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Ghosted?: Navigating strategies for reducing uncertainty and implications surrounding ambiguous loss
Author(s) -
LeFebvre Leah E.,
Fan Xiaoti
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
personal relationships
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.81
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1475-6811
pISSN - 1350-4126
DOI - 10.1111/pere.12322
Subject(s) - ambiguity , uncertainty reduction theory , ghosting , process (computing) , psychology , closure (psychology) , thematic analysis , social psychology , computer science , sociology , artificial intelligence , qualitative research , political science , social science , law , programming language , operating system
Ghosting is the unilateral dissolution process of ceasing communication through media. When ghosted, non‐initiators are often left without the ability to navigate the resulting uncertainty or impending dissolution processes. Utilizing uncertainty reduction theory and ambiguous loss, this investigation explores effective and ineffective strategies used to find answers, reduce uncertainty, and navigate post‐dissolution consequences. Employing two studies from Amazon's Mechanical Turk, a thematic analysis to delineate and affirm categories—7 effective and ineffective strategies and 11 categories of personal and relational implications after being ghosted—was used. These studies provide insight about non‐initiators process to resolve their uncertainty and highlight ramifications from ambiguity that non‐initiators experience after being ghosted. These findings discuss connections to knowledge acquisition, closure processing, and consequences of ghosting.