With the proliferation of mobile devices and wireless connectivity advances, social networking sites (SNS) have become important communication platforms that allow people to interact with others and share information anytime and anywhere (Okazaki & Yagüe, 2012). Online communication permits anonymity and asynchronous communication, thus providing control over one’s self-presentation behaviors (Vitak, 2012). As a result, SNS users are willing to invest their energy and time in online self-presentation to shape an idealized impression of themselves (Boyd & Ellison, 2007). However, not everyone is equally concerned with managing the online images that others form about them. For example, autonomous individuals generally do not invest a great deal of effort in their impression management (e.g., Knee & Zuckerman, 1996) because they have a relatively stable sense of self that is not strongly tied to the perceived impressions of others (Deci & Ryan, 1995; Lewis & Neighbors, 2005).

One theoretical framework that can be used to understand the associations between autonomy and self-presentation is self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 2000). Per this theory people with high autonomy tend to perceive all situations as interesting and to have high intrinsic motivation (i.e., perceived enjoyment; Deponte, 2004). Indeed, in several interpersonal communication studies, researchers have found that the degree of individual autonomy or self-determination (i.e., the pursuit of goals coherent with oneself) is negatively related to the number of self-presentation strategies one uses (Lewis & Neighbors, 2005) to obtain an interpersonal goal (e.g., a job offer) that is separable from the activity itself (Brunet & Sabiston, 2011).

Few scholars have adopted the SDT perspective to examine the relationship between individual differences in self-determination and online self-presentation behavior. By testing the SDT roles of autonomy orientation, controlled orientation, and impersonal orientation (Deci & Ryan, 1985), we sought to offer psychological explanations for why different people use different self-presentation tendencies to manage their impressions on SNS.

Literature Review and Hypotheses

Self-Presentation Strategies on Social Networking Sites

Self-presentation strategies are defined as a series of behaviors and tactics designed to construct particular impressions or identities (S.-J. Lee, Quigley, Nesler, Corbett, & Tedeschi, 1999). Jones and Pittman (1982) proposed five self-presentation strategy types: (1) ingratiation, which involves using humorous, modest, and personal statements to be liked by others; (2) intimidation, which entails using threats and anger to be viewed as dangerous and powerful; (3) self-promotion, which involves individuals publicizing their abilities, accomplishments, and performance to be perceived as skilled and qualified; (4) exemplification, which entails displaying ideological social norms and self-discipline to establish oneself as a moral model, and (5) supplication, which involves presenting oneself as weak or helpless to elicit assistance from others. Because the intimidation strategy is difficult to operationalize in an online context (Jung, Youn, & McClung, 2007), we chose to focus on ingratiation, self-promotion, exemplification, and supplication strategies.

In contrast to offline life, where people can segment audiences by time and space, SNS users tend to collapse multiple times and spaces into a single context (Y. Wang, Li, Semaan, & Tang, 2016). Interaction on SNS like WeChat is mostly between friends, neighbors, classmates, coworkers, and family who have connected offline (Zhang, Li, Wu, & Li, 2017). WeChat, a mobile application, has become the most popular SNS in China, enabling users to send messages (text and voice) and share photos, video, and documents with friends at anytime and anywhere. It is challenging for users to maintain congruence with social norms and simultaneously present a desired image based on multiple norms (Marwick & Boyd, 2011). Whether or not self-presentation strategies function identically on SNS and in offline contexts is unclear. Accordingly, we examined the differences in self-presentation strategy use between SNS and offline contexts.

Individual Differences in Self-Determination and Online Self-Presentation

Given that many self-presentation behaviors are aimed at achieving a particular goal (e.g., receiving a job offer), numerous researchers have explored the use of different types of self-presentation motives in real life (e.g., Leary & Kowalski, 1990) and online (e.g., Boyd & Ellison, 2007). For example, the external motivation to receive social rewards has been found to influence the willingness to engage in online impression management. Researchers have shown that people who desire to attain social support from their friends tend to use positive or honest self-presentation strategies on SNS (e.g., Kim & Lee, 2011). Other possible motivations for using online self-presentation strategies that have more internally imposed constraints (i.e., introjected motivation) include increasing one’s self-esteem (Rui & Stefanone, 2013) and self-enhancement (Bareket-Bojmel, Moran, & Shahar, 2016). Extending previous work on the relationship between users’ motivation types and the frequency of their use of self-presentation strategies, in this study we proposed that individual differences with respect to self-determined motivational orientation would be likely to drive consequent differences in online self-presentation.

According to causality orientations theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985), one subtheory of SDT, individual differences in self-determination are mainly reflected in general causality orientations, which implies that each individual has a principal method of understanding the nature of the motivation of their own behavior. In Deci and Ryan’s (1985) view, there are three causality orientations that represent different points along a continuum of self-determination: autonomy orientation (most self-determined; reflects an inclination to regulate behaviors based on the awareness of one’s core interests and integrated values), controlled orientation (less self-determined; reflects an inclination to base behaviors on contingencies, pressures, and introjected regulations), and impersonal orientation (least self-determined; refers to a general lack of motivation, a sense of helplessness, and personal unworthiness). Researchers exploring gender differences in each causality orientation have consistently found that men are significantly more likely to have a controlled orientation than are women, and there are no gender differences on the autonomy orientation and impersonal orientation (e.g., Rose, Markland, & Parfitt, 2001).

The underlying assumption behind all self-presentation strategies is that the impressions others have of an individual affect that individual (S.-J. Lee et al., 1999). Often, an audience’s reaction or feedback affects presenters’ self-concept and feelings of self-worth (Leary & Kowalski, 1990). Thus, fluctuating self-worth as a function of outside influences, such as social approval, causes an individual to be more motivated to engage in impression management. In this sense, those with a more stable sense of self that is less influenced by the perceived reactions of others may be less motivated to use self-presentation strategies.

Autonomy orientation is a positive indicator of self-determination that is associated with greater self-awareness, self-actualization, and self-esteem (e.g., Scherhorn & Grunert, 1988). Previous researchers have demonstrated that more autonomous individuals have a more stable self-view and tend to behave more consistently with respect to their self-concept and self-descriptions (e.g., Neighbors & Knee, 2003). People who score high on this orientation are often intrinsically motivated and appear to be honest and open in naturally occurring interactions. As such, they are less likely to engage in saving face, self-serving bias, or self-handicapping behaviors to protect themselves from negatively perceived encounters (e.g., Knee & Zuckerman, 1996). Correspondingly, having an autonomy orientation may lead to a lower likelihood of using SNS for impression management, because more (vs. less) autonomous individuals already have a positive and stable vision of how others see them, and do not need extra attention or validation from the network to increase their self-esteem (Mehdizadeh, 2010). Therefore, we formed the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 1: The autonomy orientation of self-determination will be negatively related to the use of self-presentation strategies on social networking sites.

Individuals with a controlled orientation tend to interpret all events as imposing pressure or obligation; thus, they regulate their behavior according to external controls and rewards (Scherhorn & Grunert, 1988). Because extrinsic motivation is more likely to be aroused and to play a more determinative role in the behavior of those with a controlled orientation (Koestner & Zuckerman, 1994), extrinsic factors like interaction goals are very important in determining their use of self-presentation acts (Rosenberg & Egbert, 2011). Controlled individuals whose self-worth is largely rooted in external factors are attentive to social acceptance and approval (Hodgins & Knee, 2002). Supporting this view, Lewis and Neighbors (2005) found that having a controlled orientation is consistently associated with the use of self-promotion, ingratiation, and exemplification strategies, all of which are conducive to procuring a positive self-image. We expected that this would apply to the online context too, such that individuals with a controlled orientation would use self-presentation strategies that allow them to make positive online impressions on others. Thus, we formed the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 2: The controlled orientation of self-determination will be positively related to the use of ingratiation, self-promotion, and exemplification self-presentation strategies on social networking sites.

Individuals with an impersonal orientation perceive that they have limited intentional control over their actions, and tend to believe that they cannot regulate their behavior in a manner that will lead reliably to their desired outcome (Deci & Ryan, 1985). This self-determination orientation has been shown to be positively related to low self-esteem, high levels of shame, and more severe depressive symptoms (Young, Neighbors, DiBello, Traylor, & Tomkins, 2016). Because those with an impersonal orientation are usually overwhelmed by stressful situations and tend to feel negative about themselves (Deponte, 2004), they are more inclined to use negative self-presentation strategies for advertising their dependence and soliciting help (Soenens, Berzonsky, Vansteenkiste, Beyers, & Goossens, 2005). Specifically, Lewis and Neighbors (2005) found that in real-life situations, the impersonal orientation is consistently associated with high levels of anxiety and the use of strategies that entail presenting oneself less favorably, such as supplication. We expected that this relationship would also be evident in online interaction situations; thus, we proposed the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 3: The impersonal orientation of self-determination will be positively related to the use of the supplication self-presentation strategy on social networking sites.

Method

Participants and Procedure

Because of WeChat’s popularity among Chinese young adults, for our participants we recruited college students aged 18–22 years who maintain a personal WeChat account. We designed an independent survey at www.wjx.cn, which is the country’s biggest online survey platform and has a large Chinese WeChat user base. The survey page contained a brief description of the study’s purpose, measures, and instructions for completion. We set up an information page on ethical issues (including answering questions about anonymity, privacy protection, and academic use only) prior to administering the formal questionnaire. Participants were assured that their data would be kept safely and that the responses would not be linked to their identity. College students with a WeChat account who registered on the website were randomly selected and invited to participate in the survey between July 27 and August 27, 2017. We received 455 responses to the online survey. To ensure that no respondent completed multiple questionnaires and that they answered sincerely, we eliminated responses (a) originating from the same IP address, (b) with a completion time of less than 3 minutes (average completion time was 6 minutes), (c) with the same answer for all questions, and (d) with incomplete data. Ultimately, we collected 374 valid responses, of which 44.4% were from men (n = 166) and 55.6% were from women (n = 208).

Measures

Online self-presentation strategies. We used the Online Interpersonal Communication Strategies Scale (Jung et al., 2007) to measure the use of ingratiation, self-promotion, exemplification, and supplication strategies. To ensure the scale was appropriate for the Chinese participants, we recruited one English professional and two English major postgraduate students to translate the scale into Chinese. To investigate further the structure of the Chinese edition scale, we performed a factor analysis with the aim of extracting the factors that emerged. Principal components analysis with varimax rotation yielded one item with a factor loading under .50 (“I show my qualification indirectly”; factor loading < .40); the other items’ factor loadings exceeded .75 and each construct was normally distributed. Thus, the final scale comprised eight items, with two items used to assess the use of each strategy on WeChat Moments. Similar to Facebook, WeChat enables users to present themselves in a community of acquaintances through selective impression management strategies. Sample items are “I show my abilities indirectly” (self-promotion), “Sometimes I depreciate myself” (supplication), “I tend to be self-disciplined” (exemplification), and “I show humor” (ingratiation). All items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree), and subscale scores are averaged across items. The internal consistency reliabilities of each subscale were satisfactory: self-promotion Cronbach’s α = .82, supplication Cronbach’s α = .65, exemplification Cronbach’s α = .68, and ingratiation Cronbach’s α = .70.

Self-determination. We used the Chinese-language adaptation (S.-Q. Wang, Meng, & Chen, 2010) of the General Causality Orientations Scale (GCOS; Deci & Ryan, 1985), to measure participants’ self-determination orientation. The Chinese version of the scale, which has adequate reliability and validity (Wang, Meng, & Chen, 2010), comprises 17 scenarios, each presenting a particular situation followed by an autonomous response, a controlled response, and an impersonal response. A sample scenario is “Your company has promoted you to a position in a city far from your present location. When you think about the move, you would probably …” and response options are “Feel interested in the new challenge and a little nervous at the same time” (autonomy orientation), “Feel excited about the higher status and salary that are involved” (controlled orientation), or “Feel stressed and anxious about the upcoming changes” (impersonal orientation). Responses are rated on a 7-point Likert scale (1 = very unlikely to 7 = very likely), and higher scores indicate that the individual has a strong tendency toward that particular orientation. All subscales showed satisfactory internal consistency reliability: autonomy orientation Cronbach’s α = .73, controlled orientation Cronbach’s α = .75, impersonal orientation Cronbach’s α = .73. The factor structure of the scale was tested with a confirmatory factor analysis using Mplus 7.0. The model showed an acceptable fit to the data: chi square = 189.26, degrees of freedom = 51, p < .01; root mean square error of approximation = .068, comparative fit index = .95, Tucker–Lewis index = .97.

Control variables. We controlled for gender, social desirability, and WeChat usage variables, which prior researchers (e. g., Ferrari & Thompson, 2006) have identified as influential. For instance, social desirability is the tendency for individuals to respond in a socially desirable manner, which might make participants reluctant to present a false self on SNS, and lead them to disclose presentations of their real self (Michikyan, Dennis, & Subrahmanyam, 2015). WeChat usage comprised the number of WeChat friends participants had, the amount of time they spent on WeChat per day, and the number of times using WeChat. Items are “How many WeChat friends do you have?” (using a 9-point scale with 1 = fewer than 50 people, 9 = more than 400 people); “How much time do you use WeChat Moment every day?” (using a 5-point scale with 1 = less than 30 minutes, 5 = more than 3 hours); and “How often do you update WeChat Moment?” (using a 5-point scale with 1 = less than once a week, 5 = update whenever I have time).

Results

First, we used Harman’s (1976) single-factor test to check our data for common method bias. Results of an exploratory factor analysis conducted with SPSS 24.0 indicated that a single factor accounted for only 27.71% of the overall variance, which is less than the 50% threshold (Hair, Anderson, Tatham, & Black, 1998); therefore, common method variance was not a critical concern in our analysis.

Table 1 presents the descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation coefficients for the study variables. A paired-samples t test conducted using SPSS 24.0 revealed that the online ingratiation strategy was used significantly more than any other strategies when using WeChat Moments, followed—in descending order of usage frequency—by the exemplification strategy, the supplication strategy, and the self-promotion strategy. No gender differences were observed in the use of each strategy.

To test our hypotheses more stringently, we ran four hierarchical multiple regression analyses to observe the unique contribution of self-determination to each of the four online self-presentation strategies. The control variables (gender, social desirability, and WeChat usage) were entered as the first block of predictors, and the three causality orientations were added as the second block. The results are presented in Table 2.

In Step 1, gender, social desirability, and WeChat use did not significantly increase the R² (p > .05) in each model. However, in Step 2, the contributions of causality orientation in improving the model fit were all significant, accounting uniquely for 4% of the variance in self-promotion, 6% of the variance in supplication, 5% of the variance in exemplification, and 6% of the variance in ingratiation. Specifically, controlled orientation was a significantly positive predictor of self-promotion, supplication, exemplification, and ingratiation types of online self-presentation, supporting Hypothesis 2. We were not surprised to find that young people with high scores on the controlled orientation were more likely to engage in a variety of strategies of self-presentation strategies to form a desired impression on WeChat Moments. Impersonal orientation was a significantly positive predictor of supplication, suggesting that these young adults were willing to disclose personal weaknesses on WeChat Moments, thus supporting Hypothesis 3. Finally, autonomy orientation was a significantly positive predictor of ingratiation, suggesting that these young adults used humorous and modest self-presentation behavior on WeChat Moments; thus, Hypothesis 1 was supported.

Discussion

We investigated the relationships between autonomy, controlled, and impersonal self-determination orientations and the use of four different types of self-presentation strategies on WeChat. The results indicated that individual differences in self-determination explain the use of online self-presentation strategies to some extent, such that individuals with more self-determination are less likely to use self-presentation strategies in an online context.

Among the three causality orientations we examined, the controlled orientation was most relevant to self-presentation strategy usage on WeChat. Scholars have reported that individuals with a controlled orientation tend to engage in more positive self-presentation strategies to bolster their self-image (Lewis & Neighbors, 2005). Similarly, after accounting for gender, social desirability, and WeChat usage, we consistently found positive relationships between controlled orientation and the use of ingratiation, self-promotion, and exemplification strategies in the online context. This suggests that those with a controlled orientation exhibit greater self-monitoring, which could regulate their self-presentation to fit social expectations in different situations, including online contexts.

Second, we found that use of the supplication strategy on WeChat could be predicted by the presence of a controlled orientation, which contrasts with past research findings that a controlled orientation is unrelated to supplication strategy use in offline situations (Lewis & Neighbors, 2005). An explanation for this difference might be the particularity of the online environment. Compared with the face-to-face environment, communication online is undertaken in a reduced-cues setting (e.g., lack of nonverbal cues) and is of an asynchronous nature, which results in less public self-awareness and a lower sense of face threatening in interpersonal interactions (Tidwell & Walther, 2002). This enables selective self-presentation, wherein individuals highlight strengths and hide their weaknesses (Walther, 1996). Undoubtedly, these characteristics help to reduce the perceived social costs of users with a controlled orientation when they think about how to present themselves online. Further, considering the potential rewards of online assistance (e.g., studies have shown that the use of supplication strategy can help SNS users receive more online social support including tangible, informational, and emotional support; Wong, 2012), highly control-oriented participants may be willing to employ the supplication strategy when online, even though this strategy is not conducive to constructing a desirable image.  In view of the social norm that people have a responsibility to help those who can't help themselves, supplication self-presentation could still be worked in the online context.  

Third, the impersonal orientation was positively associated with supplication strategy use on WeChat. As expected, participants with an impersonal orientation employed supplication strategies to present a weak, helpless image in online relationships, probably to gain sympathy and assistance from others. As most WeChat users are acquainted offline, these young adults may have not enough confidence and motivation to engage in compensatory self-presentation strategies, like self-promotion.

Fourth, autonomy orientation was found to be positively associated with the use of ingratiation strategies when online, contradicting past research results that indicate the autonomy orientation is negatively associated with using self-presentation strategies in offline contexts (Lewis & Neighbors, 2005). People with a predominantly autonomous orientation generally have social motives and display positive and supportive behaviors in relationships, such as listening carefully to their partner and attempting to understand and respect their partner’s different point of view (Deponte, 2004). The positive relationship we observed between autonomy orientation and ingratiation strategy use may have occurred because some ingratiation behaviors are mindless, automatic reactions to social interactions (Gordon, 1996) that can be effectively recorded and identified in the online context, including in text, picture, or video formats.

Finally, the ingratiation strategy was determined to be the most commonly used online self-presentation strategy. As suggested by Gordon (1996), ingratiation is advantageous for maintaining supportive relationships in the online context. Nevertheless, in contrast to past research findings (Dominick, 1999), our results showed that self-promotion was the least commonly used strategy on WeChat. Cultural variability (individualism vs. collectivism) could perhaps explain this difference (Gudykunst et al., 1996). On the basis of collectivist social norms and traditions deeply rooted in Confucianism, East Asian peoples, including Chinese people, tend to value a negative self-image and modesty, and generally refrain from boastful self-presentation (H. E. Lee & Park, 2011).

In conclusion, we examined the relationships between autonomy, controlled, and impersonal orientations of self-determination and the use of self-promotion, supplication, exemplification, and ingratiation self-presentation strategies in the online context. Given the popularity of SNS among young adults, it is important to understand the role of social media in their lives, especially for those who might be experiencing greater levels of perceived helplessness and unworthiness, which come with having an impersonal orientation. Young adults with an impersonal orientation often experience negative feelings about the self; thus, they may exploit and advertise their own helplessness and incompetence by using supplication tactics on SNS (Dominick, 1999). Young adults with a controlled orientation are often worried about what others think (Deponte, 2004), leading them to express themselves in changeable ways online. Specifically, in their online self-presentation they may offer only positive information about themselves (self-promotion strategy), use flattery to attract attention (ingratiation strategy), and present aspects of moral worthiness (exemplification strategy) with the goal of increasing their social approval and feelings of self-worth. For young adults with strong self-determination, on the other hand, SNS use might be an extension of their offline lives. Those with an autonomy orientation tend to be less selective in their online self-presentation, opting to present their real self on SNS, and also automatically elicit ingratiating behavior (e.g., by being hospitable, humorous, and warm), which may lead to their gaining greater social support and interpersonal intimacy. According to Gordon’s (1996) view, ingratiation behaviors are not always motivated by the desire to increase likability; sometimes the behaviors are just mindless, automatic reactions to social cues that highlight people’s dependency on one another.

This study was limited in several ways. First, the study used a convenience sample that certainly does not represent all the younger WeChat population, although undergraduate students represent the majority of younger WeChat users in China. Second, WeChat is a semi-open social media that is constructed by a “friend circle” of strong relationships, which keeps track of existing offline relationships between classmates, colleagues, relatives, and friends. However, there are many more anonymous and semi-anonymous SNS popular among young adults in China, such as Sina Weibo, Momo, and LinkedIn. The present study’s findings may not be necessarily valid in other online contexts. Third, a potential limitation involves the relatively narrow scope of measuring online self-presentation strategies. In the present study, we considered only four common strategies based on previous research, but there are more forms of online self-presentation strategies that have never been investigated. Thus, a natural extension of the current study would be investigating other self-presentational strategies employed in the online context, such as intimidation and self-deprecation. In addition, future researchers should consider the mediation effect of specific motivation, which can directly determine which self-presentation strategy is employed and related to individual differences in self-determination. Lastly, the random sampling of WeChat users poses a challenge that must be met by future researchers.

Although in this study we have answered some important questions, more research is needed to understand fully the links between self-determination and online self-presentation, including extending our research to include other cultural contexts.

This research was supported by grants from the Beijing Social Science Foundation (16GLA007)

the Humanities and Social Sciences Foundation of the Ministry of Education in China (17YJC630107)

and the Qin Xin Talents Cultivation Program of Beijing Information Science and Technology University (QXTCPC201706).

Yang Pan, School of Economics and Management, Beihang University, No. 37 Xueyuan Road, 100191 Beijing, People’s Republic of China. Email: [email protected]