Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 22, 2026
11:13
The Social Dimension of Stress: Experimental Manipulations of Social Support and Social Identity in the Trier Social Stress Test
Published on: November 19, 2015
14.5K
Social Media and Social Functioning in Psychosis: A Systematic Review
Jone Bjornestad1, Wenche Ten Velden Hegelstad2, Henrik Berg3
1Department of Social Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway.
Journal of Medical Internet Research
|June 30, 2019
Summary
Measures of social functioning in psychosis often overlook online social activity. This study found that most social functioning measures do not include social media, challenging their real-world applicability for individuals with psychosis.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Psychology
- Digital Health
Background:
- Individuals with psychosis are significant users of social media platforms.
- Current measures of social functioning may not adequately capture the online social interactions of individuals with psychosis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the extent to which social media activity is incorporated into measures of social functioning for individuals diagnosed with psychosis or at ultrahigh risk (UHR) for psychosis.
Main Methods:
- A systematic literature search was conducted across multiple databases (Epistemonikos, Cochrane, DARE, MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO) for empirical studies published between 2004 and 2019.
- Studies were included if they assessed offline and/or online social functioning in individuals meeting criteria for psychosis or UHR, and were published in English.
Main Results:
- Out of 11,844 initial articles, 597 met the inclusion criteria, identifying 58 distinct social functioning measures.
- Reliability and validity data for these measures were generally limited.
- Critically, only one measure was found to incorporate social media activity.
Conclusions:
- The ecological validity of current social functioning measures is questionable due to the omission of social media activity, which is a key component of modern social life for individuals with psychosis.
- Revision of these measures to include online social activity is essential to accurately reflect the social reality of persons with psychosis and prevent clinical misinterpretations.
Related Concept Videos
00:52Social Proof
31.5K
Social proof is a form of persuasion based on comparison and conformity. People compare their behavior and actions to what others are doing and will change to conform to do what their peers do.
31.5K
02:10Social Scripts
10.2K
People tend to know what behavior is expected of them in specific, familiar settings. A script is a person’s knowledge about the sequence of events expected in a specific setting (Schank & Abelson, 1977). Essentially, scripts are a particular kind of schema, one containing default values for the features within an event. In the restaurant example, the script's features include the props (e.g., tables, menu, food, and money), the roles to be played (e.g., customer and waiter),...
10.2K
01:41Social Traps
26.3K
Social traps are negative situations where people get caught in a direction or relationship that later proves to be unpleasant, with no easy way to back out of or avoid. The concept was orignally introduced by John Platt who applied psychology to Garrett Hardin's "Tragedy of the Commons", where in New England herd owners could let their cattle graze in the common ground. This situation seems like a good idea, but an individual could have an advantage. If they owned...
26.3K
01:04Social Facilitation
36.0K
Not all intergroup interactions lead to negative outcomes. Sometimes, being in a group situation can improve performance. Social facilitation occurs when an individual performs better when an audience is watching than when the individual performs the behavior alone. This typically occurs when people are performing a task for which they are skilled.
36.0K
02:06Social Exchange Theory
39.5K
We have discussed why we form relationships, what attracts us to others, and different types of love. But what determines whether we are satisfied with and stay in a relationship? One theory that provides an explanation is social exchange theory. According to social exchange theory, we act as naïve economists in keeping a tally of the ratio of costs and benefits of forming and maintaining a relationship with others (Rusbult & Van Lange, 2003).
39.5K
01:37Social Loafing
38.9K
Another way in which a group presence can affect performance is social loafing—the exertion of less effort by a person working together with a group. Social loafing occurs when our individual performance cannot be evaluated separately from the group. Thus, group performance declines on easy tasks (Karau & Williams, 1993). Essentially individual group members loaf and let other group members pick up the slack. Because each individual’s efforts cannot be evaluated,...
38.9K