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- All Subjects: Romantic Relationships
- All Subjects: Hair--Social aspects--United States.
- Creators: Mukarram, Maheeyah
- Creators: Robinson-Kurpius, Sharon
- Status: Published
Digital communication is increasingly prevalent in adolescent populations. Adolescents estimate that 50-60% of their relational communication occurs via text messaging (Coyne, Stockdale, Busby, Iverson, & Grant, 2011). With the increasing use of technology, conflict and relationship stressors are prevalent online. Social media and text messaging are associated with jealousy, monitoring behavior, and lower emotional support (Arikewuyo et al., 2020, Holtzman et al., 2017). These emerging trends make it critical for researchers to examine how technology can play a role in relationships.
Typically, researchers use questionnaires to see how participants interact in digital spaces. Self-reported methods are not ideal as they have limitations as participants may misrepresent themselves even if it is unintentional. To overcome these limitations, researchers have begun utilizing screenomics, a method in which photos of participants’ screens (screenshots) are taken every 3 seconds when the phone is in active use (Ram et al., 2020). However, these screenshots often lack context for digital interactions and result in large amounts data that may not capture specific events of interest to researchers (Ram et al., 2020). In-person dyadic communication can be studied through observational methods. The SPAFF (Specific Affect Coding System Manual) has been used to examine affectual behaviors because of it has high construct and criterion validity, effectively captures verbal and non-verbal behaviors, and associates discrete behaviors with latent psychological constructs (Coan & Gottman, 2007). It is important to understand if the measures used to study in-person behavior can be adapted to examine digital behavior in order to improve the quality of digital communication research.
Colorism is the intra-racial system of inequality based on skin color, hair texture, and facial features. In the African American culture, colorism has deeply rooted origins that continue to affect the lives of African Americans today. This study examined how colorism effects perceptions of personal characteristics, personal attributes, work ability, and hiring decisions of African American women 18 and older.
Participants for this study consisted of 188 African American women who self-identified as African American/Black and who were over 18 years of age living in the United States. All participants completed a demographic sheet and three instruments: Occupational Work Ethic Inventory (OWEI; Petty, 1995), Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ; Spence, Helmreich, & Stapp, 1974) and Personal Efficacy Beliefs Scale (PEBS; Riggs et al., 1994). They were randomly assigned to one of six vignettes describing a young African American/Black woman applying for a job. She was described as having one of three skin-tones (light, brown, or dark) and having kinky or straight hair.
A multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) failed to reveal differences in personal characteristics, personal attributes, and work ability due to skin tone or to hair texture. Multiple linear regression analyses revealed that hair texture predicted hiring decision, after controlling for relevant demographic variables. Participant education and vignette hair texture influenced hiring decisions, accounting for 8.2% of the variance. The woman in the vignette with straight hair was more likely to be recommended for hire and more educated participants were more likely to recommend hiring. These findings suggest that education may be an important factor in changing the influence of colorism in African American culture and that hair texture may be a factor of colorism that influences hiring of applicants.