Need for belonging and implicit attitudes towards Facebook : moderation by Facebook usage

Abstract

This study examined the impact of the need for belonging on implicit attitudes towards Facebook. Moreover, the degree of Facebook usage was investigated as a moderator upon this relationship. Undergraduate students (N = 60) were recruited and randomly assigned into two groups: one in which the need for belonging was activated through fake negative feedback on a personality test, and another in which participants were told that their personality test score was within the mean, thereby preventing the activation of belongingness needs. Our hypotheses were: (1) the need for belonging would result in positive implicit attitudes towards Facebook, and (2) the degree of Facebook usage (measured as Facebook intensity) moderates the relationship such that individuals with high Facebook intensity will exhibit stronger implicit preferences towards Facebook compared to those with low Facebook intensity when the need for belonging was activated. Contrary to expectations, need for belonging did not significantly impact positive implicit attitudes towards Facebook. Moreover, although we found evidence of moderation, the effect was in the opposite direction; individuals with low Facebook intensity demonstrated implicit preferences towards Facebook when their need for belonging was activated, while participants who reported high Facebook intensity exhibited implicit preferences towards phone-based communication instead. Together, these results suggested that Facebook may be meeting belongingness needs only for those who have little emotional connection towards it.