Theories and methods in mediated communication

Abstract

. . . 1. Theories and Methods Technology mediated communication is a fact of life. The human communication apparatus is constrained in several ways. There are limits to the distance at which speech is audible, and visible behaviours such as gesture, gaze or facial expressions are perceivable. Furthermore, these natural communication behaviours are ephemeral and do not persist over time. Given these limitations, we must rely on some form of mediation, if we are to communicate at distance and across time. People have therefore invented technologies that attempt to circumvent these limits to allow remote synchronous communication (e.g. telephone, videoconference) or asynchronous communication (e.g. letters, telegraph, email, fax, voicemail). Understanding the principles that govern mediated communication has important practical implications. Because of the pervasiveness of mediated communication, we need to determine whether, how and why, it differs from face to face communication. If there are differences between mediated and face to face communication, we need to provide guidelines to inform decisions about the circumstances in which it is appropriate to use mediated communication, and the effects of using it in those situations. Systematic insights into mediated communication should also enable us to improve the designs of current and future technologies supporting mediated communication. An understanding of mediated communication should also inform more general theorizing about the psychology of communication. Most current communication theories regard face to face communication as an integrated set of speech, gaze, and gestural behaviours. As we shall see, studies of mediated communication allow us to isolate the individual contribution of different nonverbal behaviours, such as gaze and gesture to communication. They also help to clarify the overall influence of visual information in communication, and the effects of communication interactive processes such as feedback on communication. The structure of the review is as follows. The main part of the review is organized around 3 main theoretical approaches to mediated communication. We first talk about the general characteristics of mediated communication theories, and methods in this area. We then characterize each theory in detail and evaluate the evidence for it. We conclude with a discussion of outstanding practical and theoretical issues.