Interpersonal Communication

How do you Communicate?

Interpersonal Communication

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This week What is Communication ?The application of Communication theory to virtual environmentsVariables that affect communication in computer mediated environmentsGroundingConstraints and AffordancesGenderCultural variancesOn- and off-line effects of avatar appearance

CMC Past, Present and Future

What is Computer Mediated Communication (CMC)Main areas of research in relation to communication include the effects of:The absence of social context cues (i.e. Body language, facial expressions)AnonymityGender and culture

Published in The New Yorker September 12, 2005

Put simply, CMC is human communication through the medium of a computer. The communication can occur via a variety of means including email, instant messenger, mail forums, video, blogs and more recently, virtual worlds. 5

Shannon-Weaver Communication ModelSourceReceiverEncoderDecoder

NoiseChannel Message

Shannon-Weaver Model applied to a Virtual WorldSource (person at the keyboard) consciously or unconsciously transmits a messageSending and receiving can be hindered by noiseMessage is encoded according to internal and external variables e.g. avatar modification, environmental modification, choice of text or speechThe Avatar is the channel/medium through which the message is transmittedThe receiver needs to be able to decode (understand) the messageCulture, language, gender etc

Lag, audio problems

Factors Affecting Communication

GroundingCo-presenceVisibilityAudibilityContemporalitySimultaneitySequentialityReviewabilityRevisability

CLARK, H. & BRENNAN, S. 1991. Grounding in Communication. In: RESNICK, L. B., LEVINE, J. M. & TEASLEY, S. D. (eds.) Perspectives on socially shared cognition. Washington: American Psychological Association.Factors that may have an effect on grounding

Seven Media and Their Associated ConstraintsMediumConstraintFace-to-faceCo-presence, visibility, audibility, contemporality, simultaneity, sequentiality TelephoneAudibility, contemporality, simultaneity, sequentiality Video ConferenceVisibility, audibility, contemporality, simultaneity, sequentiality Answering machinesaudibility, reviewabilityElectronic MailReviewability, revisability LettersReviewability, revisability

Adapted from - CLARK, H. & BRENNAN, S. 1991. Grounding in Communication. In: RESNICK, L. B., LEVINE, J. M. & TEASLEY, S. D. (eds.) Perspectives on socially shared cognition. Washington: American Psychological Association.

NoiseTypes of NoiseDefinitionExamplesVW or RWPhysicalexternal to both speaker and listener prevents accurate transmission of the signal or messageLag, inworld music, lots of surrounding text chat, audio problems, environmental affordancesVWPhysiologicalPhysical barriers within the speaker or listenerArticulation problems, illiteracy RWPsychologicalCognitive or mental interferenceBiases and prejudices in senders and receivers, closed-mindedness, inaccurate expectations, extreme emotionalism (anger, hate, love, grief)RW & VWSemanticSpeaker and listener assigning different meaningsPeople speaking different languages, use of jargonRW

DEVITO, J. A. 2007. The interpersonal communication book, Boston, Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.

AffordancesAffordance Theory J.J GibsonPerception of the environment leads to some course of actionAffordances of VWs which affect communication include:the ability to use and/or make Gesturesthe ability and extent to which an avatars appearance can be customisedthe extent to which an avatar can be animatedand whether the environment uses text, speech or a mixture of the two

http://www.learning-theories.com/affordance-theory-gibson.html

American psychologist James Jerome Gibson was influential in changing the way we consider visual perception. According to his theory, perception of the environment inevitably leads to some course of action. Affordances, or clues in the environment that indicate possibilities for action, are perceived in a direct, immediate way with no sensory processing. Examples include: buttons for pushing, knobs for turning, handles for pulling, levers for sliding, etc.12

Second Life Affordances

Culture and CMCCultures may draw on different channels of communication for conversational groundingCultures may differ in interactional goals, making different media more or less appropriateUnderstanding interactions between culture and CMC is important for: Building theories of collaborative technologies Designing tools for global distribution and/or cross-cultural communicationhttp://www.engr.udayton.edu/faculty/wsmari/cts06/CTS2006%20Lucheon%20-%20Notes.pdf

Cultural Variances and Variableshttp://www.geert-hofstede.com/hofstede_australia.shtml

PDI = Power DistanceIDV = IndividualismMAS = MasculinityUAI = Uncertainty Avoidance IndexLTO = Long-Term Orientation

Other Cultural FactorsContextThe extent to which information is made explicit or is assumedHigh-context culture ProxemicsClothingEmotes

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8199951.stmJACK, R. E., BLAIS, C., SCHEEPERS, C., SCHYNS, P. G., & CALDARA, R. (2008) Cultural Confusions Show Facial Expressions are Not Universal Current Biology, (in press)

DisinhibitionThe freedom afforded by virtual environments along with diminished visual and auditory clues and the narrow bandwidth of communication can result in a state of, what has been described as disinhibition (Joinson, 2003)

GenderMajor reason women present as men in online environments is so they wont get hassled Main reason men present as women is because they feel people are nicer to them and more likely to give them things (Bruckman, 1993). Gendered communication styles carry over into virtual environments Anonymity or pseudo anonymity of virtual environments results in increased assertiveness for many women (Rodino, 1997).Voice presents a challenge for those who are presenting in the environment as a different gender or who prefer to present as gender neutral.

On- and Offline Effects of Avatar AppearanceCreating an avatar is an act of visual communicationWhat does YOUR avatar say about you? Inworld appearance can impact real life behaviour

More InformationCMC generalhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0MgxhqfdygAnimations and gestureshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WplYhxyFd3Mhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WKo4G8aQBc

A list of references of the sources used in this presentation can be found in this weeks folder.