Unpacking Medium Effects on Social Psychological Processes in Computer-mediated Communication Using the Social Relations Model

This article introduces the social relations model (SRM) to unpack medium effects on social psychological processes. Although such effects have been theorized at group, dyadic, and individual levels separately, some of them can be concurrently analyzed as medium moderation on SRM components. Drawing on existing theories of computer-mediated communication (CMC), we map SRM components onto social psychological processes susceptible to medium effects: (a) “group mean” and “consensus” onto group social integration, (b) “uniqueness” and “dyadic reciprocity” onto relationship development, and (c) “assimilation” and relations between ingroup and outgroup SRM components onto social identity processes. We also summarize the SRM analytics and scenarios of medium moderation, and illustrate the key analytical procedures for adopting the SRM for CMC research.

[1]  Malcolm R. Parks.  Embracing the Challenges and Opportunities of Mixed-Media Relationships , 2017 .

[2]  Michael A. Hogg,et al.  Blackwell Handbook of Social Psychology: Group Processes , 2001 .

[3]  Caroline Haythornthwaite,et al.  Social networks and Internet connectivity effects , 2005 .

[4]  R. Spears,et al.  Knowing Me, Knowing You: Anonymity Effects on Social Identity Processes within Groups , 2001 .

[5]  C. Ridgeway,et al.  Social Status and Group Structure , 2008 .

[6]  C. Berger,et al.  SOME EXPLORATIONS IN INITIAL INTERACTION AND BEYOND: TOWARD A DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY OF INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION , 1975 .

[7]  T. Postmes,et al.  A Social Identity Model of Deindividuation Phenomena , 1995 .

[8]  J. Walther.  Computer-Mediated Communication , 1996 .

[9]  Marina Schroder.  Handbook Of Organizational Communication An Interdisciplinary Perspective , 2016 .

[10]  S. Sundar.  The Handbook of the Psychology of Communication Technology , 2015 .

[11]  L. Shetzer,et al.  A Social Information Processing Model of Employee Participation , 1993 .

[12]  John A. Daly,et al.  The Sage handbook of interpersonal communication , 2011 .

[13]  P. Markey,et al.  Interpersonal Perception in Internet Chat Rooms , 2002 .

[14]  Jennifer G. Boldry,et al.  Intergroup perception in naturally occurring groups of differential status: A social relations perspective. , 1999 .

[15]  Artemio Ramirez,et al.  When Online Dating Partners Meet Offline: The Effect of Modality Switching on Relational Communication Between Online Daters , 2015, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[16]  D. A. Kenny,et al.  Dyadic Data Analysis , 2006 .

[17]  Ronald E. Rice.  Sociological and Technological Interdependencies of New Media , 2009, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[18]  Leonard M. Horowitz,et al.  Handbook of interpersonal psychology : theory, research, assessment, and therapeutic interventions , 2010 .

[19]  D. A. Kenny,et al.  The Social Relations Model , 1984 .

[20]  H. Tajfel,et al.  The Social Identity Theory of Intergroup Behavior. , 2004 .

[21]  D. A. Kenny,et al.  Structural equation modeling with interchangeable dyads. , 2006, Psychological methods.

[22]  T. Postmes,et al.  Individuality and social influence in groups: inductive and deductive routes to group identity. , 2005, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[23]  Ulrich Trautwein,et al.  A general and flexible approach to estimating the social relations model using Bayesian methods. , 2013, Psychological methods.

[24]  Yan Huang,et al.  Toward a Theory of Interactive Media Effects (TIME) , 2015 .

[25]  F. Reid.  Rediscovering the Social Group: A Self-Categorization Theory , 1987 .

[26]  Joseph B. Walther,et al.  Theories, Boundaries, and All of the Above , 2009, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[27]  T. Snijders.  Statistical Models for Social Networks , 2011 .

[28]  Sara Kiesler,et al.  Social psychological aspects of computer-mediated communication , 1984 .

[29]  D. A. Kenny,et al.  Interpersonal Perception: A Social Relations Analysis , 1988 .

[30]  Noshir S. Contractor,et al.  The Emergence of Multidimensional Networks , 2009, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[31]  Felix D. Schönbrodt,et al.  TripleR: An R package for social relations analyses based on round-robin designs , 2012, Behavior research methods.

[32]  R. Spears,et al.  De‐individuation and group polarization in computer‐mediated communication , 1990 .

[33]  Amy J. C. Cuddy,et al.  The BIAS map: behaviors from intergroup affect and stereotypes. , 2007, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[34]  Robert S. Stawski,et al.  Multilevel Analysis: An Introduction to Basic and Advanced Multilevel Modeling (2nd Edition) , 2013 .

[35]  D. A. Kenny,et al.  The Intergroup Social Relations Intergroup Model: ISRM , 2015 .

[36]  J. Walther.  Interpersonal Effects in Computer-Mediated Interaction , 1992 .

[37]  D. A. Kenny,et al.  Consequences of violating the independence assumption in analysis of variance. , 1986 .

[38]  S. Kiesler,et al.  Group processes in computer-mediated communication☆ , 1986 .

[39]  Nancy K. Baym,et al.  A Call for Grounding in the Face of Blurred Boundaries , 2009, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[40]  J. Walther.  Theories of Computer-Mediated Communication and Interpersonal Relations , 2011 .

[41]  S. Worchel,et al.  Psychology of intergroup relations , 1986 .

[42]  Marshall Scott,et al.  Microlevel Structuration in Computer-Supported Group Decision Making , 1992 .

[43]  Tom A. B. Snijders,et al.  The social relations model for family data: A multilevel approach , 1999 .

[44]  Linda L. Putnam,et al.  Handbook of Organizational Communication: An Interdisciplinary Perspective , 1987 .

[45]  Susan C. Herring.  Interactional Coherence in CMC , 1999, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[46]  C. Steinfield,et al.  A Social Information Processing Model of Media Use in Organizations , 1987 .

[47]  Joseph A. Bonito,et al.  A Review and Critique of Partner Effect Research in Small Groups , 2014 .

[48]  Andrew M. Ledbetter.  Content- and medium-specific decomposition of friendship relational maintenance: Integrating equity and media multiplexity approaches , 2010 .

[49]  R. Vandenberg,et al.  A Review and Synthesis of the Measurement Invariance Literature: Suggestions, Practices, and Recommendations for Organizational Research , 2000 .

[50]  Joseph A. Bonito,et al.  The measurement of reliability of social relations components from round-robin designs , 2010 .