#communication-studies — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #communication-studies, aggregated by home.social.
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DATE: September 10, 2026 at 06:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: New psychology research reveals why people tend to hide their successes and share their failures
People often adjust what they share about their own achievements or setbacks based on what their conversation partner has just revealed. New research suggests that these communication choices are driven less by a desire to manage one’s own image and more by an intention to protect the other person’s feelings. This tendency leads people to share mutual failures far more often than mutual successes, published in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.
When people spontaneously share their successes or failures, they often do so to shape how others perceive them, such as appearing competent or seeking sympathy. But conversations are usually interactive. Responsive outcome disclosure occurs when an individual learns about a counterpart’s personal outcome and then must decide whether to share their own experience.
“A lot of existing research on disclosure has focused on why people initially choose to share good news or hide bad news, largely through the lens of self-presentation,” Irene Scopelliti, a professor of marketing and behavioral science at Bayes Business School, told PsyPost. “But conversations do not always work that way, because often we are responding after someone else has already told us their news.”
Traditional theories of communication suggest that people tend to match the tone of their conversation partners. According to this idea of reciprocity, a person should be equally likely to reply to a success with their own success as they are to reply to a failure with their own failure. But sharing personal outcomes is a highly emotional process. For instance, a 2019 study found that sharing one’s failures can reduce feelings of malicious envy in observers.
In addition, people often try to protect the feelings of those around them. Research covered by PsyPost in 2021 indicated that people frequently conceal personal information to avoid causing distress to a close conversation partner. Building on this idea, the current research proposes an other-focused framework for responsive disclosure. If a person cares about the feelings of their counterpart, they might actively shape their own disclosures to provide comfort or avoid causing harm.
To investigate this, the research team, led by Emily Prinsloo of Rice University and Scopelliti, tested this concept through nine separate studies. “So we wanted to understand how people navigate these interactions and what we are more likely to disclose when responding to others’ disclosures,” Scopelliti said.
Across the nine experiments, the researchers evaluated the responses of 8,229 participants in various scenarios and live interactions. They tracked whether people chose to reveal their own successes and failures after a counterpart shared theirs.
“These are not tiny statistical effects,” Scopelliti explained. “Across nine studies and more than 8,000 participants, in contexts ranging from job interviews to health outcomes to financial setbacks, we saw large, consistent shifts in disclosure behavior.”
In the first study, 900 online participants imagined receiving the results of a biological age test. Half were told their biological age was seven years younger than their actual age, indicating a positive health outcome, while the other half were told it was seven years older, indicating a negative outcome. They then read a scenario in which a colleague disclosed either a positive health result, a negative health result, or no result. The participants then allocated points to indicate how likely they were to reply by sharing their own outcome.
The results showed a general preference for matching. Participants were generally more likely to share a success if the colleague also had a success, and a failure if the colleague had a failure. But two interesting asymmetries emerged. First, participants were much more likely to disclose matching failures (87 percent) than matching successes (70 percent). Second, when outcomes did not match, participants were more willing to reveal a failure to a successful colleague (54 percent) than a success to a failing colleague (16 percent).
“For example, participants disclosed a failure of their own much more often after hearing about someone else’s failure compared to someone else’s success,” Scopelliti noted. “Across our studies, this was one of the largest and most consistent effects we observed.”
In fact, she pointed out, “In one study, people who had failed were more than twice as inclined to share their failure when the other person had disclosed a failure compared to when the other person had disclosed a success, and even in our most conservative, real-conversation studies, disclosure rates still rose by a third or more.”
To understand the motives behind these choices, the researchers conducted a second study with 812 participants who imagined receiving either a job offer or a rejection. The participants interacted with an acquaintance who also shared a job outcome. The researchers manipulated how much the participant liked the acquaintance.
When participants liked the acquaintance, the asymmetrical disclosure patterns were especially strong. Open-ended responses showed that participants who shared matching failures often did so to help the other person feel better. Those who withheld their successes from a rejected acquaintance often explicitly stated a desire to avoid causing harm. When participants were told they disliked the acquaintance, they cared less about protecting the other person’s feelings, and the asymmetries were noticeably reduced.
A third study involving 801 participants tested whether the topic of the disclosure mattered. Participants were placed in situations where their outcome either matched the topic of their colleague’s disclosure or involved a completely different topic. The tendency to share mutual failures was highest when the topics were exactly the same. When the topics differed, participants were less likely to share a failure in response to a failure. This indicates that people recognize that a completely unrelated negative outcome might feel dismissive or unhelpful to a struggling friend.
“When a friend shares a failure, many of us choose to mention a related failure of our own, not to compete but to offer solidarity,” Scopelliti said.
The researchers also investigated how people adjust the wording of their messages. In two studies, participants wrote open-ended replies after learning about a friend’s successful or unsuccessful financial investments and job applications.
When participants had a success to share but the friend had failed, they wrote longer messages and frequently used apologies to soften the blow. Sometimes they delayed sharing their own positive news until later in the conversation, or they offered words of consolation and help before mentioning their own outcome. A small percentage of participants even engaged in deception, misrepresenting their own success to protect the friend’s feelings.
“When we have succeeded when someone else has not, many of us hold back or soften the news, weighing how it will land rather than worrying about self-interest,” Scopelliti explained. “When we decide what to share about our own lives in these moments, we are often responding more to the other person’s emotional needs than to our own image.”
To test these patterns in real time, the final study paired 946 participants in live, online chat rooms. Participants completed a puzzle task that was secretly manipulated to be either very easy or very difficult, resulting in genuine feelings of success or failure. They were then paired up, and one participant was given a small financial bonus to spontaneously share their outcome in the chat.
The live interactions closely mirrored the hypothetical scenarios. When both individuals failed, 96 percent of the participants chose to share their failure. When both succeeded, only 73 percent shared their success. In mismatched pairs, participants shared failures in response to successes 81 percent of the time, but they only shared successes in response to failures 40 percent of the time. The chat logs also showed frequent use of compensatory apologies and delayed disclosures when participants were better off than their partners.
“Our data suggests that people calibrate what they share to protect the other person’s feelings,” Scopelliti summarized. “So this effect consistently shows up whether people are choosing between pre-written responses, writing their own replies, or having real, live conversations.”
As with all research, there are some caveats to consider. The study mostly involved participants from Western countries, and cultural backgrounds could influence how people handle personal news. In cultures that heavily emphasize social hierarchies or individualism, people might be more willing to share successes or less focused on protecting others from upward comparisons.
There are a few other things to keep in mind regarding the types of outcomes evaluated. The scenarios focused on definitive successes and failures, but everyday life often involves events with varying degrees of intensity. A massive career breakthrough might prompt different disclosure behaviors than a minor daily win.
Additionally, the researchers did not measure whether these well-intentioned communication strategies actually succeed in making the other person feel better. Withholding a success to protect a friend might backfire if the friend later discovers the truth and feels patronized.
“One thing we are eager to look at next is whether these disclosure strategies actually work the way responders intend them to,” Scopelliti told PsyPost. “Our studies show what people choose to share and why, but not how those choices land on the other end.”
Future research could explore how different types of relationships, such as romantic partnerships or rivalries, alter these communication habits. Evaluating how the original discloser reacts to these intentionally crafted responses could also shed light on the long-term relational impacts of hiding positive news. “So the next step is studying both sides of the conversation at once, to examine whether and when these well-intentioned strategies actually achieve their goal, and why,” Scopelliti added.
The study, “Responses to Outcome Disclosure: People Asymmetrically Disclose or Hide Their Outcomes to Protect Others’ Emotions”, was authored by Emily Prinsloo, Irene Scopelliti, George Loewenstein, and Joachim Vosgerau.
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #Disclosures #OutcomeDisclosure #SocialPsychology #CommunicationStudies #MutualFailures #SupportiveCommunication #EmotionalSensitivity #InterpersonalRelationships #HealthyConversations #ResearchersShare
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🇮🇪 Final day at IAMCR 2026!
🗣️ After inspiring discussions and valuable exchanges. ZeMKI’s final presentation takes place today. We look forward to seeing you there.
👉 Full program: https://iamcr.org/galway2026/programme
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💡 Interested in our research?
Meet ZeMKI researchers at IAMCR 2026 in Galway and join us for our presentations and discussions.
👉 Full program: https://iamcr.org/galway2026/programme
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🇮🇪🎤Today, our ZeMKI members Philip Sinner and Elira Turdubaeva will give their first exciting presentations at the IAMCR 2026 in Galway.
🌍🗣️ We would be delighted to welcome you to our sessions.
👉 Full program: https://iamcr.org/galway2026/programme
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📣🇮🇪 Today marks the start of IAMCR 2026 in Galway, Ireland
🎤 The presentations by our ZeMKI members will begin on the third day of the conference, June 30. We are very excited to see what lies ahead.👉 Full program: https://iamcr.org/galway2026/programme
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Interdisciplinary Workshop "Social Media Rituals. Shapes of Digital Resonance between Event and Cohesion"
Organized by FGZ Konstanz & HZT BerlinBerlin
14–15 January 2027Deadline: 30 June 2026
👉 Further information: https://www.performing-arts.eu/de/news/newsstream/call-for-participation-media-rituals-shapes-of-digital-resonance-between-event-and-cohesion-fgz-konstanz-hzt-berlin/
#mediastudies #communicationstudies #performancestudies #dancestudies #theatrestudies #sociology #fgzkonstanz #hztberlin
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#EuropeanPolitics #PoliticalSciences #CommunicationStudies
HarDIS #Workshop: Innovations in European Politics, Political Sciences, and Communication Studies - Jan 27th, 2026 at GESIS, Cologne -
Postdoctoral Scholar – Visual and Digital Cultures
📍 University of Antwerp, Belgium
Full-time 3-year postdoc in #ERC project ReWorkChange on remote work and social change. Ethnographic research in #Mexico required. PhD in #Anthropology, #Sociology, #CommunicationStudies or related fields. Fluency in English and Spanish essential. Start: 01/10/2025.
Deadline: 22/05/2025
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* Foto: DALL:E über Canva. Prompt: "Erfolg auf Social Media für Frauen heißt: Mutig sein, sichtbar werden und die eigene Geschichte erzählen". #Diskurse #Diskursanalyse #SpracheMachtWissen #KI #SocialMedia #Datenanalyse #Öffentlichkeit #Communicationstudies #ArtificialIntelligence
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Postdoctoral Researcher
@ Department of Anthropology and Sociology, #SOAS (#London)
"We seek an excellent candidate in #VisualAnthropology #Anthropology, #Sociology #CommunicationStudies with knowledge and expertise in #VisualMethodologies and approaches. The candidate should have experience in #EthnographicDocumentary production and #DigitalFilmmaking."
Deadline: 03/01/2025
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Postdoctoral Researcher @SOAS University of London / Department of Anthropology and Sociology
"...We seek an excellent candidate in #VisualAnthropology #Anthropology #Sociology #CommunicationStudies with knowledge and expertise in visual methodologies and approaches. The candidate should have experience in ethnographic documentary production and digital filmmaking."
Deadline: 03/01/2025
https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DKY298/postdoctoral-researcher
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One of the smarter people I know has a new article out. #speechLanguagePathology #TraumaticBrainInjury #neuroscience #CommunicationStudies
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On the new episode of our #podcast "Digitaler Espresso" we talked to Heidi Campbell.
Heidi is a professor of #communicationstudies at Texas A&M University and researched on #digitalreligion for the last thirty years. With her we discuss how digital communication is changing religious practice and what role #humor could play along the way. We also offer her a time machine.
Listen to the interview in English on any streaming service or here:
➡️ https://www.podcast.de/episode/626955529/what-if-god-was-a-meme-with-heidi-campbell-in-english
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New publication: "A digital platform for the centralization and long-term preservation of multidisciplinary scientific data belonging to the Notre Dame de Paris scientific action" #Architecture #CommunicationStudies https://doi.org/10.1016/j.culher.2023.09.016
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Hello Mastodon! I know it's been a minute, but my new essay on academic labor, diversity, and tenure-track academic jobs is out now in the Journal of Applied Communication Research. Please read and share!
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00909882.2023.2173532?src=
#Commodon #CommunicationStudies #MediaStudies #AcademicLabor #Diversity
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Hello everyone! We’ve finally made the jump to Mastodon and would like to briefly introduce ourselves: We are an interdisciplinary research center based at TU Berlin, bringing together some 60 researchers to study socio-spatial changes. Our disciplines include #sociology, #architecture, #urbanplanning, #geography, #mediastudies and #communicationstudies, #anthropology and #art.
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University of #Hawaii #Geography and Environment PhD candidate Joan Pan and Wayne Buente (Professor, UH School of Communications) co-authored a book chapter, "Facilitating tea stories on Instagram during the COVID-19 pandemic" in the recently published Routledge Handbook of Tea Tourism, https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003197041-22/facilitating-tea-stories-instagram-covid-19-pandemic-joan-pan-wayne-buente. @geography #communicationstudies #tourismstudies
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Have you ever watched a Turkish drama on #Netflix? I'm asking for a research design for #PlatformStudies, if you watched would you share your thoughts on it?
I'm curious about how you discover the content, whether the suggestion #algorithm helps or not, etc.
I'll be very happy for any answers or boosts. 💜
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Hi! Please visit my updated website: PDFs for several publications (no paywall!), diss abstract, teaching, & research info.
Mostly updated since I’m *on the job market* for opportunities in U.S. and Canada beginning in Fall ‘23.
#Commodon #AcademicMastodon #MediaStudies #CommunicationStudies #STS
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👋 Re-introducing myself as more folks come to Mastodon.
📚 I study health and other inequities, especially how technologies and media shape them.
#healthjustice #healthcommunication #algorithmstudies #criticaldatastudies #datastudies #bioethics #mediastudies #STS #feministSTS #digitalhealth #platformstudies #socialmedia #AI #communicationstudies #criticaltheory #feminism #internetresearch #newmedia #commodon #health #surveillance #privacy #medialaw #popularculture #filmstudies #digitaldivide
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Happy to be on Mastodon!
A bit about me: I study health inequities, especially how technologies and media shape them.
#healthjustice #healthcommunication #algorithmstudies #criticaldatastudies #datastudies #bioethics #feministbioethics #mediastudies #STS #feministSTS #digitalhealth #platformstudies #socialmedia #AI #communicationstudies #criticaltheory #feminism #internetresearch #newmedia #wellbeing #health #surveillance #privacy #medialaw #popularculture #filmstudies #digitaldivide