The paper I chose in Computers in Human Behavior is titled “Predicting selfie-posting behavior on social networking sites: An extension of theory of planned behavior“ and written by Eunice Kim, Jung-Ah Lee, Yongjung Sung, and Sejung Marina Choi. It was published in the beginning of the year 2016 so it is quite new.
In their research they focus on the growing interest in posting selfies on social network sites (SNS). Selfies are seen as a way of constructing a self-identity online that is based on how the user or poster wants to be seen by others. Their research is based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1985, 1991) and though that on the concepts about subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, narcissism, and behavioral intention. In their quantitative study the behavior and attitudes of 85 participants was investigated in two waves of data collection. In the first wave their attitudes were surveyed and in the second wave their posting behavior was observed. All of their hypotheses predicted a positive correlation between the concepts and the selfie-posting behavior and were confirmed.
Looking at their study from a quite critical perspective some more unanswered questions are coming up. First, they did mention the amount of participants and their demographical background, but the information about how exactly these participants were found is missing. Especially in their field, a connection between the participants or how they were found (online, through friends, etc.) might have a big influence on the outcome. Second, their method was not as transparent as it is supposed to bo. Especially the second wave of data collection was lacking of information. They simply imply with a single example what was examined. This makes the whole research unreliable, what should be a standard of all researches to prove its validity. However they mention some limitations of their study as well, like their focus on Instragram users and not on more SNS. This should have been mentioned in the title already.
What is theory and what is it not?
A theory is needed to understand and explain different ways of how something should be done, gives different views on the world and how they work and shows relationship between constructs.
It all starts with a problem that has to be solved or a question of interest. This leads to research whose outcome is in the best way the development of a theory.
Problem to solve/ question to answer → Research → Development of theory
In the field of natural sciences, social sciences, and sciences of the artificial there are five primary goals of a theory:
- Description of a problem or question of interest and analysis of relationships between constructs.
- Explanation of how, why, and when something happened, leading to a causality.
- Prediction of future perspectives. Meaning the theory keeps existing if it is not proven wrong.
- Prescription. Theory covering a method and/or structure for solving a problem/answering a question.
Theories can have focuses on different goals. Not all of them can or have to be covered in a theory.
How does a theory look like? In general a theory should represent (in words or graphically) constructs and the relationships between them, plus the limitations of the theory.
At the same time it is important to take a look at what is not a theory, especially in scientific papers:
(1) References are not theory. Just the accumulation of other authors arguments doesn‘t state a theory.
(2) Data are not theory. Empirical evidence shall confirm a theory, but the theory has to be on a more abstract level than the data. It is the explanation of why data is as it is.
(3) Lists of variables of constructs are not theory. Theories should show the connections between them.
(4) Diagrams are not theory. They can underline a theory, but additionally should be explained causations, relations, interventions, or moderations between units or constructs.
(5) Hypotheses (or predictions) are not theory. They are the connections between theory and data. They should reflect the what and not the why of expectations.
The Theory of Planned Behavior
The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is the used theory in my selected paper. It says basically that human behavior is planned. The planning is based on attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control. These factors lead to intention, what leads to behavior. It can be located at the theory type of explanation and prediction.
It‘s benefits are the successful explanation of behavior in different areas (e.g. health, shopping, self-expression). Limitations are that according to the theory behavior should always happen knowingly and rational. Additionally neither the influence of previous behavior, nor the control of behavior is not included.
Additional sources:
Ajzen, I. (1985). From intentions to actions: a theory of planned behavior. Berlin Heidelberg: Springer.
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Orgnizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, pp. 179-211.
Elsevier B.V. (2016). Computers in Human Behavior. Available on: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/computers-in-human-behavior/
Kim, E., Lee, J., Sung, Y., & Choi, S.M. (2016). Predicting selfie-posting behavior on social networking sites: An extension of theory of planned behavior. Computers in Human Behavior, 62, pp. 116-123.
Keine Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen