Coye Cheshire & Andrew Fiore July 16, 2015 // Computer-Mediated Communication Media richness

7/16/2015Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore1 RichLean

7/16/2015Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore2 A plausible ranking? Face-to-face Real-time video Real-time audio =?= asynch. video Real-time text =?= asynch. audio Asynch. text Richer Leaner (sparser)

7/16/2015Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore3 Media choice vs. media use Types of tasks  “Uncertain” — missing information  “Equivocal” — ambiguous interpretations “Best” medium for an equivocal task?  What do managers choose?  What yields the best performance? P.S.: What is “best performance”?

7/16/2015Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore4 Multiplicity of cues Textual  Time/clarity cost to “encode” verbal and non-verbal cues in text Verbal Non-verbal

7/16/2015Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore5 Feedback  Type  Acknowledgment — understanding (+/–)  Repair — correction or clarification  Proxy — completion  Immediacy — more immediate = richer  Concurrent: synchronous nods, mm-hmms  a.k.a. backchannel — but not that backchannel  Sequential: brief interjection

7/16/2015Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore6 Mean decision time (D&K) High cues (AV)Low cues (CMC) TaskImmed.DelayedImmed.Delayed Low equiv High equiv

7/16/2015Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore7 Social presence  Sense of communicating with a real person  Also: Social information processing  Adaptation to the medium  What about time?

7/16/2015Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore8 The role of time  Affiliation is a slower process in leaner media?  Expected future interactions — commitment over time

7/16/2015Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore9 Hyperpersonal communication  Receivers overattribute limited cues  Assume similarity based on group affiliation  Senders maintain tight control over cues  Little “given off” in text CMC  Bottom line: Exceptionally favorable perception in the face of limited information

7/16/2015Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore10 “Because hyperpersonal CMC yields impressions that are above average and because the physical appearance of most normal people is, by definition, average, receivers’ impressions may be dampened if physical reality intrudes.” — Walther et al. 2001

7/16/2015Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore11 “The sensorial parsimony of plain text tends to entice users into engaging their imaginations to fill in missing details while, comparatively speaking, the richness of stimuli in fancy [systems] has an opposite tendency, pushing users’ imaginations into a more passive role.” — Curtis (1992)

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7/16/2015Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore13 Long-term, no photos Long-term, photos ≈ Short-term, photos Short-term, no photos

7/16/2015Computer-Mediated Communication — Cheshire & Fiore14 Farnham & Riegelsberger 2004 Text profiles Photo profiles Gaming partner preference (1 = Do not want to play) Count