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Language, Psychology, and New New Media: The Hyperpersonal Model of Mediated Communication at Twenty-Five Years

Joseph B. Walther ; Monica T. Whitty (2020) — Journal of Language and Social Psychology

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DOI: 10.1177/0261927x20967703 (opens in a new tab)

Type:   Journal Article
Country:   Global
Tags:   Computer Mediated Communication, Deception, Hyperpersonal Model, Measurement, Romance Scams, Social Media
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Synopsis

            
The publication provides a neutral, source-grounded synthesis of the hyperpersonal model of computer-mediated communication (CMC) as it stands 25 years after its original articulation. It describes the model as a framework for understanding how, when nonverbal cues are limited or absent, communicators rely on language, message style, and available media affordances to form impressions, present themselves, and elicit reciprocal reinforcement that can yield intensified online relationships. The article recaps the four components of the model—senders, receivers, channel, and feedback—and explains how editing, asynchronous communication, selective self-presentation, and expectancy-confirmation processes can lead to more favorable or idealized relational outcomes than in face-to-face interactions. The authors survey contemporary contexts and boundary conditions, noting how multi-modal and multi-mediated environments, platform affordances, and broader social dynamics influence hyperpersonal processes. They discuss boundary extensions beyond the original text-only environments, including online dating, social networking, and virtual communities, where images, videos, memes, avatars, and other cues shape interactions. A significant portion is devoted to cases of deception and harm, especially online romance scams, illustrating how scammers exploit hyperpersonal dynamics—rapid self-presentation, persistent text-based engagement, tailored narratives, and strategic feedback—to foster trust and drive victims to disclose information or part with money. The piece also addresses research methods and suggests directions for investigating how hyperpersonal mechanisms operate at scale on modern social media, warnings about the potential role of online behavior in extremist or hateful contexts. Overall, the article argues that the hyperpersonal model remains a useful lens for analyzing mediated self-presentation and relationship formation, while urging careful study of new technologies, contexts, and ethical implications as online communication evolves.

          

        
                  

            
Identified Gaps

            
The article identifies an unresolved need to determine whether the hyperpersonal model remains applicable to contemporary multimodal, multi-platform social media and to specify its boundary conditions. It also highlights limited understanding of downstream effects of strategic self-presentation and large-scale reciprocal feedback. Romance scams are used as illustrative cases rather than examined through new empirical data in this article.

          

        
                  

            
Methods

            
Narrative critical review of the hyperpersonal model after 25 years. The authors explain the model's sender, receiver, channel, and feedback components; synthesize illustrative prior research; assess historical and contemporary boundary conditions; and apply the framework to deceptive online romance and romance scams. The article proposes methodological directions for studying social interaction at scale.

          

        
                  

            
Limitations

            
This is a conceptual review rather than a new empirical study of romance scams. Romance-scam claims are presented as illustrative applications of the hyperpersonal model and draw on cited prior work. The article does not report sampling, data collection, analytic procedures, or effect estimates for scam victims or offenders, limiting direct causal or prevalence conclusions.

          

        
                  

            
Future Work

            
Study whether hyperpersonal processes explain social-media interactions at scale, including reciprocal influence and collusion across platforms. Combine interviews, case studies, sentiment and content analysis, and time-sensitive observation of messages and interactions across media. For romance scams, these approaches could test how cross-platform communication and feedback reinforce deceptive relationships.

          

              

    
    

        
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