Psychological Development and Education ›› 2024, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (2): 176-186.doi: 10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2024.02.04

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The Relationship between Social Presence and College Students’ Online Flaming: The Parallel Mediating Roles of Dual Self-awareness and the Moderating Role of Gender

GUO Jiacheng1,2, DONG Rouchun1,2, XU Fang1,2, XU Xuan1,2, NIU Gengfeng1,2, ZHOU Zongkui1,2   

  1. 1. Key Laboratory of Adolescent Cyber Psychology and Behavior, Ministry of Education, Wuhan 430079;
    2. School of Psychology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079
  • Published:2024-03-18

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Abstract: In order to explore the impacts of social presence on online flaming, its mechanism, and gender difference, the current study, based on cues-filtered-out theory and dual self-awareness perspective, investigated 1625 college students from six comprehensive and normal universities in Hubei, Jilin, Shandong and Zhejiang provinces by online questionnaire. The results showed that: (1) Social presence positively predicted online flaming; (2) Public self-awareness and private self-awareness played parallel mediating roles between social presence and online flaming, and the negative mediating effects of private self-awareness outweighed the positive mediating effects of public self-awareness; (3) The first and second stages of indirect path of public self-awareness were moderated by gender. Specifically, public self-awareness had a stronger positive indirect effect for males than females. The current research revealed the mechanism and gender difference of college students’ social presence through dual self-awareness on online flaming. Moreover, this study, according to social identity model of deindividuation effects, painted out the importance of online groups in the generation of online flaming, and also found one of the reasons for gender differences in the levels of online flaming. The current study provided guiding suggestions for the intervention.

Key words: social presence, online flaming, public self-awareness, private self-awareness, college student, gender difference

CLC Number: 

  • B844
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