Social identification and interpersonal attraction in MUDs. Sonja Utz. Chemnitz University of Technology. Chemnitz University of Technology

Transcription

1 Attraction to MUDs 1 Social identification and interpersonal attraction in MUDs Sonja Utz Chemnitz University of Technology Swiss Journal of Psychology 62 (2) (2003), Running head: ATTRACTION TO MUDS Correspondence to: Sonja Utz Chemnitz University of Technology Department of Organizational and Social Psychology Chemnitz Germany Tel Fax: sonja.utz@phil.tu-chemnitz.de

2 Attraction to MUDs 2 Abstract In social psychology, two forms of attachment to groups are distinguished: interpersonal attraction and social identification. A web experiment was conducted to examine whether these two forms of attachment can also be differentiated in virtual communities, more precisely, MUDs (multi-user-dungeons). Both forms of attachment occurred. As expected, the concepts were functionally independent from each other. Whereas interpersonal attraction became stronger with increased duration of group membership and was fostered by physical life contacts, social identification was independent from these factors. Instead, social identification was related to more cognitive indicators of self-categorization. In contrast to interpersonal attraction, social identification was influenced by situational context and predicted group behavior such as ingroup bias. (word count: 111) Keywords: social identification, interpersonal attraction, virtual communities, MUDs, group behavior

3 Attraction to MUDs 3 Eighty-four percent of all American Internet users have contacted an online group at least once (Horrigan, Rainie, & Fox, 2001). This result of a recent study on Internet use suggests that the principal attraction of going online is social interaction, above all other possible online activities such as gathering news, health or financial information online. Therefore, it is not only theoretically interesting, but also practically relevant to study the processes occurring in virtual communities. Virtual communities are defined as social relationships forged in cyberspace through repeated contact within a specific boundary or place (e.g., a conference or a chat line) that is symbolically delineated by topic of interest (Fernback & Thompson, 1995, p. 8). Not every venue in cyberspace that is centered around a common topic is automatically a virtual community. Social relationships are the crucial component when deciding whether a specific chat, newsgroup etc. really is a community. The question how social relationships can be developed in cyberspace has therefore been central in research on computer-mediated communication (CMC). Early CMC research assumed that CMC is less social than face-to-face (FTF) interaction, mainly because communication is restricted to the text-channel. Nonverbal information is missing; therefore the amount of social context cues is reduced, rendering CMC relatively task-oriented and impersonal (e.g. Kiesler, Siegel & McGuire, 1984; Rutter, 1984; Short, Williams, & Christie, 1976). More recent studies also come to the conclusion that the Internet makes people lonesome and depressed (Kraut, Lundmark, Patterson, Kiesler, Mukopadhyay & Scherlis, 1998). However, this line of research is challenged by at least two facts. First, field studies showed that interpersonal friendships develop between members of virtual communities such as newsgroups (Baym, 1995; Parks & Floyd, 1996), chats (Reid, 1991), and multi-user dungeons (MUDs; Parks & Roberts, 1998; Utz, 2000, 2001). In his Social Information Processing Perspective (SIP) Walther (1992) offers a model, which describes how friendships

4 Attraction to MUDs 4 can develop in CMC. Walther (1992) does not deny the fact that in text-based CMC nonverbal information is missing, but he argues that people learn to verbalize nonverbal and especially socio-emotional information. Thus, they learn how to compensate the lack of nonverbal cues. Still, in CMC less information can be conveyed in the same amount of time. Therefore, it takes more time to build up friendships via CMC than in FTF-settings. However, if CMC groups are given enough time, interpersonal relationships between the members arise. Second, the early CMC studies equated social with close interpersonal relationships. Interpersonal relationships are usually judged as close and intimate if physical proximity is high, nonverbal cues promote emotional intimacy, or talk contains a high amount of selfdisclosure (cf. Lea & Spears, 1995). Consequently, CMC was regarded as less social than FTF-communication. However, equating social with interpersonal relationships is a misconception or at least an abridgment. In social psychology, two types of social relationships can be distinguished: interpersonal attraction and social identification (Hogg & Turner, 1985). The latter has been neglected in early CMC research and is still understudied. According to Social Identity Theory (SIT, Tajfel, 1978), social identity is defined as that part of an individual s self-concept that arises from its membership in groups, together with the evaluative and affective significance of these group memberships. People strive for a positive self-concept, and membership in positively evaluated groups contributes to a positive self-concept. Social identities therefore are an important part of the self-concept. Applied to social relationships in cyberspace, this means that people can feel attached to a virtual community because they like the other group members (interpersonal attraction) or because they identify themselves with the virtual group per se, its goals and norms (social identification). In the latter case, other group members are liked because they are prototypical embodiments of the group, not because of their idiosyncratic characteristics. This depersonalized form of attraction influenced by social identification with a group is called social attraction. According to SIT s sister theory, self-categorization theory (SCT; Turner,

5 Attraction to MUDs 5 Hogg, Oakes, Reicher & Wetherell, 1987) the two forms of attachment are conceptionally separate. Interpersonal attraction is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for group behavior, whereas social identification is related to various forms of group behavior. Although some CMC researchers have claimed to address social attraction in their work, a closer inspection suggests that they maintain the classical assumption that interpersonal relationships are the basis of group behavior. For example, Walther (1997) studied the effects of salient group vs. individual identity and long-term vs. short-term orientation on intimacy, physical and social attractiveness and study effort. However, social attractiveness was defined as the extent to which others wish to socialize with the other group members, measures of social identification with the group were not taken. Even in social psychology, some researchers argue that group effects can be reduced to interpersonal attraction and interdependence (Gaertner & Insko, 2000; Rabbie & Horwitz, 1988; Rabbie, Schot & Visser, 1989). The Social Identity Approach The assumption that interpersonal attraction forms the basis for social attraction is in contrast with the assumptions of SIT in which categorization plays the crucial role. In the minimal group studies (Tajfel, Flament, Billig & Bundy, 1971) it was shown that pure categorization is sufficient to produce ingroup favoring behavior (ingroup bias). Under these minimal conditions, displaying ingroup bias might be the most effective way to reach or restore positive distinctiveness of the ingroup. However, SIT regards ingroup bias as only one strategy among others (e.g., changing the comparison group or comparison dimension, direct intergroup competition, or leaving the group) used to restore a positive identity. Which strategy is chosen depends for example on perceived permeability of group boundaries, status, or level of identification. Whereas SIT focuses on motivational processes (attaining a positive self-concept), SCT concentrates more on the cognitive processes underlying group phenomena. Self-

6 Attraction to MUDs 6 categorization plays a central role here. SCT differentiates between personal and social identity. If personal identity is salient, people perceive themselves as unique individuals. If a social identity is salient, people perceive themselves as interchangeable group members. Intragroup differences are perceived as smaller than intergroup differences. Selfcategorization as a group member also leads to self-stereotyping and depersonalization: People ascribe themselves the typical characteristics of the group. This redefinition of the self is regarded as the basis of group formation, resulting in collective behavior in terms of the shared social category. The Social Identity Model of Deindividuation (SIDE; Reicher, Spears & Postmes, 1995) builds on SIT and SCT and focuses on the effects of anonymity on groups. Applied to online interactions, it disentangles two types of anonymity: anonymity of group members to self and anonymity of self to other group members. The SIDE model states that anonymity has cognitive and strategic consequences. According to the cognitive aspect, anonymity of other group members to self has an impact on the perception of a group. In short, anonymity renders a salient identity even more salient. If a social identity is salient, differences between the group members are less obvious in anonymous CMC than in FTF, and the assumed similarities between the group members are overestimated. If a personal identity is salient and people perceive themselves as unique individuals, similarities with others are more difficult to detect, resulting in an enhanced salience of the personal identity. Whereas the cognitive aspect determines which identity is salient in a given moment, the strategic aspect determines in how far behavior is oriented towards the corresponding norms. Individuals avoid to behave in line with their ingroup norms if there is a possibility of being punished by members of a powerful outgroup. Anonymity of self to others, lack of identifiability, plays a central role here. However, the strategic aspect is less relevant for the current paper and therefore not further discussed. The more important point is that anonymity in CMC does not necessarily hinder social identification, but might even enhance it (Lea & Spears, 1995). Whereas it takes longer

7 Attraction to MUDs 7 to exchange interpersonal information that is important for the development of interpersonal bonds via CMC, it is relatively easy to communicate the belongingness to certain social categories. Consequently, social identities are often more salient in CMC than in FTFcommunication because people rely on the little information they have. Thus, social attraction and social identification can develop even more quickly in CMC than in FTF. There are several studies that support these assumptions. Postmes and Spears (2000) found that in groups in which a common identity was made salient, higher anonymity (varied by presenting pictures of the group members or not) led group members to feel more able to form an impression of their group members. That is, individuating information hindered impression formation if people focused on the similarities between ingroup members. Sassenberg and Postmes (2002) showed that anonymity in CMC groups enhanced the perceived entitativity of the group and decreased interpersonal attraction. Thus, there is some evidence that processes of self-categorization and social identification occur in CMC. However, these studies were conducted in the laboratory, the results are therefore based on ad hoc groups whose members did not expect any further interaction. Studies on virtual communities that contrast both forms of attachment to groups are rare. It is important to show that the distinction between personal attraction and social identification is not only a sophisticated theoretical one, but that the two forms of attachment can also be meaningfully distinguished in real existing virtual communities. One study by Sassenberg (2002) showed that both forms of attachment can be found in chats. However, this study builds on the distinction in common-bond and common-identity groups made by Prentice, Miller, and Lightdale (1994). In common-bond groups, attachment to the group is primarily based on personal relationships between the members, whereas in common-identity groups attachment is primarily based on social identification. Sassenberg (2002) classified chats a priori in common-bond (off-topic chats) and common-identity chats (on-topic chats) and found the expected patterns of attachment. Moreover, only social

8 Attraction to MUDs 8 identification predicted adherence to group norms. Thus, there is some evidence that both forms of attachment occur in virtual groups. However, the correlates of the two forms of attachments were not explored systematically. Although an a priori classification in commonbond and common-identity groups may be valid in many cases, the present research makes the point that groups usually combine both identity and interpersonal functions. For example, Prentice et al. (1994) would classify a sport team as a common-identity group because the common group goal is more important than the interpersonal relationships. However, people might also join a sport team to make new acquaintances and friends after moving into another town. The present paper therefore focuses on the two forms of attachment rather than on the two types of groups. The two forms of attachment and their correlates The aim of the present research is to show that the two forms of attachment to a group, interpersonal attraction and social identification, also occur in virtual groups, and that they are functionally independent. Hypothesis 1 therefore proposes that the two variables are only moderately correlated. Further more, as explained below, the two types of attachment should be differentially related to variables such as duration of memberships in the MUD, number of physical life contacts, and indicators of self-categorization (Hypothesis 2). Interpersonal attraction is idiosyncratic and grounded in specific interpersonal relationships. According to SIP (Walther; 1992) it takes more time to build up friendships via CMC than in FTFinteraction. Thus, interpersonal attraction in virtual communities is expected to intensify with duration of membership. Research has also shown that online contacts often result in physical life contacts (King, 1994; Walther, 1995). Sassenberg (2002) reports that most members of common-bond chats have met many other chat members in physical life whereas only a small percentage of members of common-identity chats did so. Therefore, interpersonal attraction in virtual groups should be positively correlated with number of physical life contacts.

9 Attraction to MUDs 9 As stated above, social identification plays an important role in SIT (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) and SCT (Turner et al., 1987). Cognitive categorization processes are central in these theories. Categorization can occur immediately after joining or being placed in a group, as shown in the minimal group studies (Tajfel et al., 1971). Therefore, social identification does not necessarily increase with duration of group membership. Similarities with other group members are salient in topic-centered virtual communities, which are usually chosen on basis of a shared interest. According to SIDE (Reicher et al., 1995), the anonymity in CMC might even lead to an overestimation of similarities and thereby further foster categorization processes. Physical life contacts are thus not necessary for social identification to occur. However, social identification is expected to correlate with indicators of cognitive categorization processes. When people define themselves in terms of a shared social identity, they accentuate intragroup similarities and intergroup differences. Categorization leads to depersonalization and self-stereotyping, that is, people see themselves less as unique individuals, but rather as similar prototypical members of the group (Turner, 1999). Interpersonal attraction on the other hand should be unrelated or less strongly related to variables such as prototypicality or perceived fit of the categorization (low intragroup and high intergroup differences). Hypothesis 3 addresses the influence of the situational context on the two forms of attachment. The salience of a social identity, but also the degree of social identification is context-dependent (Turner, 1999). An important factor is the presence of a (specific) outgroup because similarities and differences between ingroup members are not defined in absolute terms but in relation to an outgroup. If a similar outgroup is present, the distinctiveness of the ingroup is threatened (distinctiveness threat; cf. Branscombe, Ellemers, Spears & Doosje, 1999). People will try to restore distinctiveness by stressing positive aspects as well as the homogeneity of their own group. Thus, higher levels of social identification should be expressed when an intergroup context is given and the valued group membership is threatened

10 Attraction to MUDs 10 by a similar outgroup. Interpersonal attraction on the other hand should be unaffected by the situational context, because interpersonal attraction is grounded in the idiosyncratic characteristics of people. These characteristics remain the same even if the context changes. Social identification is also related to various forms of group behavior. In general, people who are highly identified with their ingroup tend to show more pro-group behavior than low identifiers. Low identifiers more often choose individual mobility as strategy to maintain or restore a positive self-concept, they further lower their identification with the group or recategorize themselves more easily at a superordinate level if a similar outgroup threatens the distinctiveness of the ingroup (Branscombe et al., 1999). The present paper focuses on evaluative ingroup bias as an example of group behavior. Ingroup bias is only one strategy amongst others to obtain a positive identity. Positive correlations between social identification and ingroup bias are therefore not found in all studies (cf. Hinkle & Brown, 1990). 1 Other factors like the salience of a social identity, the relevance of the comparison dimensions, or the perceived social structure of intergroup relations (e.g., status, permeability of boundaries) also play a role. But it can be expected that in a relatively minimal setting, as it is the case in an online-study, high identified members of a virtual community use the opportunity to describe the ingroup as more positive than an outgroup to a greater degree than low identified members do (Melcher, 1996). Social identification is also not regarded as the only factor influencing ingroup bias, but in comparison to personal attraction social identification should be the better predictor of ingroup bias (Hypothesis 4). The present research MUDs, text-based 2 adventure role-plays, were selected as research venue. Communication and interaction in MUDs is synchronous. People have to solve quests to gain experience points, increase their skills and levels. From a certain level on, they can become so-called wizards and develop the virtual world by programming. Thus, a MUD is not only a game, but also a common programming project.

11 Attraction to MUDs 11 In comparison with other forms of synchronous CMC such as chats, MUDs are more task-focused. They are not only a place to communicate and socialize, but additionally offer the possibility of creating, shaping and maintaining a virtual world. MUD players have to be active, they have to play roles, solve quests, interact with other players or develop the virtual world by programming. In other venues such as newsgroups or mailinglists the majority of members are often silent "lurkers", people who only read the messages of others without participating actively (McKenna & Bargh, 1998; Stegbauer & Rausch, 1999). Most MUDs have a population of a manageable size, thus most MUDders know each other at least by the names of their characters. Taken together, MUDs share more features with small FTF interacting groups than chats, newsgroups, or mailinglists. Method Participants Initially, 339 individuals accessed the first page of the online-questionnaire. Two hundred and seventeen MUDders completed (most of) the questionnaire. Similar dropout rates are reported for other online-experiments (cf. Musch & Reips, 2000). The mean age of the participants was 24.7 years (range: 14-46). Most of them (82.5%) were male. Eighty-one percent were university students, four percent were high-school pupils, and the other 15 percent were working. Design Participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions. One condition represented an intragroup context; the other three conditions provided an intergroup context. In the intergroup conditions, participants had to compare MUDders with members of the respective outgroup. Two of the three outgroups each shared one defining dimension with MUDders: Fantasy-role-players are also interested in role-playing; they just do not do it via CMC. Chatters share the CMC, but they are not interested in role-playing games. From the player rules it is known that role-play is positively evaluated and reinforced, whereas chatting

12 Attraction to MUDs 12 (CMC about non-role-play related topics) is banned in so-called "out-of-character" channels (see for example Thus, role-players represent an outgroup with a positively evaluated overlapping dimension, whereas chatters represent an outgroup with a less positively evaluated overlapping dimension. Non-MUDding students were chosen as non-threatening outgroup, because the category non-mudders seemed too general regarding the relatively low prevalence of MUDders. Procedure The web-experiment was conducted in the spring of It was announced in the newsgroup of German MUD-administrators, who were asked to announce the link of the questionnaire in their MUDs. On the first page, information about the institution of the author, the goal of the study and the estimated time for filling the questionnaire was given. It was stated that participation was completely voluntarily and anonymity was guaranteed. Experimental manipulation In the intragroup context no outgroup was mentioned, and the questionnaire started with some personal questions ( I am ) rendering personal identity salient. In the intergroup context conditions, the instruction said that the goal of the study was to know more about the group of MUDders. Participants were informed that we were not interested in them as individuals, but as a member of the group of MUDders. Next, the participants in the intergroup conditions had to judge the in- and the respective outgroup on several attributes. Measures Social identification with the virtual community was measured with the adapted scale from Simon and Massau (1991). This scale (α =.89) consists of five items such as I identify with the MUDders. Interpersonal attraction was assessed with four items (α =.81). An example is: I know people from the MUD who would also help me with personal problems. Answers for both scales were made on a six-point scale ranging from not true at all to completely true.

13 Attraction to MUDs 13 To measure duration of group membership participants were asked since how many months they play MUDs. Two questions dealt with physical life contacts. The first assessed the existence of physical life contacts in general. Players were asked how many other MUDders they had ever met FTF. The second item asked with how many other MUDders they have regular physical life contact. Both items provided the following alternatives: 0, 1-5, 6-10, 11-20, more than 20. The subjective perceived fit of the category MUDder for self-categorization was assessed by computing the difference between the two items "In many respects, I am different from non-mudders" and "In many respects, I am different from other MUDders". Prototypicality was measured by the item I am a typical MUDder. These items were answered on a five-point scale ranging from not true at all to completely true. Prototypicality and perceived fit can be regarded as indicators of self-categorization and depersonalization, although they do not measure exactly the same concept, r(203) =.36, p <.01. Ingroup bias. Participants had to judge members of the ingroup and, in the intergroup conditions, an outgroup on six attributes each (tolerant, flexible, creative, nice, polite, intelligent). Evaluations on the six attributes were averaged for in- and outgroup (α =.82 and α =.87, respectively). Participants were requested to imagine 100 group members and distribute them into five boxes labeled from not at all to very (for example: how many out of 100 MUDders are not at all tolerant, a little tolerant, and so on). This procedure is often used to assess group homogeneity (Linville, Fischer & Salovey, 1989), but it also allows to assess ingroup bias by calculating the mean evaluation of each group and subsequently calculating the difference between the two groups. The distribution measure is more subtle than a direct comparison of two groups on a scale. Participants were also asked to indicate their gender, age, and occupation/study. The questionnaire assessed some additional measures not relevant for the current paper (Utz, 1999).

14 Attraction to MUDs 14 Results Descriptive results Participants were playing MUDs for an average of 28 months (SD = 21) and 14.3 (SD = 13.9) hours per week. Social identification with the group of MUDders was well above the midpoint of this scale, M = 3.83 (SD = 1.26), t(205) = 3.72, p <.001. The sample mean for interpersonal attraction was M = 3.94 (SD = 1.31). This value was also above the scalemidpoint, t(207) = 4.84, p < MUDders not only regarded the membership in MUDs as an important aspect of their self-concept, they also formed interpersonal relationships. The two forms of attachment and their correlates Social identification and interpersonal attraction were only moderately correlated, r(206) =.23, p <.01. More important, when the nine items of the two scales were subjected to a factor analysis, two factors with eigenvalues greater than 1.0 emerged (3.9 and 2.2). After a Varimax rotation, the first factor, which explained 39.4% of the total variance, consisted of the items intended to measure social identification, whereas the items of the subscale interpersonal attraction loaded on the second factor, which explained 28.33% of the total variance. The factor loadings were always above.74 on the appropriate factor and below.31 on the other factor. These results supported Hypothesis 1, showing that the two forms of attachment are conceptually distinguishable. - Insert Table 1 about here - Duration of group membership and number of physical life contacts. The correlates of the two forms of attachment are summarized in Table 1. As explained below, the overall pattern of correlation clearly supported Hypothesis 2. As predicted, interpersonal attraction was positively correlated with duration of group membership in months, r(206) =.34, p <.001, as well as with total number of physical life contacts, r(207) =.57, p <.001, and number of regular physical life contacts, r(207) =.55, p <.001. Social identification, on the other hand, was unrelated to duration of group membership in months, r(204) = -.05, ns, suggesting

15 Attraction to MUDs 15 that social identification can be strong from the initial ingroup contact onwards. Social identification was not correlated with total number of physical life contacts, r(205) =.003, ns, and weakly correlated with regular physical life contacts, r(205) =.19, p <.01. In all cases, these measures correlated significantly higher with interpersonal attraction than with social identification, all zs > 4.06, ps <.001. Prototypicality and perceived fit. Interpersonal attraction was only weakly related to prototypicality, r(206) =.16, p <.05, and not at all related to subjective perceived fit of the category, r(203) = -.01, ns. Social identification was correlated positively with both, prototypicality, r(205) =.56, p <.001, and perceived fit, r(202) =.32, p <.001. The correlations with social identification were significantly greater than those with interpersonal attraction, both zs > 3.41, ps <.001. Context effects. To examine Hypothesis 3, which predicted that only social identification would be influenced by situational context, two ANOVAs with comparison context as independent variable were computed. As can be seen in Figure 1, interpersonal attraction was not affected by the comparison context, F < 1, ns. However, the comparison context had the expected influence on social identification, F(3,202) = 2.68, p <.05. An analysis of variance with the appropriate contrasts showed that if an outgroup with overlapping group boundaries was presented (role-players, chatters), social identification was higher than in the intragroup condition and the non-overlapping boundaries (non-mudding students) condition, t(202) = , p <.01. Ingroup bias. To detect possible interactions of comparison context and level of attachment, participants were divided in MUDders scoring low and high on the interpersonal attraction scale by median split. Low and high social identifiers were determined by separate median splits per each experimental condition to obtain more equal cell sizes 4. The analysis reported above has shown that social identification is not independent from situational context. The number of participants in the following analysis is reduced because ingroup bias

16 Attraction to MUDs 16 can be calculated only for participants in the three intergroup conditions, and because only 39 to 42 participants in each of these conditions completed all twelve evaluation tasks. Only data from participants who completed the bias measure were included in the analysis. A 2 (interpersonal attraction: low vs. high) x 3 (outgroup: non-mudding students, role-players, chatters) analysis of variance with ingroup bias as dependent variable revealed that no effect involving interpersonal attraction reached significance, Fs < 1. Only a main effect for outgroup emerged, F(3,115) = 10.03, p <.001, which is discussed below. In contrast, a 2 (social identification: low vs. high) x 3 (outgroup: non-mudding students, role-players, chatters) analysis of variance revealed a significant main effect for social identification, F(1,109) = 9.28, p <.001, indicating that high identifiers displayed a larger ingroup bias (M =.35) than low identifiers (M =.15) and thereby supporting Hypothesis 4. Only social identification predicted (inter)group behavior. Again, a main effect for outgroup emerged, F(3,109) = 11.48, p <.001. The pattern was exactly the same as in the analysis above. The bias towards chatters (M =.43), the group that shared a negatively evaluated dimension, was larger than the one towards non-mudding students (M =.25), the group that did not share a defining dimension with the MUDders. The latter in turn was larger than the one towards role-players (M =.06), the group that shared a positively evaluated dimension with the group of MUDders. Whereas the bias towards chatters, t(38) = 6.94, p <.001, and the one towards non-mudding students, t(41) = 3.78, p <.001, differed significantly from zero, the bias towards role-players did not, t(39) = 1.62, ns. Discussion The aim of this study was to examine whether interpersonal attraction and social identification, two forms of attachment to groups usually found in FTF groups, can also be found in MUDs, and whether they are functionally independent. The results showed that people made friends in MUDs and that they identified with these virtual communities. Both concepts were only moderately correlated.

17 Attraction to MUDs 17 More importantly, the concepts were related to different variables. The pattern was as expected. Interpersonal attraction needed time to develop, as indicated by the positive correlation with duration of membership. It also led to and/or was fostered by physical life contacts. Probably, this link is bi-directional: Sympathy evokes the desire to meet FTF, and physical life contacts further strengthen the interpersonal bonds. However, interpersonal attraction was unrelated to more cognitive indicators of self-categorization such as perceived fit or prototypicality. The score on the scale regarding interpersonal attraction was also not predictive of ingroup bias. Social identification, on the other hand, was independent from duration of membership in the virtual community, and total number of physical life contacts, but positively correlated with prototypicality and perceived fit. Moreover, only social identification led to (inter)group behavior. The expected main effect of social identification on ingroup bias was found: High identifiers showed more ingroup bias than did low identifiers. Theoretical implications The results of the present studies have several theoretical implications. First, the results confirm the theoretical relevance of distinguishing two forms of attachment to groups in existing virtual communities. Prior research and theory on CMC has often equated social relationships with interpersonal attraction. Hitherto, only one study measured interpersonal attraction and social identification in existing virtual communities (Sassenberg, 2002). But this study followed a different theoretical approach and used a between-groups design. The present study is the first in which the correlates of social identification and interpersonal attraction were compared within the same virtual group and, additionally, the effects of variations in context (intra- vs. intergroup) were studied. The results show that interpersonal attraction and social identification can be differentiated in virtual communities. More interestingly, the levels of interpersonal attraction and social identification were roughly the same in the current study. This result challenges the

18 Attraction to MUDs 18 assumption of Prentice et al. (1994) that groups fall into one of two types: common-bond or common-identity groups. At least in MUDs, which provide a venue for socializing, but also for sharing the interest in role-play and programming, both forms of attachment occur parallel (see Postmes & Spears, 2000, for a similar point). Of course, there exist groups in which one form of attachment clearly dominates, as shown by Sassenberg (2002) for on- and off-topic chats, but this is not always the case. Moreover, the present study showed that interpersonal attraction and social identification are functionally independent, thereby generalizing effects found in FTF interacting groups and CMC groups in the laboratory to virtual communities. Only social identification, based on cognitive categorization processes, is related to group behavior. Interpersonal attraction was not affected by variations of context, and also was not related to ingroup bias. These results contradict the assumption of Gaertner and Schopler (1998) that intragroup relations enhance ingroup entitativity, which in turn results in ingroup bias. No relationship between interpersonal attraction and ingroup bias was found. To the contrary, only social identification was related to ingroup bias in the present study. SIT and SCT do not state that a direct causal relation between social identification and ingroup bias should always be obtained, because ingroup bias is only one of several strategies by which a positive social identity can be achieved. Factors such as the perceived intergroup relations, the salience of the intergroup context or the appropriateness of the comparison dimensions are possible moderators. Indeed, a closer analysis shows that social identification is only related to ingroup bias when the outgroup does not share an overlapping dimension (non-mudding students), r(42) =.52, p <.01, or the overlapping dimension is evaluated negatively (chatters), r(39) =.48, p <.001, but not, when the overlapping dimension is evaluated positively (role-players), r(40) =.08, ns.

19 Attraction to MUDs 19 Ingroup bias therefore depended not only on social identification, but also on the nature of the involved outgroup. The highest ingroup bias was displayed towards chatters, whereas no significant bias towards role-players was found. Even high identifiers did not favor the ingroup over role-players. A closer look at the data shows that the cause for the lack of ingroup bias against role-players lies in the fact that they are evaluated much more positively than the other two outgroups (M = 3.43 vs. M = 3.05 for non-mudders and M = 2.99 for chatters, F(2,122) = 20.57, p <.001). This pattern could imply that in this context recategorization at the superordinate level of role-players rather than decategorization takes place (Gaertner, Mann, Murell & Dovidio, 1998). Overall, these results suggest that virtual groups provide a meaningful basis for selfcategorization. Although the group is only virtual, members of virtual communities do not favor the ingroup over every presented outgroup, as is often the case in minimal groups. The MUDders obviously share in- and outgroup stereotypes, they know exactly where to place their ingroup in comparison to various other outgroups. Implications for attraction in virtual communities The distinction between interpersonal attraction and social identification is not only of theoretical value, but also empirically makes sense. Lea and Spears (1995) speculated that the process of developing personal relationships in CMC might be different from FTF. Whereas in FTF communication attraction is influenced by factors such as physical appearance, in CMC other cues such as social self-categorization are more influential. Thus, it is assumed that interpersonal attraction is based on social attraction (Hogg, 1992). The present research is not totally incompatible with this view, because the two forms of attachment were moderately correlated. However, it seems more appropriate to view the two forms of attachment as separate and distinct processes. Social identification is based on cognitive categorization processes that occur as responses to particular intergroup contexts. Therefore, social identification is context-dependent. Interpersonal attraction, on the other hand, is developed

20 Attraction to MUDs 20 over time and based on shared experiences and idiosyncratic characteristics. Consequently, interpersonal attraction tends to be less influenced by variations in intergroup context. Generalization and future research The question arises to what extent the results can be generalized to other virtual communities. To the extent that virtual communities are communities of interest, social identification should always be possible because the cognitive process of self-categorization plays a central role. The anonymity in CMC could further facilitate self-categorization as a member of the virtual group. Topic-centered online groups provide optimal conditions for self-categorization and social identification. It might be more difficult to form interpersonal relationships in communities in which the number of passive members, so-called lurkers, is high. There is evidence for this reasoning by studies of Parks and Floyd (1996) and Parks and Roberts (1998). In the former study, friendships in newsgroup were examined, whereas the latter focused on friendships in MOOs (MUDs, object-oriented), a more socially oriented form of MUDs. Whereas 61% of the newsgroup users reported to have made friends, 94% of the MOO-players did. Thus, the degree of social identification and amount of interpersonal relationships might be different in other communities. However, the finding that both forms of attachment are functionally independent should be stable across different forms of virtual communities. Future research should try to replicate this pattern in different virtual communities. An interesting question is to also study newer technologies, which are no longer restricted to textbased communication. Web-chats nowadays often offer so-called avatars graphical representations of the user. Webcams are also used more often. If technology makes it easier to transport nonverbal information, it might take less time to build up friendships. On the other hand, differences between individuals are more salient if pictures are included Thus, social identification processes might be hindered. Whereas newer technologies might

21 Attraction to MUDs 21 influence the development of the different forms of attachment, the fact that the two forms are functionally independent, should not be altered by other technologies. To conclude, it is possible to distinguish between social and interpersonal attraction in virtual communities. This distinction is both meaningful and useful because the two forms of attraction are functionally independent. For the explanation of group behavior such as ingroup bias, social identification is the more important variable. Interpersonal attraction is no necessary condition for group behavior to occur, but it may contribute to the atmosphere in the virtual group and foster group solidarity (e.g., Hogg, 1993). Thus, when studying virtual groups, it is important to consider that social attraction (i.e. identification with the group) should not be equated too readily with interpersonal attraction (i.e. identification with the individual group member).

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