Exam 3 Study Guide SPC3210 For ALL theories be able to give The Tradition Approach Premise assumptions of each theory Focus e g interpersonal group media Key Terms Chapter 11 Social Information Processing Based solely on the linguistic content of computer mediated communiction CMC parties who meet online can develop relationships just as close as those formed face to face though it takes longer Because online senders select receivers magnify channels promote and feedback enhances favorable impressions CMC may create hyperpersonal relatonships Socio psychological tradition I Introduction A Scholars who studied new electronic media have offered a variety of theories to explain the inherent differences between computer mediated communication CMC and face to face communication 1 Social presence theory suggests that text based messages deprive CMC users of the sense that other people are jointly involved in the interaction 2 Media richness theory classifies each communication medium according 3 to the complexity of the messages it can handle efficiently A third theory concentrates on the lack of social context cues in online communication Each of these theories favors a cues filtered out interpretation that regards the absence of nonverbal cues as the medium s fatal flaw Joe Walther a communication professor at Cornell University argued that given the opportunity for sufficient exchange of social messages and subsequent relational growth face to face and CMC are equally useful mediums for developing close relationships II CMC versus face to face A sip instead of a gulp A Walther labeled his theory social information processing SIP because he believes relationships grow only to the extent that parties first gain information about each other and use that information to form impressions SIP focuses on the first link of the chain the personal information available through CMC and its effect on the composite mental image of the other C Walther acknowledges that nonverbal cues are filtered out of the interpersonal information sent and received via CMC but he doesn t think this loss is fatal Two features of CMC provide a rationale for SIP theory D 1 Verbal cues CMC users can create fully formed impressions of others based solely on linguistic content of messages B C B 2 Extended time Though the exchange of social information is slower via CMC than face to face over time the relationships formed are not weaker or more fragile III Verbal cues of affinity replace nonverbal cues A Walter claims that humans crave affiliation just as much online as they do in face to face interactions But with the absence of nonverbal cues which typically signal affinity users must rely on text only messages He argues that verbal and nonverbal cues can be used interchangeably Experimental support for a counter intuitive idea 1 Walther and two of his former graduate students ran a comparative study B C 2 3 4 5 to test how CMC users pursue their social goals and if affinity can be expressed through a digital medium In their study the participants discussed a moral dilemma with a stranger via either CMC or face to face The stranger was in actuality a research confederate told to pursue a specific communication goal Half the confederates were told to interact in a friendly manner and the remaining pairs were told to interact in an unfriendly manner The mode of communication made no difference in the emotional tone perceived by the participants Self disclosure praise and explicit statements of affection successfully communicated warmth as well as indirect agreement change of subject and compliments offered while proposing a contrasting idea In face to face interactions participants relied on facial expression eye contact tone of voice body position and other nonverbal cues to communication affiliation IV Extended time The crucial variable in CMC A Walther is convinced that the length of time that CMC users have to send messages is the key determinant of whether their message can achieve a comparable level of intimacy as face to face interactions C B Messages spoken in person take at least four times as long to say via CMC This differential may explain why CMC is perceived as impersonal and task oriented Since CMC conveys messages more slowly Walther advises users to send messages more often Anticipated future interaction and chronemic cues may also contribute to intimacy on the Internet D 1 People will trade more relational messages if they think they may meet again and this anticipated future interaction motivates them to develop the relationship 2 Walther believes that chronemic cues or nonverbal indicators of how people perceive use or respond to issues of time is the only nonverbal cue not filtered out of CMC V Hyperpersonal perspective Closer through CMC than in person A Walther uses the term hyperpersonal to label CMC relationships that are more intimate than romances or friendships would be if partners were physically together He classifies four types of media effects that occur precisely because CMC users aren t proximal B 1 Sender Selective self presentation a b a b b a b Through selective self presentation people who meet online have an opportunity to make and sustain an overwhelmingly positive impression As a relationship develops they can edit the breadth and depth of their self disclosure to conform to the cyber image they wish to project 2 Receiver Overattribution of similarity Attribution is a perceptual process where we observe people s actions and try to figure out what they re really like In the absence of other cues we are likely to overattribute the information we have and create an idealized image of the sender c Martin Lea and Russell Spears describe this identification as SIDE social identity deindividuation i ii Users meet around a common interest In the absence of contrasting cues they develop an exaggerated sense of similarity and group solidarity 3 Channel Communicating on your own time a Walther refers to CMC as an asynchronous channel of communication meaning that parties can use it nonsimultaneously A benefit is the ability to plan contemplate and edit one s comments more than is possible in spontaneous simultaneous talk 4 Feedback Self fulfilling prophecy A self fulfilling prophecy is the tendency for a person s expectation of others to evoke a response from them that confirms what was anticipated Self fulfilling prophecy is triggered when the hyperpositive image is intentionally or
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