Grand Canyon University-PSY-550 December 11, 2013 Raymond Williams

The purpose of this study is to determine if Facebook usage effects the personality characteristics in older adults

 The internet has evolved into playing a prominent role in identity development, interpersonal skill development, development of social skills, and personality characteristics (Jenkins-Guarnieri, Wright & Johnson, 2013).  Ivcevic and Ambady (2012) -Consequences involved with identity claims and Facebook profiles resulted in showing that observers relied more on profile pictures, followed by quotes and interests.  Ivcevic and Ambady (2012) - Impressions from Facebook Info pages resulted in a small correlational effect with criteria in everyday life, but a larger correlation with observed online behavior.  Stevens, Humphrey, Wheatley & Galliher (2011)- Discovered that Individuals with obsessive-compulsive personality characteristics that use Facebook more than average do this compulsively to manage anxienty and stress.

 Null Hypothesis- Facebook usage of varying amounts of time does not have an effect on personality characteristics among older adults.  Alternate hypothesis- Facebook usage of varying amounts of time does not have an effect on personality characteristics among older adults

Survey Method  Participants  Apparatus/Materials/Instruments  Procedure and Design

200 non-traditional university students ( 100 men and 100 women, average age of 40)  Quota-sampling  Quota-sampling -to ensure an older generation is obtained  Convenience sampling  Convenience sampling -assessments conducted at college library, student services center, humanities building, engineering building, computer science building, and natural sciences building

First question is Demographical (age, gender) Eight Survey questions to determine: - Time Spent logged on to Facebook and How many Facebook friends (2 questions) - Emotional attachment and intensity of Facebook usage (5-point Likert Scale) (6 questions)

 2 Survey Booths for convenience  5 research assistants – 50 surveys each Choice of:  $50 Visa gift card  $100 worth of Facebook points

Chi-square test df = (n – 1) (5 (traits being compared) – 1) = 4 α = 0.05 χ 2 (4) =.71, p <.05- H 0 is rejected

Purpose is to examine significance of Facebook usage and effects on personality characteristics among older adults H 0 = no effect H A = effect A Confound of diffusion could raise threat to internal validity. Partial Replication of (Jenkins et al., 2013)-survey question format

 Institutional approval  Informing participants about purpose of study, duration and procedures  Re-evaluation of the external motive for participation

Representative sample covering multiple regions in the United States Additional methods to study effects of social media sites

American Psychological Association. (2013). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct: Including 2010 amendments. Retrieved from Incevic, Z., & Ambady, N. (2012). Personality impressions from identity claims on Facebook. Psychology of Popular Culture, 1(1), doi: /a Jenkins-Guarnieri, M. A., Wright, S. L., & Johnson, B. D. (2013). The inter-relationships among attachment style, personality traits, interpersonal competency, and Facebook use. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 2(2), Doi:101037/a Stevens, S., Humphrey, K., Wheatley, T., & Galliher, R. V. (2011). Links among obsessive-compulsive personality characteristics and Facebook usage. Psi Chi Journal of Undergraduate Research, 16(3),

 Table 1: Summary of time spent on Facebook  Table 2: Facebook usage analysis

Table 1 Summary of Time Spent on Facebook Amount of Time Spent Logged in to Facebook frequenc y Percentage (f / N) x – 10 minutes on average per day 11 – 30 minutes per day 31 – 60 minutes per day 61 – 90 minutes per day Logged-In 24hrs per day N = 200

Table 2 Facebook Usage Analysis Type of Usage % = f / N x 100 Feeling out of touch when not logged-in f % Preferred if everyone communicat ed with Facebook f % Respond frequently to content from other users f % Content posted by other users has angered me f % Posted retaliation posts to content that has angered me f % Most content posted by other members is friendly f % Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Disagree