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CMC

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Computer-mediated communication; text-based messages, which filter out most nonverbal cues

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Social presence theory

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Suggests that CMC deprives users of the sense that another actual person is involved in the interaction; says communication in CMC becomes more impersonal, individualistic, and task-oriented

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Media richness theory

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classifies each communication medium according to the complexity of the messages it can handle efficiently; suggests that face to face communication provides a rich mix of verbal and nonverbal cue systems that can convey highly nuanced emotions, and even double meanings; purports that CMC bandwidth is too narrow to convey rich relational messages

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A third theory concentrates on the

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lack of social context cues in online communication; claims that CMC users have no clue as to their relative status, and norms for interaction aren't clear, so people tend to become more self-absorbed and less inhibited. the result is increased "flaming"

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Flaming

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hostile language that zings its target and creates a toxic climate for relational growth on the Internet

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All of these theories share a

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"cues filtered out" interpretation of CMC; they assume that most online communication is text-only, without visual or auditory cues, and this limits its usefulness for developing interpersonal relationships

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Cues filtered out

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Interpretation of CMC that regards lack of nonverbal as a fatal flaw for using the medium for relationship development

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Joe Walther

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created Social Information Processing Theory; claimed that CMC users can adapt to this restricted medium and use it effectively to develop close relationships

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Social Information Processing Theory is what kind of theory?

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An objective theory that follows the socio-psychological tradition

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At first, Walther limited his theory to

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text-only online communication (this is an example of a "boundary condition")

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Boundary condition

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a statement that limits the context a theory is meant to describe

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Walther labeled his theory social information processing (SIP) because he believes relationships grow only to the extent that

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parties first gain information about each other and use that information to form interpersonal impressions of who they are (consistent with uncertainty reduction theory); interacting parties draw closer if they both like the image of the other that they've formed

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SIP focuses on the first link of the chain which is

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the personal information available through CMC and its effect on the composite mental image of the other that each one creates (chain: interpersonal information --> impression formation --> relationship development)

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What does Walther say about CMC missing nonverbal cues

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Doesn't believe it's fatal or even injurious to a well-defined impression of the other or the relational development that it triggers

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Two features of CMC that provide a rationale for SIP theory

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1. Verbal cues; 2. Extended time

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Verbal cues

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when motivated to form impressions and develop relationships, communicators employ any cue system that's available. Thus, CMC users can create fully formed impressions of others based solely on the linguistic content of online messages

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Extended time

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the exchange of social information through text-only CMC is much slower than it is face-to-face, so impressions are formed at a reduced rate. Yet given enough time, CMC relationships can be just as strong as those developed with nonverbal cues present - they can end up with the same quantity and quality of interpersonal knowledge

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Walther is convinced that verbal and nonverbal cues can be used

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interchangeably; claims that the human need for affiliation is just as active when people communicate online as when they are with each other face-to-face

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SIP theory claims that human beings are

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creative communicators, able to use text-only channels to convey a level of relational warmth that eventually equals that expressed when face-to-face (research supports this claim)

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What does Walther say the key factor is for determining whether text only messages can achieve the level of intimacy that others develop face-to-face?

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the length of time; over an extended period, the issue is not the "amount" of social info that can be conveyed online, it's the "rate" at which that info mounts up

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How much longer does it take to say something via CMC than face-to-face?

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at least four times longer; explains why earlier studies show that CMC is task-oriented and interpersonal

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Walther says a fair test for different channels of relational communication would

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extend the time limit for unacquainted online users so they could have the opportunity to send the same number of messages as strangers in the face-to-face condition

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Since CMC conveys social information more slowly than face-to-face communication does, Walther advises online users to

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make up for the rate difference by sending messages more often

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Two other temporal factors that contribute to intimacy on the Internet are

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1. Anticipated future interaction and 2. Chronemic cues

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Anticipated future interaction

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A way of extending psychological time; the likelihood of future interaction motivates CMC users to develop a relationship

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Chronemics

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The study of people's systematic handling of time in their interaction with others; time is the one nonverbal cue that's not filtered out in text-only CMC

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If you want to convey a positive impression,

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a fast reply to someone is probably best, though you also may want to consider the tone conveyed by the time of day the message is sent

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Walther's hyperpersonal perspective

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the claim that CMC relationships are often more intimate than those developed when partners are physically together; depicts how senders select, receivers magnify, channels promote, and feedback increases enhanced and selective communication behaviors in CMC

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Sender: Selective self-presentation

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an online positive portrayal without fear of contradiction, which enables people to create an overwhelmingly favorable impression (e.g. someone writing about their most attractive traits, accomplishments, thoughts, and actions)

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Attribution

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a perceptual process whereby we observe what people do and then try to figure out what they're really like

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Receiver: Overattribution of Similarity

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Walther says that the absence of other cues doesn't keep us from jumping to conclusions; we'll likely overattribute the meager information we have and create an idealized image of the sender; draws on SIDE theory to explain this

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Social identity-deindivuation (SIDE) theory

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suggests CMC users overestimate their similarity with others they meet in online interest groups because they share common interests, problems, or passions

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Asynchronous channel

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a nonsimultaneous medium of communication that each individual can use when he or she desires; includes some forms of CMC like email; in this type of interaction one may plan, contemplate, and edit one's comments more mindfully and deliberatively than one can face-to-face - advantage when dealing with touchy issues, misunderstandings, or conflict between parties

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Self-fulfilling prophecy (feedback)

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the tendency for a person's expectation of others to evoke a response from them that confirms what was originally anticipated; creates hyperpersonal relationships only if CMC parties first form highly favorable impressions of each other; triggered when a hyperpositive image is fed back to the other, creating the CMC equivalent of the looking-glass self; may improve relationships between groups with a strong history of tension and conflict

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The hyperpersonal perspective assumes that people communicate through

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text-only CMC. Walther acknowledges that the web has moved far beyond text

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Social networking sites display which two types of information?

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1. Information that's controlled by the profile owner and 2. Information that's beyond the profile owner's direct control

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Warranting value

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reason to believe that information is accurate, typically because the target of the information cannot manipulate it

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Low warrant information

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information whose content can be manipulated by the profile owner (e.g. your bio on facebook); Walther argues that we are less likely to trust this information

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High warrant information

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information whose content cannot be manipulated by the profile owner (e.g. information posted by friends); Walther argues we're more likely to trust this information

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Critique

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some say CMC is one of the most difficult communication contexts to study because of the rise of new forms of online communication; some studies suggest that online relationships form at the same pace or even faster than they do for people who meet face-to-face; Walther questions original assumption that all people are motivated by a similar desire to affiliate with others; warranting may differ depending on the kind of info under scrutiny

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