Emotion in CMC Review article (Derks et al, 2008)

The role of emotion in computer-mediated communication: A review

Derks, D., Fischer, A.H., and Bos, A. (2008)

Computers in Human Behaviour, Vol 24, Issue 3, 766-785.

Method

Reviewed Psychoinfo, Medline Google scholar & professional network.

Key terms; emoticons, flaming, unihibited behaviour, anonymity, emotion and mood in combination with CMC, F2F, social sharing, internet, onlinbe, self disclosure, anonymity, gender differences, display rules, mimicry and anonymity.

Studies with a social interaction setting; restricted to text based CMC.

Romantic relationships and non English language papers were excluded

Definition of emotion communication:

the recognition , expression and sharing of emotions or moods between two or more individuals. Explicit emotion communication involves references to discrete emotions through verbal labels ( I am very angry) appraisals ( this is scary) and tendencies to act ( I would like to hit you) or emblems ( emoticons). Implicit emotional communication includes the emotional style of the message, as can be inferred from the degree of personal involvement, self disclosure, language use, etc.

Comparing FtoF and CMC for emotions, sociality the most important aspect to consider.

First

Literature review in terms of social presence

1. The difference is the impact of context on social presence (sociality).( Short, Williams & Christie, 1976).

2. Manstead (in press) proposes 2 dimensions; the physical and the social.

The physical means there is no bodily contact and no visibility.

The lack of visibility links to the social to contribute to a reduced relational salience.

Furthermore the other person may be unknown and together with reduced salience it increases anonymity of the situation . i.e. visibility and knowing the person are additive when it comes to the social presence equation.

Derks et al : What does this mean for emotional experience?

• bodily contact - probably more relevant to intimate relationships
• visibility -implications for the decoding and recognition of others' emotions, also the expression of one's own emotion is less visible

3. interaction between social norms & social presence ( Potmes, Spears etc)

No social cues at the outset, SIDE sees this as significant for increasing ingroup identity ( ? therefore salience of the situation) but social cues tend to 'leak out' .

KRO what is the implication of this - ? need to view from a developmental perspective.

Three points of focus for the literature review and as far as possible compared f-to-f and CMC

1. Emotion talk as part of content
2. expression of emotion
3. recognition of emotion ( but little research)

1. Emotion as part of content

f-to-f

need to talk about emotions - social sharing- a general manifestation of f-to-f ( Christophe & Rime, 1997) , the more intense the feeling the more inclined to talk about the event.

once exposed to social sharing it is then common to share with a third person i.e. non anonymity of source

'in a met-analytic review, Collins & Miller (1994) found that people who engage in intimate disclosures tend to be liked more than those who disclose less' i.e. sharing emotions is a useful tool. Disclosing emotions 'healthy and good for well being'

CMC

use of MSN (KRO and & ? facebook)

online dating

CMC mediated therapies

studies of self disclosure

(Savicki (1991), Savicki & Kelly (2000), Herring. Men ignore socio-emotional, they are more task orientated and less satisfied with the medium. Women in female only groups self disclose and attempt to reduce tension . I statements & directly addressing group members more likely More likely to thank, appreciate and apologise and be upset by violations of politeness. Men ignore socio-emotional, more task orientated and less satisfied with the medium.)

2. Expression of emotion

F-to-f

studies into the effect of co-presence

Fridlund compared

a) f-to-f

b) imaginary present

c) alone

There was more smiling in conditions a) and b) than c). More likely to cry when alone.

display rules and the identity of interactants

Hess, Fischer . power relations and the activation of different display rules. Social position prescribes what emotions to display.

relationships - friendships accentuate facial expression i.e. relationships as a mediator of expression. (KRO anonymity and stranger may operate together in CMC)

gender - some evidence for gender differences in display rules

CMC ( almost total focus on flaming!)

Siegel et al (1986) compared groups engaged on identical tasks. Flaming was more common in CMC. No difference between synchronous and asynchronous CMC.

3. recognition of emotion

lack of visibility therefore no NVC.

Function of NVC in f-to-f

• reduce ambiguity
• tone down or intensify emotional expression ( Lee & Wagner)
• animate and/or clarify interaction
• elicit mimicry - particularly important for establishing positive relationships

Comparing f-to-f and CMC

Sasaki & Ohbuchi (1999)

compared interaction via CMC and f-to-f ( vocal)

The task was to interact with a confederate in two hypothetical conflict situations in which confederate had to accept an unreasonable request. Didn't see each other in either situation. Confederates voice manipulated to produce either a positive or a negative tone. P's asked to rate emotions and intentions of the confederate. Emotions equally intense for each ' in vocal condition, however, angry emotions and perceived negative intents prompted aggressive responses, whilst such effects were absent in CMC' , p8.

Consider whether lack of NVC in CMC can lead to either over estimation or underestimation of emotional state and therefore inappropriate reactions or judgements of others.

CMC

emoticons

like NVC can serve to accentuate, emphasise, clarify.

Derks et al (2007) manipulated the social context of chat ( task or socio-emotional) and valence ( positive or negative) . Ps could respond with text, emoticon or a combination. Social contexts tended to attract emoticons. Positive emotions in contexts with positive valence negative emoticons in contexts with negative valence.

BUT

when task orientated Ps used the least number of emoticons p9 ' individuals have to be more accurate, they have more explaining to do, and if possible, they are required to present alternatives.

AND

use of emoticons is deliberate ( voluntary)

Authors concludes that absence of NVC is taken over. p10. individuals more explicitly describe or label their emotions in CMC compared to F2F. There is no research in which this is directly compared, however.

Authors claim that MIMICRY cannot be achieved in CMC KRO but presentational style may be a way.

Questions

Is emotional embodiment reduced in CMC?

Is emotional reaction easier to control in CMC?

Is spontaneity reduced ( i.e. asynchronous -time to reflect)

Time & Photo & Walther

Is a picture worth a thousand words?  Photographic Images in Long-Term and Short-Term Computer Mediated Communication (2001)

Walther, J.B., , Slovacek, C.L., and Tidwell, L.C.

Communication Research, 28, 105.

DOI: 10.1177/009365001028001004

•  wide spread adoption of text based conferencing.
• what are the advantages, if any of online environments that try to emulate FTF levels of presence?
  

REVIEW

Social presence theory ( Short, Williams, & Christie, 1976).  Originally a theory of teleconferencing.

'Conceives social presence as a communicator's subjective sense about the salience of an interaction partner' 'This feeling is a function of a number of cues that the medium offers' i.e. focuses on the quantity rather than the quality of transmitted cues.  Effect of reduced social presence is a reduction in interpersonal warmth and affection.

(KRO this idea of social presence does not consider the effect of asynchrony  ? different to Garrison & Anderson).

Whereas users rate video higher than CMC and audio on social presence(refs) users tend to only use video to check attention levels of others : is it access to the visual appearance of others that leads to higher ratings of  such environments?

Uncertainty reduction theory ( Berger & Calabrese, 1975) 'Greater amounts of information about partners reduce discomfort, increases predictability, and raises the level of affection towards others.'  Berger & Douglas ( 1981) 'found that seeing photographs did have uncertainty reducing effects'

Social Information Processing (SIP) theory of relational communication (Walther, 1992)

When required to interact individuals are motivated to affliliate and therefore they use whatever cue systems are available.  In CMC this is usually content.  Walther (1996) suggests that 'negative effects are confined to zero history groups with no longevity'  Level of motivation can depend on a number of factors but anticipated future interaction very high on the list of motivators.  Anticipated future interaction 'promotes more personal questions and slef disclosures ........ and influences intimacy levels more than media cues'

The Hyperpersonal communication framework   Variant ( ? development ) of SIP 

considered in terms of receivers, senders & the channel.

Receivers - This part of the theory is influenced by/ draws on  SIDE (social identification/deindividuation ( Spear & Lea, 1992).  

'When there are no cues available to identify others then any bit of social information transferred by the context is subject to overattribution by receivers.  Under certain circumstances of CMC users construct hyperbolic and idealized constructions of their virtual partners'

"furthermore, when partners experience a salient group identity rather than an individual orientation, these attributions accentuate similarities and shared norms and therefore social evaluations are more positive'

Senders and impression management

Senders are able to engage in selective self-presentation. 

1. Messages can be revised and timed
   
2.  no acccidental transmission of unintended NVC
   
3. no cues to physical appearance
   
4. some of the cognitive-behavioral resources that are required in FTF ( backchanneling, attention checking etc) 
   
5. channel -have time to attend to both the task and the social dimensions of the exchange.

therefore

'the hyperpersonal perspective depicts how senders select, receivers magnify, channels promote and feedback increases enhanced and selective communication behaviors in CMC'

'by subsuming SIP principles  CMC users anticipate a long-term commitment with their partners, they initiate affliative behaviours as as time accrues, these experiences affect communication patterns positively'

Method

8 groups of virtual work-teams ( USA & UK students) - 24 participants

task was 'plausible and relevant and required high levels of involvement  over a realistic period of time'

2 ( long term/short term) x2 (photograph/no photograph) design 

DVs  (cf DZX when survey focused on student experience of course rather than specifics about others)

self administered questionnaire post course, 5 point Likert scale. when appropriate each participant assessed two others.

1. Intimacy/affection - Burgoon & Hale's (1987) scale
   
2. Relational communication - Walther & Burgoon, 1992 - adjusted for groups
   
3. attractiveness - subset of McCroskey & McCain (1974) (task- 5 items, social - 5 items, physical- 5 items)
   
4. self presentation success was assessed using two original items
   

' the computer-mediated communication allowed me to present myself in a favourable way'

'I think I made a good impression on the others through the use of the computer system'

Results

Intimacy/affection & relational  : 'the same photographs that help defeat impersonal conditions ( short term contexts) also dampen hyperpersonal ones ( that form in long term online encounters)

projected attractiveness: only over attributed  for males rating females and 'suggests that social categorical judgements might arise regardless of physical appearance ( see also Postmes et al)

success of self presentation users felt that CMC facilitated better self presentation when there was no photo.

Macfadyen - constructing ehnicity & identity online

Constructing ethnicity and identity in the online classroom:  Linguistic practices and ritual texts.

Macfadyen, L.P. 

Proccedings of the 6th International Conference on Networked Learning

useful phrase to describe  a particular view about online community

 ' authenticity ( and therefore trust) can only be  guaranteed by physical presence and the evidence of the senses'

• The article calls  on an analysis of dialogue from successive courses offered to International students in Pesrpectives in Global Citizenship. 
  
• Argues that ' text-based virtual learning environments begin the process of co-constructing a virtual learning culture by performing and sharing their unique virtual identities, and that one  of the key strategies that individuals and newly forming virtual communities make use of is ritual' p561.  
  
• Transforming practices that previously took place through embodied action and sensory perception now take place through explicit articulations in text.
  

Definition of ritual for Sociology

Lukes, 1975  ' rule-governed activity of a symbolic character which draws attention to of its participants to objects of thought and feeling that they hold to be of special significance'

'rituals are expressive and are expressive by their conspicuous regularity'

'rituals are both performative and creative.  They acknowledge and commemorate existing elements of shared identity and they contribute to the construction of new forms and interpretations of community and collective identity'

Theorists have historically understood ritual practice to be embodied however now some examination of ritual practice in online environments http://www.rituals-online.de/

Performing the self in text

use of linguistic markers eg canadian 'eh', 

'Very quickly, however, student communication on the course fulfil the claim that essentialized models of 'national' culture are insufficient markers of individual identity' p564 .  In general analysis of this dialogue supports Hewling's contention that culture is 'an ongoing iterative process' rather than a static set of assumed structures envisioned in esentialist perspectives' and that ' individual identity is an active act of meaning making and contest over definition'

Rituals 

of initiation

'two dominant sets that seem to counterbalance

1. performance of credentialling
   
2. performance of humility ( e.g. begging leniency from the group and from instructors'
   

of resistance

this can happen with occasional students 

of community

increasingly write about we

International membership in learning requires

 shared understanding of the methods of argument.

also

author argues ' learners must first be able to enact their authentic and differing identities in the learning space', p560

                        

Culture Online

New Directions in Research into Learning Cultures in Online Education.

Robin Goodfellow

Book Goodfellow & Lamy, M-N. Learning Cultures in Online Education.  Continuum Book.

'Much of the existing research is framed by a conceptualisation of culture that associates it primarily with nationality, and a conceptualisation of the 'problem' for online learning as being about communication between people of different nationalities'

tend to emphasise the need to tailor design to individual cultural preferences ' cultures do not talk to each other , individuals do ( p.138 Scollon & Scollon (2001)0

drivers for considering online in terms of culture

1. widening participation
   
2. mode 2 knowledge (respond to employability agendas)
   
3. interdependence between academia and professions
   
4. breadth of informal channels that are increasingly available.  For young people 'popular culture media and personal networks ( including online communities' have become key sources of identity models and cultural resources for affiliation and identification'
   

Current Research orientations

concern with the influence on international learners' individual and group identity of prevalent 'western' approach eg social constructivism, techno-rationalism, use of English language

A desire to understand the ways that online learning is played out through language, where the presentation and disclosure of identities is inflected by their own cultural backgrounds and/or the reduced cues of the electronic medium.

an interest in the emergence of 'new' cultural and social identities in virtual communities that draw on contemporary cybercultures of the internet as well as systems of cultural relations inherited from conventional settings.

Working definition of culture ( Gunawardena, p125 of the book)

' a system of knowledge , beliefs, behaviours and customs shared by members of an interacting group, to which members can refer, and that serve as the basis for further intercation ...... members recognise that they share experiences and these experiences can be referred to with the expectation that they will be understood by other members ...... thus being used to construct a reality for the participants. (p.125)'

1. there is no requirement for the interacting group to have a recognised existence independently of their interaction
   
2. an emphasis on members' recognition of the role of experience -sharing in the construction of their online world'
   

Reeder, K.L. Macfadyen et al (2004)

Negotiating cultures in Cyberspace: Participation Patterns and Problematics, Language Learning & Technology 8(2): 88-105.

http://llt.msu.edu/vol8num2/reeder/default.html

Thorne, S. (2003)

Artefacts and Cultures-Of-Use in Intercultural Communication, Language Learning & Technology, 7(2): 38-67

http://llt.msu.edu/vol7num2/thorne/default.html

Doherty argues that truly postnational learning cultures should position all students as international ( whether or not national to the host site)