By: Tom Barrett, Whitney Kopp, & Jenna Rosa
| Egocentrism |
|---|
| Stereotypes & Prejudices |
| Preventions |
| References |
The Internet has provided us with a quick and convenient way of communicating more efficiently as opposed to traditional methods. Some of these Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) tools include various forms of instant messaging, chat rooms/forums, and E-mail. Despite their popularity and growing use, these tools have some drawbacks. Although the internet allows for individuals to remain anonymous and express traits that they believe are desirable, miscommunication and confusion occur frequently. Miscommunication is defined as “lack of clear or adequate information” (Pickett, 2000). This problem has lead many researchers to study the negative corollaries associated with interactions over the internet.
It is important to realize that miscommunication does not only occur through language and symbols, but also mental processes. Egocentrism is the inability to take someone else’s perspective other than your own, a phenomenon that occurs quite frequently on the internet. Kruger et al. (2005) stated, “when people try to imagine the perspective, thoughts, or feelings of someone else, a growing body of evidence suggests that they use themselves as an anchor or reference point." Given the absence of a person’s facial expressions, tone of voice, and non-verbal’s more is needed to be based on assumption.
One major problem is communicating sarcastic and serious statements. Sometimes, the same statement can be either serious or sarcastic depending on the tone, emphasis, and expression of one’s voice and non-verbal’s. Kruger et al. (2005), notes that what may be obvious to us, may not be as obvious to the person on the other end of the computer. In face-to-face interactions we can “hear” a statement and decide whether it is serious or sarcastic. Over the internet, without certain paralinguistic cues that make us aware of sarcasm, it can be difficult to differentiate between the two.
Another issue raised due to egocentrism, is how people routinely overestimate how well they can communicate over the internet. Kruger et al. (2005) conducted five studies, all of which showed that their participants overestimated their ability to communicate over e-mail. The results were the same whether they were communicating sarcasm, humor, or other emotions. In one of their experiments, the experimenters had the participants predict whether the recipient of their e-mail would be able to decode whether the e-mail was meant to be sarcastic or humorous. The results were what Kruger and his team members expected. 97% of the participants said that the receiver of their e-mail would properly decode the statement, when only 84% were actually correct. This shows how the participants, specifically the senders were overconfident in their ability.
Though the studies showed how egocentrism can be expressed over e-mail, the same can be said about instant messenger, chat rooms, and discussion boards because they also lack non-verbal cues. Therefore, not only does miscommunication occur through words and symbols, people’s attitudes can have an effect as well.
In an effort to aid the expressions we want to convey over CMC, we tend to use tactics within the text we type. The specific tactics, which help express emotion, are necessary because social cues are reduced in CMC. The most popular tactic is the use of emoticons, better known as smiley faces (Riva, 2002). Emoticons contain a variety of computer-simulated faces, which can be used within the text to convey the feeling intended to be transmitted. Another technique is the ASCII glyphs that are the emotional states expressed with text. For example, : ) is used to portray a smiley face while : / conveys a sad or disappointed face. However, there is a shortcoming to the use of these faces whether they are the emoticons or ASCII glyphs: both have become used so much that many have alternative interpretations. For example, :-Q can mean the person smokes or that they are feeling ill. Therefore, one should be aware that although they are practicing techniques in hopes of decreasing the chance for miscommunication, it is never fully eliminated.
In order to reduce miscommunications using ASCII glyphs, others have chosen to convey their emotions using social verbs or avatars. Social verbs are the use of abbreviated words such as smiiro, which means smile ironically (Riva, 2002). An avatar is a picture that infers a representation of the user. Unfortunately, these tactics once again leave room for miscommunications due to differing interpretations between individuals. Given the rapid expansion of new abbreviations, much room is left for each to guess the meaning the user is trying to communicate with their social verb. The interpretation, consequently, is often incorrect. Similarly, the avatar could be an actual picture of the person or perhaps just an image that they feel properly characterizes them. However, unless they are able to explain what they mean by using that particular picture as their avatar, there is no certainty that it will be taken how the user intended. Because it is almost impossible to be certain an online expression is taken the way it was anticipated, one should be aware that assumptions (e.g., prejudices and stereotypes) will likely fill in the void in contextual information.
It would be comforting to believe that the anonymity the internet offers users would help reduce such prejudiced and stereotypical assumptions. Research performed by Nicholas Epley and Justin Kruger (2005) suggests otherwise. The two conducted an experiment comparing the stereotypical thoughts and preconceived notions of groups that communicated by e-mail or telephone. Results showed that stereotypes and previously held expectancies were much more prominent in the CMC communicators rather than those who talked on the phone. This could be explained due to the level of ambiguity present in the e-mail transactions. When the participants were provided with false first impressions they were maintained over the e-mail and diminished on the phone. Some possible explanations were offered in response to these findings. For one, e-mail conversations contain less words then a voiced interaction, therefore a lot more “fill in the blanks” are necessary. What is not written in the e-mail will be filled in or assumed by the reader (Epley & Kruger, 2004). The assumptions made in response to the lack of information are influenced by what the reader limitedly knows about the person. Another possible explanation was the idea that e-mail communications are not as in depth or long, so stereotypes may be harder to diminish or prove wrong. We all know how crippling stereotypes can be, and with them present on the internet as well, this further contributes to miscommunication possibilities. Educating the average internet user on these subjects would be beneficial and possibly relieve frustration involved with CMC and its tools.
Given the above mentioned findings, it is helpful for all individuals online to be proactive and take necessary precautions to reduce miscommunications. When realizing ones egocentrism, implementing techniques to convey emotions, and reducing stereotypical thoughts, it is likely that miscommunication will be greatly minimized. More information about prevention methods.