role of leader performance. Using a dyadic sample of 262 subordinates and their direct supervisors, the results reveal that leader prosocial motivation positively relates to employee perspective taking and employee perspective taking can mediate the correlation of leader prosocial motivation with employee creativity. Meanwhile, leader performance can moderate the correlation of leader prosocial motivation with employee perspective taking. Moreover, the perspective taking's mediating role between leader prosocial motivation and employee creativity can be moderated by leader performance. Finally, according to the findings and limitations of the study, its future research and managerial implications are discussed.     

The positivity bias and prosocial deception on facebook

Can the positivity bias, observed across various Social Network Sites (SNSs), predict the use of prosocial lies in a SNS such as Facebook? The positivity bias may be a product of politeness norms (i.e., positive face concern) that have influenced communication phenomena before these sites existed. In addition, positive face concern may also be affected by unconscious cues or primes that promote prosocial behavior on Facebook. We conducted an online experiment using current Facebook users to examine how positive face concern and surveillance primes affect prosocial lying in public and private Facebook contexts. Although positive face concern and publicness predicted the use of prosocial lying, positive face concern was not affected by the publicness and surveillance primes did not affect positive face concern or the use of prosocial lies in our study. This hints towards the nuance of positive face concern and the potential limitations of surveillance primes on prosocial lying behavior.     

Securing online privacy: An empirical test on Internet scam victimization,online privacy concerns,and privacy protection behaviors

The current study identified the antecedents of being an Internet scam victim and how it impacts online privacy concerns and privacy protection behaviors. Structural equation modeling on data from a survey of 11,534 Internet users revealed that one indicator of weak self-control (i.e., willingness of risky investments) and two indicators of routine Internet activities (i.e., online shopping and opening emails from unknown sources) positively predicted being an Internet scam victim. Subsequently, being an Internet scam victim predicted increased online privacy concerns, which, in turn, predicted elevated privacy protection behaviors. Moreover, we found that being an Internet scam victim mediated the effects of routine Internet activities on privacy protection behaviors and that online privacy concerns mediated the effect of being an Internet scam on privacy protection behaviors. Unlike most Internet privacy studies using protection motivation theory only, the current study contributes to the understanding of the Internet scam victimization by incorporating three new theories—extended parallel process model, self-control theory, and routine activity theory. The research findings provided valuable implications for theory and practice related to Internet scam processes and prevention.     

Longitudinal associations between anhedonia and internet-related addictive behaviors in emerging adults

Internet addiction (including online gaming) has been associated with depression. However, most prior research relating internet addiction symptomatology to depressive symptoms has been cross-sectional, conducted with children and adolescents, and only examined depressive symptoms as a broad construct. The purpose of the current study was to examine potential longitudinal associations between anhedonia (i.e., difficulty experiencing pleasure, a key facet of depression) and internet-related addictive behaviors in 503 at-risk emerging adults (former attendees of alternative high schools). Participants completed surveys at baseline and approximately one year later (9–18 months later). Results indicated that trait anhedonia prospectively predicted greater levels of compulsive internet use and addiction to online activities as well as a greater likelihood of addiction to online/offline video games. These findings suggest that anhedonia may contribute to the development of internet-related addictive behaviors in the emerging adult population. Thus, interventions that target anhedonia in emerging adulthood (e.g., bupropion treatment or behavioral activation therapy) may help prevent or treat internet addiction.     

Virtual shopping and unconscious persuasion: The priming effects of avatar age and consumers’ age discrimination on purchasing and prosocial behaviors

This study examined how operating elderly or young avatars affected shoppers’ product perceptions and purchasing behaviors. It also investigated how virtual shopping experiences translated into prosocial behavior regarding a nonprofit organization supporting the elderly. Operating elderly avatars influenced shoppers’ product choice and walking speed while shopping compared to operating younger avatars. In addition, operating elderly avatars positively affected participants’ attitudes and willingness to donate to and volunteer for a nonprofit organization supporting the elderly. Statistical interactions between avatar age and a shopper’s ageism on behavioral and persuasion outcomes were also confirmed, and these findings implied an assimilation/contrast effect influenced by a shopper’s preexisting prejudices toward the elderly.     

Dating deception: Gender,online dating,and exaggerated self-presentation

This study examined how differences in expectations about meeting impacted the degree of deceptive self-presentation individuals displayed within the context of dating. Participants filled out personality measures in one of four anticipated meeting conditions: face-to-face, email, no meeting, and a control condition with no pretense of dating. Results indicated that, compared to baseline measures, male participants increased the amount they self-presented when anticipating a future interaction with a prospective date. Specifically, male participants emphasized their positive characteristics more if the potential date was less salient (e.g., email meeting) compared to a more salient condition (e.g., face-to-face meeting) or the control conditions. Implications for self-presentation theory, online social interaction, and online dating research will be discussed.     

Computer-mediated intervention to foster prosocial ability among children with autism

The study refers to the social aspect of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and focuses on pro-social behaviour that has a positive effect on social adaptability. The first goal of the study was to determine whether there is a gap in prosocial-behaviour between children with High-Functioning ASD (HFASD) and children with typical-development; and secondly, to foster prosocial-behaviour with a computer-mediated intervention versus a non-computer-mediated intervention. The study comprises 58 preschool children, divided into three groups: HFASD experiencing a computer-mediated intervention, HFASD experiencing a non-computer-mediated intervention, and typically-developing children with no intervention. The 2-month intervention was based on the Cognitive Behavioural Therapy model, and pairs of children learned how to solve social-problems. Following preliminary screening tests (PPVT; SCQ), observations designed to evaluate prosocial-ability and Vineland questionnaires measuring prosocial-behaviour were conducted pre- and post-intervention. Pre-intervention findings indicated that children with typical-development exhibited higher prosocial-behaviour than children with HFASD. This changed however, post-intervention, as the gap between the two groups decreased. Additionally, the study found that the computer-mediated intervention group improved in some prosocial measures compared to the non-computer-mediated intervention.     

Individual differences in attachment are associated with usage and perceived intimacy of different communication media

Effective communication is vital to the health and functioning of romantic relationships. Technology use is becoming more pervasive, making it more important than ever to understand which forms of media enhance communication in close relationships. People differ in which communication methods they prefer, and it is important to understand how people perceive and use various media. Our study uses an attachment theory framework to explore how people perceive the intimacy of different media and their preferred methods of communication with romantic partners. We collected online survey data from partnered individuals regarding their romantic attachment orientation, perceptions of the intimacy of various media (face-to-face, phone call, text message, email), and preferred use of those media for communicating with romantic partners. People with a more avoidant attachment orientation (i.e., who prefer self-reliance over interdependence) were less likely to prefer communication methods that are generally perceived as more close and immediate (e.g., face-to-face); however, our findings suggest that avoidant individuals prefer not to use these methods because they perceive them to be less intimate and less likely to resolve interpersonal conflicts. Our findings suggest that certain forms of communication may be more beneficial for avoidant individuals and their romantic relationships.     

The effects of product photographs and reputation systems on consumer behavior and product cost on eBay

For years, computer-mediated communication (CMC) research has explored and theorized about the effects of technology on the process of interpersonal impression formation. However, as the Internet has evolved to allow users to accomplish more and more day-to-day tasks (e. g., the buying and selling of goods and services) little research and theory development has explored how non-interpersonal impressions form on the internet. This work seeks to extend theoretical perspectives on online signaling (the warranting effect; Walther & Parks, 2002) to predict consumer behavior on the popular online auction website, eBay.com. A content analysis of 217 completed eBay auctions revealed that auctions that featured higher seller reputation scores and actual product photographs (vs. stock photographs) generated more bidding interest and resulted in higher final sales prices. These findings as well as future theoretical development in this area are discussed.     

What are participants doing while filling in an online questionnaire: A paradata collection tool and an empirical study

The use of online questionnaires is rapidly increasing. Contrary to manifold advantages, not much is known about user behavior that can be measured outside the boundaries set by standard web technologies like HTML form elements. To show how the lack of knowledge about the user setting in web studies can be accounted for, we present a tool called UserActionTracer, with which it is possible to collect more behavior information than with any other paradata gathering tool, in order to (1) gather additional data unobtrusively from the process of answering questions and (2) to visualize individual user behavior on web pages. In an empirical study on a large web sample (N = 1046) we observed and analysed online behaviors (e.g., clicking through). We found that only 10.5% of participants showed more than five single behaviors with highly negative influence on data quality in the whole online questionnaire (out of 132 possible single behavior judgments). Furthermore, results were validated by comparison with data from online address books. With the UserActionTracer it is possible to gain further insight into the process of answering online questionnaires.     

Correlates of different forms of cyberloafing: The role of norms and external locus of control

Cyberloafing is the personal use of email and the Internet while at work. The purpose of this study is to identify the different forms of cyberloafing and their antecedents. We propose that cyberloafing has two primary forms: minor cyberloafing (e.g., sending and receiving personal email at work) and serious cyberloafing (e.g., online gambling, surfing adult oriented web sites). Additionally, we hypothesize that employees’ perceptions of coworker and supervisor norms supporting cyberloafing are related to minor cyberloafing but not serious cyberloafing. We also hypothesize that external locus of control (i.e., a belief that chance and powerful others determines one’s outcomes), as an antecedent of other counterproductive work behaviors, will be related to both minor and serious cyberloafing. Two hundred and twenty two employed graduate business students were surveyed. Two forms of cyberloafing were identified: one composed of minor cyberloafing behaviors and one composed of the more serious cyberloafing behaviors. As predicted, employees’ perceptions of their coworkers’ and supervisor’s norms were positively related to minor cyberloafing, but not related to serious cyberloafing. Also as predicted, belief in chance was positively related to both minor and serious cyberloafing. A belief in powerful others was not related to minor or serious cyberloafing. Implications for policy development to regulate cyberloafing in organizations are discussed.     

Determinants of e-consumer productivity in product retrieval on a commercial website: An experimental approach

This article investigates what determines e-consumer productivity, in the specific case of product retrieval, on a commercial website. With a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design on 292 participants, an online experiment reveals that productivity in product retrieval (measured in terms of effectiveness, efficiency, and time) relates to website design (e.g., abstraction level of labels, animation), user characteristics (e.g., Internet experience, product category familiarity, cognitive absorption), and situational characteristics (e.g., task nature). The results also confirm interactive effects among the type of strategy used, the nature of the task, and the website design. These findings have notable implications for both research and practice.     

Understanding risk-taking behavior of groups: A “decision analysis” perspective

Past research has extensively investigated the effect of media, especially focusing on how anonymity increases risk-related behaviors of groups when using computer-mediated communication (CMC). This study extends prior research by examining the differences in group risk-taking behaviors between face-to-face groups and completely non-anonymous CMC groups (i.e., groups working in a fully identified, synchronous CMC environment similar to popular instant messaging systems utilized widely within organizations). Drawing on the “decision analysis” perspective, a key framework for understanding organizational decision-making, the study also examines the effects of the firm's risk preferences as well as the type of information distribution among group members (i.e., full information known to all group members versus partial information know by only some of the members) on the groups' risk-taking behaviors. Results from a laboratory experiment using student subjects found no differences in risk-taking behaviors between CMC and face-to-face groups; additionally, no differences were found related to how information was distributed among group members. A significant effect was found, however, for the risk preference of the firm, showing that risk-neutral firms influenced groups to make riskier decisions than groups from risk-averse firms. Finally, groups within risk-neutral firms receiving partial information made riskier decisions than groups receiving full information. The implications of these results for future research and practice are examined.     

What I won’t do in pixels: Examining the limits of taboo violation in MMORPGs

This paper examined the emotional impact that engaging in or witnessing Symbolic Taboo Activities (STAs), as represented in MMORPGs (massively multiplayer online role-playing game), such as killing, torture and rape, has on adults. We focused our study on two games: World of Warcraft and Sociolotron. The study employed Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), which was chosen because of its emphasis on ‘lived experienced’ and how participants make sense of their experiences. Five participants, all over the age of 18 years, were interviewed via Instant Messenger, four of which were men. Most of our participants felt they could easily separate gamespace from the real world; however, when asked to examine specific actions in-depth, we found this was not the case for all STAs. Activities that did not have a sanctioned equivalence (e.g., rape) were found by most to be more difficult to separate, especially emotionally. However, this was not the case for all participants. The findings suggest that not all individuals can psychologically cope with engaging in and/or witnessing certain STAs in MMORPGs. The results, we believe are important for game designers, censoring bodies of video games and psychologists.     

Identifying shoplifting behaviors and inferring behavior intention based on human action detection and sequence analysis

Identification of abnormal behaviors affecting public safety (e.g., shoplifting, robbery, and stealing) is essential for preventing human casualties and property damage. Many studies have attempted to automatically identify abnormal behaviors by detecting relevant human actions by developing intelligent video surveillance systems. However, these studies have focused on catching predefined actions associated explicitly with the target abnormal behavior, which can lead to errors in judgment when such actions are undetected or inaccurately detected. To better identify abnormal behaviors, it is essential to understand a series of performed actions to capture behaviors’ pre- and post-indications (e.g., repeatably looking around and spotting CCTVs) and infer the intentions underlying such behaviors. Thus, in the present study, we propose a framework to identify abnormal behaviors through deep-learning-based detection of non-semantic-level human action components segmented with a window size of several seconds (e.g., walking, standing, and watching) and performing sequence analyses of the detected action components to infer behavior intentions. Then, we tested the applicability of the framework to the specific scenario of shoplifting, one of the most common crimes. Analysis of actual incident data confirmed that shoplifting intentions could be effectively gauged based on distinct action sequence features, and the intention inference results are continuously updated with the accumulated series of detected actions during the course of the input video stream. The results of this study can help enhance the ability of intelligent surveillance systems by providing a new means for monitoring abnormal behaviors and deeply understanding the underlying intentions.     

#Gettinghealthy: The perceived influence of social media on young adult health behaviors

Young adults (18–25 years old) spend a majority of their waking hours with technology and young adulthood is an important developmental time period for establishing lasting health behaviors. Considering the relevance of technology and health during young adulthood the current study explored young adults (N = 34) perceptions of social media’s (e.g., social networking) influence on their health behaviors (i.e., diet and exercise) using a social ecological framework. Data was collected through eight focus groups and four individual interviews. Three themes were identified through phenomenological qualitative analysis. Young adults perceived that technology could be both a barrier and a motivator for exercise. Social media was also credited with expanding food choices through creating access to a variety of recipes, providing a venue for showcasing the food young adults eat or prepare, and distracting young adults from making positive food choices. Participants also reported that it is common to post statuses or pictures relating to exercise practices on social media during young adulthood. Young adults indicated that these posts could be inspirational or misused, depending on the context. Results are discussed in terms of theory and preliminary implications.     

Prosocial rule breaking on health information security at healthcare organisations in South Korea

Regulations, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), establish standards to protect patients' medical records from security breaches. Insiders' prosocial misbehaviour within healthcare organisations can cause significant damage to relevant stakeholders. Such behaviour without malicious intention needs to be better understood and carefully managed from the perspective of prosocial behaviour. For this study, a research model was developed that includes the factors influencing student nurses' intention to disclose patient health information. The model was empirically tested with nursing students in South Korea with a scenario-based experiment. We find that both altruistic (impact on others) and egoistic (impact on the self) motivations are significantly important in raising situational empathy. On the other hand, an egoistic motivation (impact on the self) significantly affects people's perception of their responsibility, which mediates the relationship between situational empathy and prosocial intention to disclose. The implications of our findings are discussed.     

Intuition,risk, and the formation of online trust

Understanding how consumers evaluate website trustworthiness is a critical factor for online vendors. The dominant view espouses a deliberative trust formation process whereby shoppers evaluate security certificates, return policies, user feedback and the like, implying a highly rational underlying trust calculus. In this paper we use a laboratory experiment to explore an alternative perspective, based on the non-rational associative reasoning approach. Our findings show that when faced with a no-risk hypothetical decision about whether or not they would purchase a book from an online bookseller, subjects’ decision-making processes were indeed consistent with the dominant deliberative view. However, when confronted with a decision entailing risk (i.e., sharing sensitive personal information with an unknown website), subjects became reliant on their non-rational, gut-level intuition. We adopt a dual-process reasoning theory to make sense of these findings, and recommend that vendors take into account associative reasoning factors when designing online interfaces. Future research directions are provided.