Do Me a Solid? Information Asymmetry, Liking, and Compliance Gaining Online

As the popularity of interactive social media grows, it is increasingly normal for individuals to reveal significant amounts of personal information online. Although this information is intended to support social networks, it can potentially be misused. We hypothesize that access to routine network site profile information can enable individuals to foster feelings of interpersonal attraction in their communication partner, which should increase the likelihood that their partner complies with requests for help. This study reports on an experiment conducted to assess these relationships. Results show participants who had access to personal information about their conversation partner in zero history dyads were more likely to gain their partner's compliance. Surprisingly, participants who benefited from the information asymmetry incurred a cost as well, as their partners reported liking them less compared to the control condition. Further, those who rated the information as valuable for getting their partner to like them were the least successful at gaining compliance.