Socializing While Alone: Loss of Impact and Engagement When Interacting Remotely via Technology.

Experience of emotion in face to face and computer-mediated social interactions: An event sampling study

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) has a significant impact upon organizations by affecting decision-making procedures and communication structures. Early CMC research was guided by the cues filtered out theory, which proposed CMC is inherently constrained in comparison to face-to-face (FtF) interactions due to the limited bandwidth of the medium. A more recent perspective, social information processing theory, proposes that CMC differs from FtF in the rate of information transmission but is capable of transmitting social information. In this study cues filtered out and social information processing theories were tested using a longitudinal design. The current study examined temporal effects on social and task cohesion. A more positive relational tone was expected with message accumulation over time in CMC. As well as inter-media differences, intra-media differences between asynchronous and synchronous CMC were examined. Results supported social information processing theory and ran counter to predictions of the cues filtered out theory. Differences between synchronous CMC and FtF were obtained at time 1, followed by convergence at time 2 and time 3, for both social and task cohesion. Asynchronous CMC groups were significantly less cohesive at all times compared to the synchronous conditions. The media therefore differed along the lines of synchronicity rather than partial (CMC) versus full (FtF) cues, with synchronous CMC being more like FtF than asynchronous CMC. Support was also obtained for the relationship between cohesion and performance being strongest when the level of cohesion corresponds to the dimension of performance.

Social anxiety and physiological arousal during computer mediated vs. face to face communication

The applications of using Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication (SCMC) tools, known as real time text-message exchange software such as MSN Messenger, chat rooms, etc., in second language learning classrooms have been examined by numbers of researchers in the past few decades (e.g. Beauvois, 1992, 1998; Chun, 1994; Kern, 1995; Lai & Zhao, 2006; Sykes, 2005; Vandergriff, 2006). Motivated by an interest in the transferability from actually “typing” to “speaking” brought up by Abrams (2003), and the strong recommendations of using online discussion as a “stepping stone” in communication, the present study examined oral production in terms of accuracy, lexical complexity, syntactic complexity, and fluency under two modes of discussions in an EFL freshman English course. Subjects were 20 English-major students enrolled in a required university Freshman English class in an Asian EFL context. Data were collected under two modes: Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication (SCMC) and Face-to-Face (FTF). Under each mode, students participated in two activities: (1) preparation discussions for an informal debate, and (2) discussions of issues after video watching. Each discussion lasted for ten minutes and was followed by an immediate FTF oral discussion. In FTF discussions, the audio was recorded and transcribed for further analysis. Meanwhile, the discussions in the SCMC context were collected as chat logs. All the collected data were divided into four parts: (1) discourse in traditional face-to-face discussion and (2) its follow-up discussion; (3) discourse in the SCMC context and (4) its follow-up oral discussion. The results revealed significant differences among all variables in comparing the language outputs in SCMC and FTF discussions. In fact, language outputs in SCMC exceeded the outputs in FTF in almost every aspect. The findings revealed lower error rate, fewer dysfluent markers, and higher percentages of using more sophisticated words in SCMC. Only the complexity of syntactic structures was greater in FTF. We also found positive effects of language production on all variables in FTF discussion activities; however, only fluency showed significant improvement. In terms of transferability from SCMC to oral proficiency, none of the variables showed significant effects on its immediate follow-up oral discussion. Ironically, the differences between SCMC and its follow-up FTF discussion were all significant except for syntactic complexity. This finding indicated that learners were not able to carry the “refined” utterances in SCMC over to oral discussion, or they just inevitably made the same mistakes when the communication channel switched back to normal FTF. Finally, we compared the effects of practicing in FTF modality and the effects of practicing in SCMC modality. The findings indicated that learners can produce more fluent and more complex utterances orally by practicing in FTF all the way through, while accuracy and lexical complexity can be increased by practicing in the SCMC environment. In conclusion, transferability can only be found partially in terms of accuracy and lexical complexity. Though the effects of practicing through SCMC with the aim of improving oral proficiency did not differ significantly from traditional face-to-face practices, it still shed some light on the potential benefits of text-based communication. With less time pressure through chatting in SCMC, learners were encouraged to retrieve from their long term memories and use less frequent words so that the vocabulary which was retrieved could easily be used again in later speaking activities.

This study examined how different types of computer-mediated communication (CMC) influences the way pre-university students argue about genetically modified organisms. A total of 39 dyads discussed the topic using either synchronous (chat) or asynchronous (discussion board) CMC, after which they collaboratively wrote an argumentative text in a synchronous groupware environment. It was hypothesized that synchronous CMC would stimulate deep argumentation because of feedback immediacy while asynchronous CMC would stimulate gathering arguments because it allows increased reflection time. Finally, the study sought to determine if students who argue well during a discussion also wrote better argumentative texts. The results obtained partly confirmed the expectations. Students using synchronous CMC argue in a more elaborated way than students using asynchronous CMC. However, in contrast to the hypothesis, students using asynchronous CMC produced more accurate argumentative texts. This study sheds light on how synchronous and asynchronous CMC will be suitable for specific collaborative learning processes.

The current study examined the occurrence and benefits of linguistic alignment in two modalities, face-to-face (FTF) and synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC), focusing on stranded prepositions in relative clauses. It further examined how learner characteristics (i.e., working memory, language proficiency, previous knowledge of the target structure) mediate the effects of linguistic alignment. Ninety-four Korean students were assigned to one of the following groups: FTF alignment, SCMC alignment, FTF control, and SCMC control. The alignment experimental groups completed two alignment sessions, finished three stranded preposition tests, and carried out a running span test and cloze test over three weeks. Results indicated not only that linguistic alignment occurred in both FTF and SCMC modes but also that alignment was facilitated significantly more in the SCMC than FTF interactions. Furthermore, the findings suggest immediate and delayed learning effects in both modalities, and that learners’ prior knowledge of the target structure was significantly associated with the occurrence of alignment.

Although computer-mediated communication (CMC) is popular, past research shows that face-to-face (FTF) interaction is also important in CMC environments. The question is what are the accelerators for FTF interaction in CMC scenarios? A literature review finds the accelerators of familiarity among group members and personality factors related to E/I (extraversion/introversion) important factors to consider in FTF interaction. The focus, therefore, of this study is on proximate group support system (GSS) environments that have both CMC and FTF interactions. The objective of the study is to reveal the impacts of familiarity among group members and E/I on verbal interaction in GSS sessions. A proposed causal model, in which verbal and GSS interactions are mediators between the combinations of "group member familiarity & E/I factors," and "meeting satisfaction & group cohesion," is tested. To examine the model, eight proximate GSS sessions are observed and data are gathered using questionnaires from 59 participants. The data are then analyzed using path analysis. Results show that verbal and GSS interactions do not positively mediate between the combinations of "group member's familiarity & E/I factors," and "meeting satisfaction & group cohesion." This means that verbal interaction is independent from personal factors such as familiarity or E/I and, probably, meeting management factors are important to accelerate verbal interaction among participants. Implications of these findings are discussed within the context of virtual and/or asynchronous meetings.

Adapting face-to-face (FTF) pedagogies to online settings raises boundary questions about the contextual conditions in which the same instructional method stimulates different outcomes. We address this issue by examining FTF and computer-mediated communication (CMC) versions of constructive controversy, a cooperative learning procedure involving dialogic argumentation and the shared goal of reaching an integrative position. One hundred seventy-one undergraduates were randomly assigned to a 3 (synchronicity: FTF, synchronous CMC, asynchronous CMC) × 3 (belongingness: acceptance, mild rejection, control) quasi-experimental design. As predicted, FTF and synchronous CMC conditions increased cooperation, epistemic conflict regulation, motivation (interest-value), and achievement (completion rate, integrative statements), whereas asynchronous CMC increased competition and relational conflict regulation and decreased motivation and achievement. Also as predicted, satisfying belongingness needs (through acceptance) increased cooperation, epistemic conflict regulation, and motivation compared with control. Unexpectedly, there was no evidence that mild rejection diminished outcomes. Results inform theory by demonstrating that FTF and CMC synchronicity represent boundary conditions in which constructive controversy stimulates different social-psychological processes and, in turn, different outcomes. Results also inform practice by showing that synchronicity and belongingness have additive effects on constructive controversy and that satisfying belongingness needs buffers but does not offset the deleterious effects of asynchronous CMC.

In the past decades, foreign language classrooms at the university level have witnessed an ever-growing presence of technology. Teletandem, a collaborative and virtual medium for foreign language learning (TELLES, 2009; BENEDETTI; CONSOLO; VIEIRA-ABRAHÃO, 2010), offers language learners opportunities to receive modified input, negotiate for meaning, receive corrective, and produce modified output, all essential to second language (L2) development (LONG, 1996; GASS, 1997; GASS; MACKEY, 2007). However, an assessment of Teletandem empirical studies has revealed not only a dearth of empirical evidence in regards to the effects of this medium on L2 development, but, furthermore, a lack of research comparing Teletandem and face to face (FTF) contexts as effective media for L2 development. The present study investigates whether type of medium (Teletandem vs. FTF) has an effect on L2 learners’ oral development of lexical accuracy and global complexity. Participants were 40 advanced learners of Spanish who were randomly assigned to either a Teletandem group or a FTF group over the course of two months. The results revealed that both Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication (SCMC) and FTF interaction had positive impacts on oral complexity, with no significant difference between the two groups. However, the results indicate that there was an advantage for Teletandem in terms of the L2 development of lexical accuracy.

The amount of time adolescents spend communicating via digital technologies such as smartphones has led to concerns that computer-mediated communication (CMC) is displacing face-to-face (FtF) interactions and disrupting social development. Although many studies have examined CMC in adolescents' relationships with friends, few studies have examined the role of CMC in adolescents' renegotiation of closeness and autonomy with parents. To examine this issue, we administered an online daily diary with 169 U.S. adolescents to estimate the time they spend in CMC and FtF interactions and the number of texts they exchange with friends and parents. On the last day of the survey, we asked adolescents about their emotional closeness to friends and parents and their balance of closeness and volition with parents. Overall, we found more evidence for social stimulation than displacement effects of CMC. Texts and CMC time with friends predicted friend closeness after accounting for FtF time with friends; texts with parents predicted parent closeness after accounting for FtF time with parents. We also found support for our hypothesis that CMC would be associated with greater adolescent volition. CMC time with parents predicted greater volitional dependence (volition plus closeness) whereas texts with friends predicted greater independent decision-making (volition plus distance). We discuss how communication technologies are integrated into U.S. adolescents' relationships with friends and parents and how CMC can facilitate, rather than stifle, adolescents' adjustment of autonomy-relatedness with parents and their construction of emotional closeness with friends. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Haven't we met somewhere before? The effects of a brief internet introduction on social anxiety in a subsequent face to face interaction

The traditional form of teaching speaking skill has been via face-to-face (FTF) interaction in the classroom setting. Today in the computer age, the on-line forum can provide a virtual environment for differential communication. The pedagogical system benefits from such technology improvement for teaching foreign languages. This quasi-experimental research aimed at comparing the effects of two instructional strategies: synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) and FTF interaction. For this purpose, 60 EFL learners were selected from a private language institute as the control ( n =30) and experimental ( n =30) groups. A speaking test, designed by Hughes (2003), was administered as pretest and after a 12-session treatment the same test was administered as the posttest. The result obtained showed that participants taught based on SCMC fared better than those that were taught according to FTF interaction. Based on the findings of the current study, it is recommended that EFL teachers incorporate computer-mediated communication into their pedagogical procedures.

Effects of synchronous and asynchronous computer-mediated communication (CMC) oral conversations on English language learners' discourse functions

The effectiveness of synchronous computer-mediated communication for solving hidden-profile problems: Further empirical evidence

The role of extraversion and neuroticism in influencing anxiety following computer-mediated interactions