Level Of Social Presence Research Articles

Does mobile instant messaging facilitate social presence in online communication? A two-stage study of higher education students

Online social presence supports student learning by making group interactions more appealing and has become a central concept in computer-mediated communication. However, questions remain over how social presence is presented in a mobile instant messaging (MIM)-facilitated environment and to what extent MIM can afford social presence compared to a threaded discussion forum. This study offers a new contribution by examining the social presence levels afforded by a MIM app (WeChat) and comparing it with a threaded discussion forum. We present a two-stage study. In stage 1, we analyzed social presence levels in the MIM postings of class A with a validated instrument comprising three dimensions, namely, affective, interactive, and cohesive responses. In stage 2, we employed a historical cohort control experimental research study to compare social presence levels manifested in class A to those in class B who used an online forum. Follow-up interviews were conducted to solicit explanations of the differences in social presence levels. The results show that compared to the asynchronous threaded forum, the quasi-synchronous MIM is particularly suited to promoting (a) expression of emotions (affective social presence), (b) expressing agreement (interactive social presence), and (c) phatics and providing support (cohesive social presence). Four attributes might contribute to the differences including (a) the ease of use of non-verbal cues, (b) location-free digital interaction, (c) presence awareness, and (d) multimodality. The implications for future practices and research are discussed.

Collaborating with ‘familiar’ strangers in mobile-assisted environments: The effect of socializing activities on learning EFL writing

Learners in computer- or mobile-assisted collaborative learning environments could remain anonymous or unfamiliar, as educators might not provide explicit socializing activities with the assumption that effective interactions could happen naturally in these situations. However, from the perspectives of social presence, it was hypothesized that for learners who were unfamiliar to their peers in online collaborative learning environments, performing explicit socializing activities prior to learning phases would help them have better learning performance, experience lower levels of working memory load, and experience higher levels of social presence than performing implicit socializing activities. This research was conducted to test the hypotheses with 60 participants. The results showed that providing explicit socializing activities to unfamiliar learners in mobile-assisted collaborative learning environments increased the level of social presence, facilitated their acquisition of complex cognitive skills such as EFL argument essay writing skills, and reduced the level of cognitive load in learning. These results are discussed in light of human cognitive architecture and the social presence theory.

Investigation of the Relationship Between Social Incidence and Transactional Distance of Students University Receiving Distance Education

Günümüz bilgi çağında bireylerin her yaşta, her yerde ve her konuda öğrenmelerini destekleyen çevrimiçi öğrenmeyle gerçekleşen uzaktan eğitim kavramının önemi üzerinde durulmaktadır. Uzaktan eğitim ortamlarında; bireylerin kendilerini ne derece sosyal ortamlarda hissettiği, sosyal bulunuşluk algısının nasıl olduğu ve fiziksel uzaklıkların iletişimi ne ölçüde etkilediği, işlemsel uzaklıkların bireyler üzerinde nasıl sonuçlarının olduğu önemli bir sorun haline gelmiştir. Yapılan bu araştırmanın amacı, uzaktan eğitim alan üniversite öğrencilerinin sosyal bulunuşluk düzeyleri ile işlemsel uzaklıkları arasındaki ilişkiyi incelemektir. Araştırmada tarama yöntemi modellerinden ilişkisel tarama kullanılmıştır. Veriler ‘Sosyal Bulunuşluk Ölçeği’ ile ‘İşlemsel Uzaklık Ölçeği’ kullanılarak elde edilmiştir. Ayrıca araştırmanın amaçlarına yönelik olarak araştırmacı tarafından hazırlanan ‘Kişisel Bilgi Formu’ da kullanılmıştır. Araştırma, 2018-2019 akademik yılının birinci döneminde Mersin Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Meslek Yüksekokulunda öğrenim gören 607 birinci sınıf öğrencisine uygulanmıştır. Elde edilen bulgulara göre, öğrencilerin sosyal bulunuşlukları ve işlemsel uzaklıkları; cinsiyete, öğrenim türüne, uzaktan eğitim deneyimine, çalışma durumuna ve üniversite öncesi yaşadığı yere göre farklılaşmamakta, öğrenim gördükleri bölüm ve teknolojik yeterlilik düzeylerine göre ise farklılaşmaktadır. Öğrencilerin sosyal bulunuşluk ile işlemsel uzaklık ölçeklerinin toplam puanları arasındaki ilişkiye bakıldığında pozitif yönde orta düzeyin üzerinde ve anlamlı bir ilişki olduğu tespit edilmiştir.

Social Presence and Self-Efficacy in Relation to Student Satisfaction in Online Learning Setting: A Predictive Study

This study investigated the levels of social presence, online learning self-efficacy, and student satisfaction among undergraduate students taking online courses from the School of Educational Sciences at the University of Jordan during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was hypothesized that the relationships between these variables and the degrees of social presence and online learning self-efficacy could predict student satisfaction in these online learning settings. To this end, we used a stepwise multiple regression model for student satisfaction involving social presence and online learning self-efficacy. Data were collected from a sample of 435 participants, all of whom were undergraduate students enrolled in the summer semester at the University of Jordan in 2020 Academic Year. The results demonstrated that the undergraduate students had high levels of online learning self-efficacy and moderate levels of social presence and student satisfaction. The study also revealed a significant positive relationship between social presence, online learning self-efficacy, and student satisfaction. The findings revealed that social presence and online learning self-efficacy impact and significantly predict student satisfaction in higher education institutions in Jordan in online learning settings. Based on these results, the authors recommend that instructors at these institutions foster social presence to enhance student satisfaction.

Using WhatsApp for Teaching a Course on the Education Profession

Social media has gained popularity in the realm of education. However, little research has examined empirically the extent to which students interacting using social media experience a different level of social presence, sense of community and perceived learning compared to those interacting face-to-face. As many as 100 students who were taking a course on Education Profession at the Department of Primary School Teacher Education at Halu Oleo University were recruited for this study. The students were randomly divided into two groups: Group one attended conventional face-to-face classroom instruction over the course of seven weeks and Group two used WhatsApp for learning. Questionnaires measuring social presence, sense of community and perceived learning were pre- and post-tested, followed immediately by interviews. The WhatsApp group reported a stronger sense of community, but both groups experienced an equal level of social presence and perceived learning. Reported benefits of WhatsApp far outnumbered its drawbacks.

Social Presence Theory: Relevance for HRD/VHRD Research and Practice

The ProblemSocial presence theory (SPT) is the degree to which a person is perceived to be a “real person” in their computer-mediated communication or virtual environments. The level of social presence influences the quality of virtual interactions and outcomes. SPT has not been examined within human resource development (HRD) or virtual human resource development (VHRD); therefore, it is not known if increased social presence could improve virtual teams/organizations and online instruction.The SolutionDesigning online environments and practices to increase social presence could enhance VHRD within virtual teams, online instructional design, and educational settings. Application of Community of Inquiry (CoI), Social Presence Model, and SPT-inspired instructional design through Gagne’s nine events are discussed with recommendations to improve HRD/VHRD by fostering trust, communication, collaboration, personal relationships, and learning within virtual resources and teams.The StakeholdersThe literature and application of SPT would benefit HRD/VHRD researchers, HR practitioners, educators, and team leaders/managers.

The Effects of Immersion and Real-World Distractions on Virtual Social Interactions.

This study explores the independent and joint effects of immersion and real-world distractions (a ringing cell phone) on cognitive (i.e., recognition and recall), affective valence, and interpersonal outcomes (i.e., interpersonal liking and communication satisfaction) as well as general feelings of presence (social presence and telepresence) during a virtual experience. Participants interacted with a virtual agent in an immersive virtual environment or nonimmersive virtual environment under three different levels of real-world distractions (i.e., no distraction, passively being exposed to the sound of a ringing cell phone, and actively responding to ringing cell phone). Increased immersion had a positive effect on telepresence, but a negative effect on recognition and recall; immersion did not have a significant effect on social presence. Real-world distractions had a negative effect on recognition, recall, and social presence, but did not affect telepresence or affective valence. Participants who were actively distracted performed more poorly on the recall measure and reported lower levels of social presence than their passively distracted counterparts. These findings suggest that (a) increased immersion will not uniformly improve social virtual reality experiences and (b) more research is needed on whether and how real-world events should be integrated into virtual environments.

The role of subject presence type on student motivation in a PBL learning environment.

Students have been observed as underprepared or skipping steps during the problem-based learning (PBL) process due to fatigue or low motivation, potentially creating a barrier for effective learning. One way to explore resolving this issue is to consider whether variables of problem scenario design can be altered to optimize motivation. This mixed method study considered the impact of presentation modality of the PBL problem subject (i.e., the key character involved in the problem) on student motivation within the context of Speech and Voice Science curricula for forty-six undergraduate students at a midwestern, US university. The frequency of verbal and non-verbal engagement behaviors was monitored during four consecutive PBL problems. The problems were designed to provide increasing levels of social presence and used varied case presentation modalities (e.g., paper, audio-visual, face to face). Although the frequency of engagement behaviors declined during the study and fatigue appeared to play a role, most students identified problems with combination of higher subject presence (i.e., audio-visual, face-to-face) and challenging content as motivating. Students were able to develop a sense of ownership and responsibility for their problem-solving efforts with a problem designed with direct interaction (i.e., face to face) with the problem subject. This study sheds light on the impact of affective problem features (e.g., emotion, personal psychological connection) on students' motivation in the presence of fatigue, which is often undervalued during the design of PBL modules.

The relationship between social presence and cognitive load

PurposeAs online learning has become more prevalent, how learners interact with each other in those learning environments has become more salient. To develop effective levels of interaction, students must feel comfortable to express their ideas and views. For this reason, this paper aims to look at how individual students’ levels of social presence affect germane cognitive load. Germane cognitive load is the amount that students are able to construct schema and can be seen as analogous to learning.Design/methodology/approachThis study looks at the results of survey data (n = 433) that investigate the relationship between social presence and germane cognitive load. The students were surveyed from the Open Cyber University of Korea in the fall semester of 2018.FindingsThe present study found a statistically significant positive relationship between social presence and germane cognitive load. The study found a Spearman’s correlation coefficient of 0.595. Furthermore, the sample was divided into a high, medium and low grouping of social presence. Among these groupings, the high level social presence had the highest level of germane cognitive load, and the low level social presence had the lowest level of germane cognitive load.Originality/valueThis result shows the importance and value of developing levels of social presence in online environments. Some research has shown relationships between student interaction and learning, but the present study looks directly at social presence and germane cognitive load. From this research, the authors can see the value of encouraging higher levels of social interaction in online learning environments.

Service Robots: Drivers of Perceived Responsibility for Service Outcomes

The use of service robots is on the rise. Characterized by technology autonomy with a physical embodiment, service robots have a higher level of social presence than other service technologies. This research focuses on one specific phenomenon of such social encounters: attribution of responsibility. Study 1 explores potential antecedents driving the attribution of responsibility in encounters with service robots. We derive a research model, which is tested and expanded in three subsequent scenario-based experiments. In Study 2, we find that technology’s autonomy decreases perceived behavioral control over the service robot, which in turn decreases perceived responsibility for positive outcomes but not for negative outcomes. Study 3 indicates that perceived ownership of the service robot accounts for the high responsibility for negative outcomes irrespective of perceived behavioral control. In Study 4, we show that the potential to interrupt the service robots’ autonomy increases perceived behavioral control and perceived responsibility for positive outcomes. Our results propose theoretical implications for responsibility perceptions and practical implications for customer satisfaction with service robots.

I-Portrait: An Interactive Photograph System for Enhancing Social Presence

ABSTRACTPeople often strive to “externalize” memories for long-term saving or sharing with others using different forms of media. We devised a new interactive photograph system, I-Portrait, which enables interactive experiences with figures in a photograph. I-Portrait comprises short video clips that are recorded and played upon user interactions such as touch, voice, gestures, and facial expressions, providing users with the virtual experience of interaction with the figure. We evaluated the system by surveying 40 university students (age 20–29 years) on the level of social presence of the photograph (mutual awareness, emotional connectedness, and awareness of co-location) and users’ satisfaction, and comparing these measures between the I-Portrait system and traditional portraits. We found significant differences in all aspects of social presence suggesting that the interactivity of the I-Portrait system may significantly increase the social presence of physically distant others.

Enhancing learning performance through Classroom Response Systems: The effect of knowledge type and social presence

Previous studies point to the positive effect of Classroom Response Systems (CRS) on teaching and learning. We explore two learning dimensions that may influence the effectiveness of CRS: 1) Type of knowledge taught (conceptual vs. procedural knowledge and 2) Social presence (students’ participation level in group learning through informal chat group and meetings outside classroom to discuss academic materials). Our sample consists of over 2500 undergraduate students in the courses of Corporate Finance, International Finance, and Introduction to Business Law over three consecutive semesters from 2014 to 2015. We employ cross-sectional, panel data and structural equation model (SEM) models with control for gender, time-of-day effect (morning vs. afternoon session), student origin (mainland, local, and foreign), instructor, subject, and semester. Our findings indicate that the effect of CRS on learning performance is more positive regarding conceptual compared with procedural knowledge. Furthermore, students with a higher level of social presence exhibit a stronger motivation to learn and better academic performance when CRS is used.

Assessing the Impact of Video-Based Assignments on Health Professions Students' Social Presence on Web: Case Study.

BackgroundWeb-based education is one of the leading learning pedagogies in health professions education. Students have access to a multitude of opinions, knowledge, and resources on Web, but communication among students in Web-based courses is complicated. Technology adds a filter that makes it difficult to decipher the emotions behind words or read nonverbal cues. This is a concern because students benefit more from Web-based classes when they have a high perception of social presence. To enhance social presence on Web, we planned to use video-based assignments (VBAs) that encourage students to interact with each other.ObjectiveThis case study examines the impact of VBAs on health professions students and their experiences with the technology. This study aims to provide information to the growing body of literature about strategies to develop social presence on Web.MethodsA total of 88 students from various nursing programs participated in the study. While the control group comprised 36 students who submitted only written-based assignments (WBAs), the experimental group of 52 students submitted VBAs besides WBAs. No enrolled student had previously participated in the course, and there were no repeaters in either of the groups. Both groups participated in a weekly survey comprising 4 open-ended questions and 3 Likert items on a scale of 1-5 (1=strongly disagree and 5=strongly agree). The social presence questionnaire assessed by the experimental group comprised 16 items and a 5-point Likert scale in which higher scores represented higher levels of social presence. While quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, qualitative responses were analyzed using content analysis.ResultsNo significant differences were noted between the groups regarding the program (F1,87=0.36, P=.54). Regarding students’ engagement, no statistically significant difference was observed between the 2 groups (t14=0.96, P=.35). However, the experimental group’s average score for engagement was slightly higher (4.29 [SD 0.11]) than that of the control group (4.21 [SD 0.14]). Comparison of the total number of responses to the weekly engagement survey revealed 88.0% (287/326) as either strongly agree or agree in the control group, whereas 93.1% (525/564) in the experimental group. No statistically significant difference was observed between VBAs and WBAs weeks (t6=1.40, P=.21) in the experimental group. Most students reported a positive experience using VBAs, but technical issues were barriers to embracing this new approach to learning.ConclusionsThis study reveals that social presence and engagement are positively associated with student learning and satisfaction in Web-based courses. Suggestions are offered to enhance social presence on Web that could generate better learning outcomes and students’ experiences.

Examining the Relationship between the Levels of Digital Citizenship and Social Presence for the Graduate Students Having Online Education

The aim of this study is to determine the levels of digital citizenship and social presence of the graduate students having distance education and to reveal the relationship between these two variables. The research was carried out with 50 women (35%) and 93 men (65%) graduate students enrolled in distance education master programs of Karadeniz Technical University. Individual Information Form, Social Presence Scale and Digital Citizenship Scale were used to collect data. Descriptive statistics were used in the study to determine the levels of digital citizenship and social presence of the students. Correlation analysis for the relationship between variables and linear regression for the predictive power were used. The results indicated that graduate students enrolled in distance education master programs had high levels in digital citizenship and social presence. Furthermore, the mentioned levels were comprehended to have significant and positive relationship among themselves. While the levels of digital citizenship and social presence didn’t differentiate significantly in terms of gender, social presence levels differentiated in favour of Educational Sciences Insitute. Also the level of social presence for the graduate students was concluded to be significantly predictive for digital citizenship level.

Improving Adherence to Web-Based and Mobile Technologies for People With Psychosis: Systematic Review of New Potential Predictors of Adherence.

BackgroundDespite the boom in new technologically based interventions for people with psychosis, recent studies suggest medium to low rates of adherence to these types of interventions. The benefits will be limited if only a minority of service users adhere and engage; if specific predictors of adherence can be identified then technologies can be adapted to increase the service user benefits.ObjectiveThe study aimed to present a systematic review of rates of adherence, dropout, and approaches to analyzing adherence to newly developed mobile and Web-based interventions for people with psychosis. Specific predictors of adherence were also explored.MethodsUsing keywords (Internet or online or Web-based or website or mobile) AND (bipolar disorder or manic depression or manic depressive illness or manic-depressive psychosis or psychosis or schizophr* or psychotic), the following databases were searched: OVID including MedLine, EMBASE and PsychInfo, Pubmed and Web of Science. The objectives and inclusion criteria for suitable studies were defined following PICOS (population: people with psychosis; intervention: mobile or Internet-based technology; comparison group: no comparison group specified; outcomes: measures of adherence; study design: randomized controlled trials (RCT), feasibility studies, and observational studies) criteria. In addition to measurement and analysis of adherence, two theoretically proposed predictors of adherence were examined: (1) level of support from a clinician or researcher throughout the study, and (2) level of service user involvement in the app or intervention development. We provide a narrative synthesis of the findings and followed the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines for reporting systematic reviews.ResultsOf the 20 studies that reported a measure of adherence and a rate of dropout, 5 of these conducted statistical analyses to determine predictors of dropout, 6 analyzed the effects of specific adherence predictors (eg, symptom severity or type of technological interface) on the effects of the intervention, 4 administered poststudy feedback questionnaires to assess continued use of the intervention, and 2 studies evaluated the effects of different types of interventions on adherence. Overall, the percentage of participants adhering to interventions ranged from 28-100% with a mean of 83%. Adherence was greater in studies with higher levels of social support and service user involvement in the development of the intervention. Studies of shorter duration also had higher rates of adherence.ConclusionsAdherence to mobile and Web-based interventions was robust across most studies. Although 2 studies found specific predictors of nonadherence (male gender and younger age), most did not specifically analyze predictors. The duration of the study may be an important predictor of adherence. Future studies should consider reporting a universal measure of adherence and aim to conduct complex analyses on predictors of adherence such as level of social presence and service user involvement.

A percepção do outro no ambiente virtual de aprendizagem: presença social e suas implicações para Educação a Distância

RESUMO O objetivo deste artigo foi delimitar o conceito de presença social e apontar suas implicações para a Educação a Distância (EAD). Presença social é um termo da Psicologia relacionado à percepção do indivíduo sobre a maneira como ele se sente na interação com os outros, na comunicação mediada por tecnologia. São apresentados estudos acerca dos desafios para promover a aprendizagem colaborativa e a interação em ambientes virtuais e, então, discutidos o papel da tecnologia e dos comportamentos das pessoas nesse processo. As reflexões indicam que estudar o nível de presença social nos ambientes virtuais de aprendizagem (AVA) é fundamental para compreender a interação entre os aprendizes e promover a aprendizagem colaborativa na EAD.

Does instructor's image size in video lectures affect learning outcomes?

AbstractOne of the most commonly used forms of video lectures is a combination of an instructor's image and accompanying lecture slides as a picture‐in‐picture. As the image size of the instructor varies significantly across video lectures, and so do the learning outcomes associated with this technology, the influence of the instructor's image size should be evaluated. This study tested the effect of image size of the instructor on learners' experience of social presence, cognitive load, learning performance and satisfaction. In the study, 87 Chinese undergraduates were randomly assigned to view a video lecture with a small image of the instructor, with a medium image size of the instructor or with a large image of the instructor. The results of analyses of variances and analysis of covariance suggested that learners perceived the same level of social presence and cognitive load across video lectures with different image sizes of the instructor; learners who watched the video lecture with the small image of the instructor learned better than those who watched the video lectures with the medium and the large images of the instructors. Furthermore, learners who watched the video lecture with the small image and medium image of the instructor experienced more learning satisfaction. The findings highlight the importance of image size of the instructor in video lecture learning.

An Analysis of Social Presence and Cognitive Presence in Discussion Forum

An increase of asynchronous online discussions in website provides much opportunity for L2 learners from different global communities to be exposed to the target language at their own pace and time. However, no research looking at the essentials of social presence and cognitive presence in creating a supportive learning environment in such a context has been done. This study investigated the patterns of social presence and cognitive presence in context of Iran. It also examined the relationship between social presence and cognitive presence. Using content analysis, the data were analyzed from 304 online messages. The findings showed that levels of social presence and cognitive presence were significantly related and supported the notion that social presence plays a significant role in sustaining cognitive presence in discussions.

When retweets persuade: The persuasive effects of dialogic retweeting and the role of social presence in organizations’ Twitter-based communication

Research has shown that organizations tend to use Twitter primarily in a one-way, monologic manner and fall short of using the platform’s technological affordances to engage the public in dialogue. At the same time, relatively little research has addressed the specific persuasive outcomes that organizations could accrue by using Twitter to communicate with the public in a more dialogic way. We investigated the persuasive effect of an organization’s dialogic retweeting (conceptualized as retweeting of user mentions addressed to the organization) by drawing on the concept of social presence and the theory of reasoned action. In an online experiment conducted with an adult sample of U.S. Twitter users, participants were randomly assigned to view either a fictitious organization’s dialogic retweets or the same organization’s monologic tweets of identical content. We found that the dialogic retweets, when compared to the monologic tweets from the organization, induced a higher level of social presence, which, in turn, led to a higher level of subjective norms, more favorable attitudes toward the behavior advocated by the organization in the messages, and greater intention to adopt the behavior. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Increasing Social Presence in Online Learning through Small Group Discussions

Social presence is a difficult to achieve, but an imperative component of online learning. In this study, we investigated the effect of group size on students' perceptions of social presence in two graduate-level online courses, comparing small group versus whole class discussions. Our results indicated that when in small group discussions, students perceived a higher level of social presence in terms of sociability, t(32) = 3.507, p = .001; social space, t(29) = 3.074, p = .005; and group cohesion, t(32) = 3.550, p = .001. We discuss how placing students in small and permanent discussion groups can augment social presence. Designers and educators of online learning can strategically modify group size to promote social presence in asynchronous online discussions.