U.S. Students’ Perceptions of a Target Chinese Student on Facebook: Testing the Warranting Effects of Stereotype Relevant Messages

Abstract

Extending prior literature on stereotypes of Chinese international students held by Americans (Ruble & Zhang, 2012; 2013) and warranting theory (Walther & Parks, 2002), this experimental study examined the effects of exposure to a target Chinese international student’s Facebook page with stereotypical self-generated (positive or negative) and/or other-generated wall posts (positive or negative) on U.S. participants’ judgments and behavioral tendencies toward the target. Specifically, the results (N = 572, Mage = 21.98, SD = 5.31) indicated that negative other-generated posts decreased the positive effects of positive self-description on participants’ judgments of the target, and positive other-generated posts reduced the negative effects of negative self-description. When the target’s self-generated and other-generated posts were consistent, other-generated posts in general produced an averaging effect on participants’ perceptions of the target, indicating the complexity in testing warranting theory. Findings in this study have demonstrated the theoretical validity and utility of warranting theory in mediated intercultural communication context by examining the effects of both the valence and sources of the messages that were consistent with existing cultural stereotypes on impression formation and willingness to communicate and cooperate with the Chinese target. From the practical perspective, positive self-presentation on social networking sites opens opportunities for international students to establish friendships with host nationals. However, negative statements made by others may provide the potential to decrease the positive effects of online self-presentation. In general, findings of this study provide university staff and offices of international students with insightful suggestions to help international students manage self-presentation in response to cultural stereotypes and other-generated messages in adapting to the new cultural environment.