Stephanie J Tobin
Biographic Data
| ID | 757441 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Stephanie J Tobin |
| GIVEN NAMES | Stephanie J |
| FAMILY NAME | Tobin |
| SIGNATURE | TOBIN S J |
| AFFILIATIONS | Queensland University of Technology |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3056-7767 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 23 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 22 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 23 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2001 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Examining possible antecedents of self-image and compassionate interpersonal goals on Instagram
Co‐Designing a Social Media and Anxiety Survey
INTRODUCTION: This study explores a collaborative co-design process undertaken with people with lived experience expertise (PLEE), to develop a survey investigating experiences of social media and anxiety. The research is the first step in a larger project across five countries (Australia, the United Kingdom, India, Canada and Singapore) that will seek to validate whether passive smartphone analytics and codesigned ethical protocols can underpin …
Interpersonal Goal Contagion Through Social Media Posts
This research examined the contagion of interpersonal goals through mock social media posts among Facebook users recruited from Prolific. Two pilot studies were conducted to create Facebook posts that reflected different combinations of self-image and compassionate goals. Then, in the main experiment, 775 participants were randomly assigned to view one of four posts in a 2 (self-image content) × 2 (compassionate content) between-subjects design. …
Why Do People Sometimes Wear an Anonymous Mask? Motivations for Seeking Anonymity Online
Anonymous environments are more accessible than ever. As such, it is important to understand not only how anonymity can change human behavior but also why people are motivated to seek anonymity in online spaces. In four studies, we investigated differences in motivations for seeking anonymity online and their associations with related dispositional factors and online behavior. We found that some people were motivated to seek anonymity to self-exp…
Emotion regulation, need satisfaction, passion and problematic video game play during difficult times
There is growing recognition of the role video games can play in helping people through challenging times, however many still argue that video game play can lead to adverse and problematic behaviours when relied upon to manage negative affect. This study sought to explore a number of factors that may play a role in influencing the likelihood one develops problematic habits of play, particularly in the context of difficult and stressful times. Spe…
A Functionalist Approach to Seeking Anonymity
Anonymity is widely available in online environments, yet more needs to be understood about why people seek it out. In three studies ( N = 677), we used a novel dictator game to assess how financial motivations, cost, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy influence people’s choice to seek anonymity. We found that: (1) People sought anonymity to keep more money for themselves or to give more money to their partner. (2) Those high in Machiavellianism v…
The relationship between usage of social networking sites and meaning in life
Social networking sites (SNSs) allow people to choose how they want to engage with others. Some behaviours are more associated with aspects of well-being (i.e., meaning in life) than others. Online environments also afford people the opportunity to interact with other people at varying levels of anonymity and identifiability, which could further impact well-being. However, whether people use SNSs differently when they are anonymous versus identif…
To respond or not to respond
Past research indicates that compassionate interpersonal goals are associated with greater responsiveness to others. However, whether this extends to casual friends on social networking sites (SNSs) is unclear. The current research examined the effects of interpersonal goals on the likelihood of responding with one-click reactions, comments, and private messages to mock Facebook posts by casual friends. We also examined responding differences dep…
Do videogame rewards influence players’ subsequent prosocial engagement? A preregistered partial replication study on the role of reward and reasoning
Prosocial behaviours are actions that have a positive impact on others. Those who act prosocially in videogames are more likely to be prosocial after the game. In-game rewards may impact this prosocial transfer to real life but there are mixed findings. The aim of this research was to determine the impact that in-game rewards for helping have on post-game prosocial behaviour. We partially replicated and extended a prior study that showed an impac…
A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Social Media Exposure to Upward Comparison Targets on Self-Evaluations and Emotions
Social media have become a pervasive part of contemporary culture and are an essential part of the daily lives of an increasing number of people. Its popularity has brought unlimited opportunities to compare oneself with other people. This meta-analysis combined and summarized the findings of previous experimental research, with the aim of generating causal conclusions regarding the effects of exposure to upward comparison targets on self-evaluat…
Compassionate Goals, Facebook Use, and Subjective Well-Being
Past research found that compassionate goals were associated with more responsive behaviors on Facebook, which in turn were associated with greater social capital. The current study aimed to examine whether compassionate goals were associated with greater well-being, through greater efforts to visibly attend to Facebook friends and feeling more connected to Facebook friends. We predicted that there would be an indirect effect of compassionate goa…
Self-Regulation as a Mediator of the Associations Between Passion for Video Games and Well-Being
Video games can satisfy people's basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. This may lead them to develop a passion for the activity, which can be harmonious or obsessive. These different types of passions are associated with different well-being outcomes: harmonious passion (HP) is associated with positive effects such as Satisfaction with Life (SWL), obsessive passion (OP) is associated with adverse effects such as psyc…
The Disinhibiting Effects of Anonymity Increase Online Trolling
Research assessing online trolling—a behavior designed to trigger or antagonize other users for entertainment—has largely focused on identifying individual differences that underlie the behavior. Less attention has been given to how situational factors influence trolling, such as the disinhibiting effects of anonymity. In this study, we evaluated the roles of both individual differences and levels of anonymity in online trolling. We assessed thes…
The use of Facebook in romantic relationships
The purpose of this paper was to document the use of social media in romantic relationships. More specifically, we examined whether the information that people desired to share (i.e., desired relationship visibility) and shared in practice (i.e., actual relationship visibility) about their romantic relationships on Facebook was predicted by their level of relational commitment. A sample of 139 couples, users of Facebook, aged 17 to 30 years, part…
Interpersonal Goals as Predictors of Facebook Use, Social Capital, and Envy
This study sought to examine whether interpersonal goals can help us understand who engages in social-capital-building responsive behaviors and envy-eliciting passive behaviors on Facebook. One hundred eighty-eight adults completed measures of interpersonal goals (compassionate and self-image), Facebook use (posting, responding, and searching), social capital sources and benefits, social comparison, and envy, along with various control measures. …
Feedback Sensitivity as a Mediator of the Relationship Between Attachment Anxiety and Problematic Facebook Use
Past research has revealed positive associations between attachment anxiety and problematic social networking site (SNS) use and between attachment anxiety and sensitivity to feedback on an SNS. The aim of this study was to examine whether feedback sensitivity could account for the association between attachment anxiety and problematic SNS use. Two hundred eighty-three adults completed an online survey containing measures of adult attachment styl…
The role of group size in reactions to ostracism and inclusion
Three experiments examined the effects of group size on reactions to ostracism and inclusion. Participants engaged in an online introduction activity with 2 or 6 other people and received likes from everyone (inclusion) or no one (ostracism). In Studies 1 and 2, group size had a significant effect on need satisfaction only when participants were ostracized, with larger groups threatening needs to a greater extent. These effects were evident durin…
The Causal Uncertainty Model Revisited
This Handbook explores the cognitive, motivational, interpersonal, clinical, and applied aspects of personal uncertainty. It showcases both the diversity and the unity that defines contemporary perspectives on uncertainty in self within social and personality psychology. The contributions to the volume are all written by distinguished scholars in personality, social psychology, and clinical psychology united by their common focus on the causes an…
The role of motivation for rewards in vicarious goal satiation
From fighting the system to embracing it
The role of task difficulty and affect activation level in the use of affect as information
Chronic and temporary distinct expectancies as comparison standards
In four studies, we examined whether making outcome expectancies distinct would result in their use as comparison standards and, consequently, in contrastive dispositional inferences for a target's behaviors.The expectancies examined were based either on chronic future-event expectancies (Study 1) or temporary, manipulated expectancy standards (Studies 2 -4).Analyses revealed that when contextual expectancies were distinct, or separable from targ…
Chronic and temporarily activated causal uncertainty beliefs and stereotype usage
In 3 studies, we examined the hypothesis that the effects of stereotype usage on target judgments are moderated by causal uncertainty beliefs and related accuracy goal structures.In Study 1, we focused on the role of chronically accessible causal uncertainty beliefs as predictors of a target's level of guilt for an alleged academic misconduct offense.In Study 2, we examined the role of chronic causal uncertainty reduction goals and a manipulated …
Chronic and temporarily activated causal uncertainty beliefs and stereotype usage
In 3 studies, we examined the hypothesis that the effects of stereotype usage on target judgments are moderated by causal uncertainty beliefs and related accuracy goal structures.In Study 1, we focused on the role of chronically accessible causal uncertainty beliefs as predictors of a target's level of guilt for an alleged academic misconduct offense.In Study 2, we examined the role of chronic causal uncertainty reduction goals and a manipulated …
From fighting the system to embracing it
The use of Facebook in romantic relationships
The purpose of this paper was to document the use of social media in romantic relationships. More specifically, we examined whether the information that people desired to share (i.e., desired relationship visibility) and shared in practice (i.e., actual relationship visibility) about their romantic relationships on Facebook was predicted by their level of relational commitment. A sample of 139 couples, users of Facebook, aged 17 to 30 years, part…
The role of group size in reactions to ostracism and inclusion
Three experiments examined the effects of group size on reactions to ostracism and inclusion. Participants engaged in an online introduction activity with 2 or 6 other people and received likes from everyone (inclusion) or no one (ostracism). In Studies 1 and 2, group size had a significant effect on need satisfaction only when participants were ostracized, with larger groups threatening needs to a greater extent. These effects were evident durin…
The role of motivation for rewards in vicarious goal satiation
Chronic and temporary distinct expectancies as comparison standards
In four studies, we examined whether making outcome expectancies distinct would result in their use as comparison standards and, consequently, in contrastive dispositional inferences for a target's behaviors.The expectancies examined were based either on chronic future-event expectancies (Study 1) or temporary, manipulated expectancy standards (Studies 2 -4).Analyses revealed that when contextual expectancies were distinct, or separable from targ…
Chronic and temporarily activated causal uncertainty beliefs and stereotype usage
In 3 studies, we examined the hypothesis that the effects of stereotype usage on target judgments are moderated by causal uncertainty beliefs and related accuracy goal structures.In Study 1, we focused on the role of chronically accessible causal uncertainty beliefs as predictors of a target's level of guilt for an alleged academic misconduct offense.In Study 2, we examined the role of chronic causal uncertainty reduction goals and a manipulated …
The role of task difficulty and affect activation level in the use of affect as information
From fighting the system to embracing it
The Causal Uncertainty Model Revisited
This Handbook explores the cognitive, motivational, interpersonal, clinical, and applied aspects of personal uncertainty. It showcases both the diversity and the unity that defines contemporary perspectives on uncertainty in self within social and personality psychology. The contributions to the volume are all written by distinguished scholars in personality, social psychology, and clinical psychology united by their common focus on the causes an…
The role of motivation for rewards in vicarious goal satiation
The role of group size in reactions to ostracism and inclusion
Three experiments examined the effects of group size on reactions to ostracism and inclusion. Participants engaged in an online introduction activity with 2 or 6 other people and received likes from everyone (inclusion) or no one (ostracism). In Studies 1 and 2, group size had a significant effect on need satisfaction only when participants were ostracized, with larger groups threatening needs to a greater extent. These effects were evident durin…
Interpersonal Goals as Predictors of Facebook Use, Social Capital, and Envy
This study sought to examine whether interpersonal goals can help us understand who engages in social-capital-building responsive behaviors and envy-eliciting passive behaviors on Facebook. One hundred eighty-eight adults completed measures of interpersonal goals (compassionate and self-image), Facebook use (posting, responding, and searching), social capital sources and benefits, social comparison, and envy, along with various control measures. …
Feedback Sensitivity as a Mediator of the Relationship Between Attachment Anxiety and Problematic Facebook Use
Past research has revealed positive associations between attachment anxiety and problematic social networking site (SNS) use and between attachment anxiety and sensitivity to feedback on an SNS. The aim of this study was to examine whether feedback sensitivity could account for the association between attachment anxiety and problematic SNS use. Two hundred eighty-three adults completed an online survey containing measures of adult attachment styl…
The use of Facebook in romantic relationships
The purpose of this paper was to document the use of social media in romantic relationships. More specifically, we examined whether the information that people desired to share (i.e., desired relationship visibility) and shared in practice (i.e., actual relationship visibility) about their romantic relationships on Facebook was predicted by their level of relational commitment. A sample of 139 couples, users of Facebook, aged 17 to 30 years, part…
Compassionate Goals, Facebook Use, and Subjective Well-Being
Past research found that compassionate goals were associated with more responsive behaviors on Facebook, which in turn were associated with greater social capital. The current study aimed to examine whether compassionate goals were associated with greater well-being, through greater efforts to visibly attend to Facebook friends and feeling more connected to Facebook friends. We predicted that there would be an indirect effect of compassionate goa…
Self-Regulation as a Mediator of the Associations Between Passion for Video Games and Well-Being
Video games can satisfy people's basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. This may lead them to develop a passion for the activity, which can be harmonious or obsessive. These different types of passions are associated with different well-being outcomes: harmonious passion (HP) is associated with positive effects such as Satisfaction with Life (SWL), obsessive passion (OP) is associated with adverse effects such as psyc…
The Disinhibiting Effects of Anonymity Increase Online Trolling
Research assessing online trolling—a behavior designed to trigger or antagonize other users for entertainment—has largely focused on identifying individual differences that underlie the behavior. Less attention has been given to how situational factors influence trolling, such as the disinhibiting effects of anonymity. In this study, we evaluated the roles of both individual differences and levels of anonymity in online trolling. We assessed thes…
A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Social Media Exposure to Upward Comparison Targets on Self-Evaluations and Emotions
Social media have become a pervasive part of contemporary culture and are an essential part of the daily lives of an increasing number of people. Its popularity has brought unlimited opportunities to compare oneself with other people. This meta-analysis combined and summarized the findings of previous experimental research, with the aim of generating causal conclusions regarding the effects of exposure to upward comparison targets on self-evaluat…
Do videogame rewards influence players’ subsequent prosocial engagement? A preregistered partial replication study on the role of reward and reasoning
Prosocial behaviours are actions that have a positive impact on others. Those who act prosocially in videogames are more likely to be prosocial after the game. In-game rewards may impact this prosocial transfer to real life but there are mixed findings. The aim of this research was to determine the impact that in-game rewards for helping have on post-game prosocial behaviour. We partially replicated and extended a prior study that showed an impac…
Interpersonal Goal Contagion Through Social Media Posts
This research examined the contagion of interpersonal goals through mock social media posts among Facebook users recruited from Prolific. Two pilot studies were conducted to create Facebook posts that reflected different combinations of self-image and compassionate goals. Then, in the main experiment, 775 participants were randomly assigned to view one of four posts in a 2 (self-image content) × 2 (compassionate content) between-subjects design. …
Why Do People Sometimes Wear an Anonymous Mask? Motivations for Seeking Anonymity Online
Anonymous environments are more accessible than ever. As such, it is important to understand not only how anonymity can change human behavior but also why people are motivated to seek anonymity in online spaces. In four studies, we investigated differences in motivations for seeking anonymity online and their associations with related dispositional factors and online behavior. We found that some people were motivated to seek anonymity to self-exp…
Emotion regulation, need satisfaction, passion and problematic video game play during difficult times
There is growing recognition of the role video games can play in helping people through challenging times, however many still argue that video game play can lead to adverse and problematic behaviours when relied upon to manage negative affect. This study sought to explore a number of factors that may play a role in influencing the likelihood one develops problematic habits of play, particularly in the context of difficult and stressful times. Spe…
A Functionalist Approach to Seeking Anonymity
Anonymity is widely available in online environments, yet more needs to be understood about why people seek it out. In three studies ( N = 677), we used a novel dictator game to assess how financial motivations, cost, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy influence people’s choice to seek anonymity. We found that: (1) People sought anonymity to keep more money for themselves or to give more money to their partner. (2) Those high in Machiavellianism v…
The relationship between usage of social networking sites and meaning in life
Social networking sites (SNSs) allow people to choose how they want to engage with others. Some behaviours are more associated with aspects of well-being (i.e., meaning in life) than others. Online environments also afford people the opportunity to interact with other people at varying levels of anonymity and identifiability, which could further impact well-being. However, whether people use SNSs differently when they are anonymous versus identif…
To respond or not to respond
Past research indicates that compassionate interpersonal goals are associated with greater responsiveness to others. However, whether this extends to casual friends on social networking sites (SNSs) is unclear. The current research examined the effects of interpersonal goals on the likelihood of responding with one-click reactions, comments, and private messages to mock Facebook posts by casual friends. We also examined responding differences dep…
Examining possible antecedents of self-image and compassionate interpersonal goals on Instagram
Co‐Designing a Social Media and Anxiety Survey
INTRODUCTION: This study explores a collaborative co-design process undertaken with people with lived experience expertise (PLEE), to develop a survey investigating experiences of social media and anxiety. The research is the first step in a larger project across five countries (Australia, the United Kingdom, India, Canada and Singapore) that will seek to validate whether passive smartphone analytics and codesigned ethical protocols can underpin …
Psychology (19 works) · Social Psychology (19 works) · Impact of Technology on Adolescents (11 works) · Computer Science (9 works) · Media Influence and Health (7 works) · Social Psychology (7 works) · Cognitive psychology (6 works) · Social and Intergroup Psychology (6 works) · Social media (6 works) · Behavioral Health and Interventions (5 works)