I had many ask me about what exactly I was researching, but unfortunately I couldn't give any information until my research was complete to avoid compromising any of my data/responses.

My research was based heavily in a social psychology theory pertaining to group identity and attachment. The theory states that there are two different types of attachment that individuals feel when they belong to a community or group; identity based attachment, in which an individual is attached to the group as a whole, or bond based attachment, in which attachment is tied more strongly to a(n) individual(s) within the group. Based on past research I thought that the type of attachment members felt towards the community could/would be influenced by whether users had personal relationships prior to joining Hoop City, such that if most people joined because they had friends on the site we might see a higher instance of bond based attachment and visa versa. Below are the results to the statement, "I joined Hoop City because I had friend that were already members."

1. Hoop City members with friends who were members when they joined will feel more bond-based (individual)

attachment than identity-based (group) attachment. I found the exact opposite, out of the few that had friends on the site when they joined actually appeared to have more group attachment.

2. Hoop City members who self identify as "hoopers" will report higher identity-based attachment. This was somewhat supported. My results weren't quite strong enough to say that my prediction was fully supported, but for the most part it rang true.

3. The amount of participation (measured by the number of discussions that one contributes to) will be

positively associated with bond-based attachment. This prediction was supported! I found that as the number of discussions that a member participated in increased there was a positive association with how comfortable members felt self-disclosing, how close they felt to other member and how many of their friends came from Hoop City.

The most difficult part of reporting research findings is trying to not make them sound too boring ;-) so I hope I succeeded in at least keeping it somewhat interesting. This is a very trimmed version of a 20 pg research paper, so if you have any questions about anything that wasn't clear or you would like to nerd out with me and talk more about any of my research, or research that you've done please contact me on here or at jessicasomething@gmail.com!

THANKS AGAIN HOOPERS!!