Social Presence on LinkedIn: Perceived Credibility and Interpersonal Attractiveness Based on User Profile Picture

Chad Edwards 1 *, Brett Stoll 1, Natalie Faculak 1, Sandi Karman 1
More Detail
1 Western Michigan University, USA
* Corresponding Author
Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, Volume 5, Issue 4, pp. 102-115. https://doi.org/10.29333/ojcmt/2528
OPEN ACCESS   4543 Views   6612 Downloads   Published online: 15 Oct 2015
Download Full Text (PDF)

ABSTRACT

LinkedIn is a social networking site dedicated to making business connections for the purposes of building a professional network and sharing employment opportunities. Social networking sites (SNS) have allowed more content to be user-generated, making it increasingly difficult for users to assess credibility of information regarding source, message, and medium. Like other social media sites, LinkedIn provides information about a user that viewers can use to make judgments about the source, such as their credibility and attractiveness. With the use of Sundar’s MAIN model, the present study investigated the importance of social presence in the form of a profile picture when individuals are judging credibility of a LinkedIn user’s profile. Findings demonstrated significant differences between social presence (picture/no picture) conditions and social attraction and competence. Results indicated that users who post a profile picture along with their LinkedIn profile are perceived as more socially attractive and more competent than users who do not post a picture.
Keywords: Social Media, LinkedIn, Credibility, Attraction, MAIN Model

CITATION

Edwards, C., Stoll, B., Faculak, N., & Karman, S. (2015). Social Presence on LinkedIn: Perceived Credibility and Interpersonal Attractiveness Based on User Profile Picture. Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 5(4), 102-115. https://doi.org/10.29333/ojcmt/2528

REFERENCES

  • Baym, N. (2010). Personal Connections in the Digital Age. Polity Press, Malden, Ma.
  • Bohnert, D. & Ross, W. H. (2010). The influence of social networking web sites on the evaluation on job candidates. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 13(3), 341-347. doi:10.1089/cyber.2009.0193
  • Boyd, D. M., & Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), 210-230. doi:10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00393.x
  • Davison, H. K., Maraist, C., & Bing, M. N. (2011). Friend or foe? The promise and pitfalls of using social networking sites for hr decisions. Journal of Business and Psychology, 26(2), 153-159. doi:10.1007/s10869-011-9215-8
  • Davison, H. K., Maraist, C. C., Hamilton, & Bing, M. N. (2012). To screen or not to screen? Using the internet for selection decisions. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 24(1), 1-21. doi:10.1007/s10672-011-9178-y
  • Edwards, C., Spence, P. R., Gentile, C. J., Edwards, A., & Edwards, A. (2013). How much Klout do you have...A test of system generated cues on source credibility. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(5), A12-A16. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2012.12.034
  • Fawley, N. (2013). Linkedin as an information source for human resources, competitive intelligence. Online Searcher, 37(2), 31-35. Retrieved from http://libproxy.library.wmich.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.libproxy.library.wmic h.edu/docview/1322822764?accountid=15099
  • Haas, C. & Wearden, S. T. (2003). E-credibility: Building common ground in web environments. L1 Educational Studies in Language and Literature, 3, 169-184.
  • Kluempher, D. H. & Rosen, P. A. (2009). Future employment selection methods: Evaluating social networking web sites. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 24(6), 567-580. doi:10.1108/02683940910974134
  • LinkedIn.com (2013). www.linkedin.com.
  • McCroskey, J. C. & Teven, J. J. (1999). Goodwill: A reexamination of the construct and its measurement. Communication Monographs, 66, 90-103.
  • McCroskey, J. C. & McCain, T. A. (1974). The measurement of interpersonal attraction. Speech Monographs, 41, 261-266.
  • McCroskey, L. L., McCroskey, J. C., & Richmond, V. P. (2006). Analysis and improvement of the measurement of interpersonal attraction and homophily. Communication Quarterly, 54(1), 1-31.
  • Metzger, M. J., Flanagin, A. J., & Medders, R. B. (2010). Social and heuristic approaches to credibility evaluation online. Journal of Communication, 60(1), 413-439. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2010.01488.x
  • Nowak, K. L. (2013). Choosing buddy icons that look like me or represent my personality: Using buddy icons for social presence. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(4), 1456- 1464. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2013.01.027.
  • Nowak, K. L., Hamilton, M. A., & Hammond, C. C. (2009). The effect of image features on judgments of homophily, credibility, and intention to use as avatars in future interactions. Media Psychology, 12, 50-76. doi:10.1080/15213260802669433
  • Skeels, M. M., and Grudin, J. (2009). When social networks cross boundaries: a case study of workplace use of facebook and linkedin. Group ’09, 95-104, doi:10.1145/1531674.1531689
  • Slovensky, R., and Ross, W. (2012). "Should human resource managers use social media to screen job applicants? Managerial and legal issues in the USA". Info, 14(1) 55-69. doi:10.1108/14636691211196941
  • Sundar, S. S. (2008). The MAIN model: A heuristic approach to understanding technology effects on credibility. In M. J. Metzger & A. J. Flanagin (Eds.), Digital Media, Youth, and Credibility (pp. 72-100). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
  • Thew, D. (2008). LinkedIn - a user’s perspective: Using new channels for effective business networking. Business Information Review, 25(2), 87-90. doi:10.1177/0266382108090810
  • Tidwell, L. C. & Walther, J. B. (2002). Computer-mediated communication effects on disclosure, impressions, and interpersonal evaluations: Getting to know one another a bit at a time. Human Communication Research, 28(3), 217-348.
  • Van Der Heide, B., D’Angelo, J. D., & Schumaker, E. M. (2012). The effects of verbal versus photographic self-presentation on impression formation in Facebook. Journal of Communication, 62(1), 98-116. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2011.01617.x
  • Walther, J. B. (1992). Interpersonal effects in computer-mediated interaction: A relational perspective. Communication Research, 19(1), 52-90. doi:10.1177/009365092019001003
  • Walther, J. B., Slovacek, C. L., & Tidwell, L. C. (2001). Is a picture worth a thousand words?: Photographic images in long-term and short-term computer-mediated communication. Communication Research, 28(1), 105-134. doi:10.1177/009365001028001004
  • Westerman, D., Spence, P. R., & Van Der Heide, B. (2012). A social network as information: The effect of system generated reports of connectedness on credibility on Twitter. Computers in Human Behavior, 28(1), 199-206. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2011.09.001