A quantitative analysis of perceived platform technological affordances in social media.

1. The MAIN Model for Technological
Affordances in Social Media
Tyler Gayheart
University of Kentucky

2. MAIN Model Overview
● Ten years of research in Media Effects Lab by Shyam Sundar (2008)
● MAIN model
○ M = Modality, A = Agency, I = Interactivity, N = Navigability
● Technological affordances trigger heuristic cues
● Claims that these affordances are present in most digital media and are
promising in their ability to cue cognitive heuristics pertaining to credibility
assessments
● The MAIN model is concerned with the technological aspects of digital
media

3. Process
An affordance (interactivity of a website) conveys a certain cue (invite to live
chat) that triggers a heuristic (service) leading to an automatic deduction that
good service means good quality of information, thus leading to a high level of
credibility.

4. RQ’s
● RQ1a: Can reliable measures of each of the four technological affordances
associated with the MAIN model be developed?
● RQ1b: Do the psychometric properties of the technological affordance
scales vary as a function of social media platform?
● RQ2a: How does the MAIN model and related technological affordances
predict perceived credibility of Facebook?
● RQ2b: How does the MAIN model and related technological affordances
predict perceived credibility of Twitter?
● RQ2c: How does the MAIN model and related technological affordances
predict perceived credibility of Snapchat?

5. Methodology
Survey conducted Spring 15-16
● Demographic Scale
● Social Media Usage Scale
● 12-item technological affordance scale (MAIN)
● 2-item credibility scale
● N=420 undergraduate students (292 female)
● Ages ranged from 18 to 43 years (M = 20.22, SD = 2.59).
● 113 freshmen, 77 sophomores, 121 juniors, 105 seniors and four specified as either
non-degree seeking visiting/transient students
● 344 white, 44 african american, 14 asian, and remaining 18 reported another
ethnicity

6. Methodology
● 12 - item technological affordance scale
○ MAIN measured across each of the social media channel =
technological affordance aggregate
● 2 -item credibility scale
○ Measured across each of the social media channels = credibility
composite for each social channel: facebook, twitter, snapchat
● Independent Variables: modality, agency, interactivity and navigability
● Dependant Variable: perceived platform credibility composite

7. Background/Literature Review
● MAIN Model only mentioned or guided literature review, discussion,
results or future research/implications
● No study measured, evaluated or tested the MAIN model directly
● Majority of articles had been published in the last three years were
approached quantitatively
● Heuristics were primarily utilized as they were identified by the MAIN
model

8. Reliability
● Multi dimensional reliability
results have low internal
consistency across the Agency
and Interactivity features of
the MAIN model.
● Modality and Navigability,
along with credibility had
internally consistent results
across all social media
platforms.

9. Factor Analysis
● Extraction Method: Principal
component analysis - rotation
method: varimax
● Loaded across the MAIN
factors individually
● Each factor was analyzed
separately with
unidimensional results
● Internal consistency decreases
when analyzed across multiple
factors

10. Correlation: Technological Affordance and Credibility

11. Regression
Modality ( ) Agency ( ) Interactivity( ) Navigability( )
.317 .178 .14
.237 .121 .202 .15
.165 .385 .141 .23

12. Limitations and Future Research
● RQ1 and RQ1B were supported on a unidimensional basis (individual component of
MAIN) rather than a composite - multidimensional
● Agency and Interactivity might be hard constructs to evaluate and measure
● Participants might not perceive some feature sets identified by MAIN
○ Sundar would argue that they are peripherally or centrally process regardless
● RQ2a,b,c - MAIN Models Predictive Power?
○ Yes, agency played a role in predicting credibility across all platforms
○ But not the way Sundar claims
○ Navigability and Interactivity played little role in predicting credibility
● Future Research:
○ Evaluate psychometric properties associated with Agency and Interactivity
○ Determine if there are other elements that would help with a composite measure
outside of MAIN.

13. Process

14. Conclusion
● The technological affordance scale was internally consistent when analyzed
on a unidimensional basis
● When analyzed in a multidimensional scale, the reliability and internal
consistency reduces
● RQ2a, RQ2b and RQ2c were supported as Agency was found to have
significant predictive power for credibility across social media platforms,
facebook, twitter and snapchat
● Future research:
○ Psychometric improvements to technological affordance scale
○ Evaluate alternative feature affordance properties not in MAIN

15. Thanks!