The Effects of Verbal Versus Photographic Self-Presentation on Impression Formation in Facebook

Two studies of the way textual and photographic cues were presented together in the context of a Facebook profile found the data were consistent with a visual primacy—negativity perspective such that photographs more strongly influenced judgments of social orientation, and textual cues influenced social orientation judgments when accompanied by an introverted photograph.

Abstract

Scholars of computer-mediated communication have long been interested in the way in which interpersonal impressions form among computer users. Early Internet research explored how people used text-based social information to form impressions of others. However, sociotechnological systems now allow users to present themselves in a variety of forms. The first study found that when textual and photographic cues were presented alone, the principle of textual primacy predicted results; however, Study 2 found when cues were presented together in the context of a Facebook profile, the data were consistent with a visual primacy—negativity perspective such that photographs more strongly influenced judgments of social orientation, and textual cues influenced social orientation judgments when accompanied by an introverted photograph.