When Online Dating Partners Meet Offline: The Effect of Modality Switching on Relational Communication Between Online Daters

Despite the popularity of online dating sites, little is known about what occurs when online dating partners choose to communicate offline. Drawing upon the modality switching perspective, the present study assessed a national sample of online daters to determine whether face‐to‐face (FtF) relational outcomes could be predicted by the amount of online communication prior to the initial FtF meeting. Results were consistent with the hypothesized curvilinear relationship between the amount of online communication and perceptions of relational messages (intimacy, composure, informality, social orientation), forecasts of the future of the relationship, and information seeking behavior when meeting their partner FtF. The results provide support for the modality switching perspective, and offer important insight for online daters.     

The influence of dispositions and Internet motivation on online communication satisfaction and relationship closeness

Guided by the Uses and Gratifications (U&G) perspective, this study examined the influence of unwillingness to communicate, loneliness, Internet-use motives, and Internet (CMC) use and interaction (amount and types of use and self-disclosure) in online communication satisfaction and online relationship closeness. There were 261 participants in this study. Overall, participants who perceived their face-to-face communication to be rewarding, used CMC for self-fulfillment, and disclosed their personal feelings to others tended to feel close to their online partners. Moreover, those who used the Internet for purposes of self-fulfillment and affection and intended to disclose their feelings to others felt satisfied with their online communication. The associations among the constructs extend our knowledge of the U&G theoretical model, how and why people communicate interpersonally in CMC settings, and the influence of individual differences on CMC for relational communication.     

Extraversion and introversion in electronically-supported meetings

Laboratory experiments with Group Decision Support Systems (GDSS) have studied their effects on group and individual outcomes, such as equality of participation, time to decision, quality of decision, consensus, and satisfaction. Research models for GDSSs include individual member characteristics as independent variables in the group process and their outcomes. How individuals feel about group meetings will influence their perception about satisfaction and participation. This study examines how individual personality characteristics influence outcomes in an electronically-supported meeting. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator was used to create mixed groups of introverts and extraverts. These groups then used a traditional face-to-face meeting and a GDSS to discuss ethical scenarios. All participants contributed more original solutions in the GDSS environment than the face-to-face context but provided more comments in the traditional environment. Overall, the extraverts had more comments in both environments.     

Motivational beliefs and perceptions of instructional quality: predicting satisfaction with online training*

Abstract Many would agree that learning on the Web – a highly autonomous learning environment – may be difficult for individuals who lack motivation and self‐regulated learning skills. Using a social cognitive view of academic motivation and self‐regulation, the objective of the present study was to investigate the relations between students' motivational beliefs, their perceptions of the learning environment and their satisfaction with a self‐paced, online course. Service academy undergraduates (n = 646) completed a questionnaire following online training. Pearson correlations indicate that task value, self‐efficacy and perceived instructional quality were significantly positively related to each other and to students' overall satisfaction with the self‐paced, online course. Additionally, results from a three‐step hierarchical regression reveal that task value, self‐efficacy and instructional quality were significant positive predictors of students' satisfaction; the final regression model accounted for approximately 54% of the variance in the outcome measure. These findings support and extend prior research in traditional classrooms and online education in university settings, indicating that military students' motivational beliefs about a learning task and their perceptions of instructional quality are related, in important ways, to their overall satisfaction with online instruction. Educational implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Modeling the customer satisfaction function: a two-country comparison

This paper provides a framework that integrates and reinterprets prior research on satisfaction modeling (function) and proposes the existence of non-linear and curvilinear/higher-order relationships to model online banking customers. It provides a framework that examines two closely related but distinct countries—Malaysia, a developing country, and Singapore, a developed country—and identifies whether modeling online banking customers through satisfaction is unique to each context or is generic. Using a systematic and step-by-step hierarchical moderated regression approach, this study tries to understand the relationship among repurchase intention, satisfaction, and trust, moderated by bank size. Malaysia portrays a linear relationship, while Singapore depicts non-linear and curvilinear/high-order relationships. The findings suggest that modeling online banking customers through satisfaction depends on a country’s economic development. By contrast, prior studies on modeling customers through satisfaction were conducted independently and did not employ proper and systematic steps to capture the satisfaction function.     

Dating deception: Gender,online dating,and exaggerated self-presentation

This study examined how differences in expectations about meeting impacted the degree of deceptive self-presentation individuals displayed within the context of dating. Participants filled out personality measures in one of four anticipated meeting conditions: face-to-face, email, no meeting, and a control condition with no pretense of dating. Results indicated that, compared to baseline measures, male participants increased the amount they self-presented when anticipating a future interaction with a prospective date. Specifically, male participants emphasized their positive characteristics more if the potential date was less salient (e.g., email meeting) compared to a more salient condition (e.g., face-to-face meeting) or the control conditions. Implications for self-presentation theory, online social interaction, and online dating research will be discussed.     

Attitude moderation: A comparison of online chat and face-to-face conversation

Face-to-face conversation and online chat were compared on their tendency to moderate attitudes through exposure to an opposing perspective. As predicted on the basis of the greater self-focus and reduced presence of the other in text-based chat, strangers who chatted online for 20 min about a divisive social issue on which they held opposing attitudes showed less movement toward their partner’s position as a result than did those who spoke face-to-face for the same length of time. The potential limitation of text-based online communication for bridging attitude divides is discussed.     

Computer mediated teamwork and the efficiency framework: Exploring the influence of synchrony and cues on media satisfaction and outcome success

There are many valid ways to evaluate collaborative systems. The efficiency framework argues that while user satisfaction and preference for systems are important, neither directly predict outcome success or the ability of a system to facilitate collaboration. Further, it points to the importance of distinguishing between user satisfaction and outcome success when evaluating collaborative systems. Despite users’ reported preferences for media requiring less effort and time, the efficiency framework predicts that the expenditure of effort better predicts outcome success than do user preferences. This study tests these predictions and extends the model by comparing synchronous and asynchronous media with varying levels of communicative cues. One hundred and forty-two participants in groups of 3 or 4 engaged in collaboration over a 5 week period. Groups were assigned to either interact face-to-face, or to one of four media conditions. There were no effects on actual group success that favored full-cue, synchronous communication. There was greater perceived group effectiveness for synchronous text and face-to-face interactions. Exploratory structural equation analysis showed that media characteristics predict copresence, which increases perceptions of group effectiveness, which in turn predict success. The results support the main assertion of the efficiency framework and explain some contradictions in prior research. Results are discussed with respect to their pertinence for theoretical and measurement issues in human computer interaction research.     

Commitment to multiplayer online games: An investment model approach

Multiplayer online games have highly committed players who continue playing these games for years. In the present study, commitment to multiplayer online games was examined from an investment model perspective. The investment model was originally developed to explain persistence in romantic relationships, ultimately identifying the three predictors of commitment as satisfaction, quality of alternatives, and investment size. Furthermore, commitment has been linked to greater accommodation (i.e., constructive responses) in relationship conflicts. The present study extended the model to the context of multiplayer online games. Participants (N = 176) who regularly played a multiplayer online game completed modified versions of the investment model and accommodation scales in an online questionnaire. Structural equation modeling analyses showed that satisfaction and investment predicted greater game commitment, which in turn predicted greater accommodation toward the game's problems (i.e., lower endorsement of exit behaviors, greater endorsement of voice and loyalty behaviors). Findings showed that the investment model provides a valid framework for examining game commitment.     

Selective self-presentation in computer-mediated communication: Hyperpersonal dimensions of technology,language, and cognition

The hyperpersonal model of computer-mediated communication (CMC) posits that users exploit the technological aspects of CMC in order to enhance the messages they construct to manage impressions and facilitate desired relationships. This research examined how CMC users managed message composing time, editing behaviors, personal language, sentence complexity, and relational tone in their initial messages to different presumed targets, and the cognitive awareness related to these processes. Effects on several of these processes and outcomes were obtained in response to different targets, partially supporting the hyperpersonal perspective of CMC, with unanticipated gender and status interaction effects suggesting behavioral compensation through CMC, or overcompensation when addressing presumably undesirable partners.     

A comparison of computer conferences with face-to-face meetings for small group business decisions

This study reports on the evaluation of four meeting techniques for decision-making by small groups. Two face-to-face and two computer conferencing techniques were evaluated by small groups solving business cases. Particular groups varied widely in their satisfaction with different meeting techniques, but there was no significant difference in the quality of the group decisions.     

Factors of learner–instructor interaction which predict perceived learning outcomes in online learning environment

Interaction in the online learning environment has been regarded as one of the most critical elements that affect learning outcomes. This study examined what factors in learner–instructor interaction can predict the learner's outcomes in the online learning environment. Learners in K Online University participated by answering the survey, and data from 654 respondents were analysed for this study. Results showed that factors related to instructional interaction predicted perceived learning achievement and satisfaction better than factors related to social interaction. However, it was revealed that social interaction such as social intimacy could negatively affect perceived learning achievement and satisfaction. This study has value because it found factors under learner–instructor interaction which predict perceived learning achievement and satisfaction with empirical evidence.     

Need satisfaction and adolescent pathological internet use: Comparison of satisfaction perceived online and offline

This study investigated the role of need satisfaction in adolescent pathological internet use by comparing the differences in the perception of need satisfaction online and offline. A compensatory satisfaction theory was proposed to explain the role of need satisfaction online in pathological internet use. Cross-sectional data were collected from 4559 Chinese students from 12 to 20 years of age. The participants responded to an anonymous questionnaire concerning their internet use behavior, their perceived level of need and their need satisfaction online and offline. The results of structural equation modeling showed that pathological internet use was predicted not by the level of need, but rather by the way in which the need was satisfied. Need satisfaction perceived online predicted adolescent pathological internet use positively, while need satisfaction perceived offline predicted pathological internet use negatively. Furthermore, the direct comparison of need satisfaction online and offline showed that the advantage of need satisfaction online completely mediated the effect of unsatisfied need on adolescent pathological Internet use. Enlightenment of the theory and implications for efforts to encourage offline activities are discussed.     

Meeting expectations: The effects of expectations on self-esteem following the construction of a dating profile

Online daters may be aware that online chat can extend their opportunities for making a desirable impression on potential dates in comparison to meeting a potential partner face-to-face. This anticipation of a subsequent interaction may already impact the impression individuals expect to make through an online profile initially, which in turn can impact self-esteem. We tested these hypotheses in an experiment. Ninety-two heterosexual women constructed a dating profile while anticipating that they would meet a date either face-to-face or through text-based chat. Participants who anticipated computer-mediated (as opposed to face-to-face) interaction expected that their profile would make a more desirable impression on a potential date. Furthermore, the anticipation of computer-mediated interaction increased romantic self-esteem through the increased expectation of making a desirable impression.     

Factors affecting online group buying intention and satisfaction: A social exchange theory perspective

This study investigates factors that affect consumer continuous use intention toward online group buying and the degree that reciprocity and reputation of social exchange, trust, and vendor creativity affect consumer satisfaction and intention toward online purchasing. Data from 215 valid samples was obtained using an online survey. The research model is assessed using partial least squares (PLS) analysis. The results show that the intention to engage in online group buying is predicted collectively by consumer satisfaction, trust, and seller creativity. Consumer satisfaction with online group buying is predicted primarily by trust, followed by consumer reciprocity. The proposed research model explains 67.7% of variance for satisfaction and 39.7% of variance for intention to engage in online group buying. The results suggest that reciprocity, trust, satisfaction, and seller creativity provide considerable explanatory power for intention to engage in online group buying behavior.     

Small group decision-making in face-to-face and computer-mediated environments: the role of personality

This study investigates the potential influence of personality dimensions on the behaviour and individual processes of small group decision-making in face-to-face and computer-mediated groups. A sample of 90 students was divided into 16 groups, with between four and seven students per group. The groups were randomly assigned to start with one of two different discussion media and one of two different leaderless group discussion problems. Measures of leadership, initiative, judgement, and interpersonal sensitivity were obtained for each subject from two raters working independently using video-tapes of the face-to-face sessions and the logged interactions of the computer-mediated sessions. Further, ‘satisfaction with the process’ and ‘satisfaction with the outcome’ were assessed using a Likert-type scale. Personality was measured using the Myers Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI®). Using correlations and repeated measures ANOVAs across the outcome dimensions and the psychological type scores, the findings of this research suggest that personality plays a minor role in differentiating between the media conditions.     

The impact of online video lecture recordings and automated feedback on student performance

To what extent a blended learning configuration of face-to-face lectures, online on-demand video recordings of the face-to-face lectures and the offering of online quizzes with appropriate feedback has an additional positive impact on the performance of these students compared to the traditional face-to-face course approach? In a between-subjects design in which students were randomly assigned to a group having access to the online lectures including multiple choice quizzes and appropriate feedback or to a group having access to the online lectures only, 474 students (161 men and 313 women) of a course on European Law agreed to participate in the experiment. By using regression analysis we found that the course grade of the students was predicted by their grade point average, their study discipline, their grade goal for the course, the expected difficulty-level of the course, the number of online lectures they viewed, the number of lectures the students attended in person and the interaction between the lectures they viewed online and attended in person. Students who attended few lectures had more benefit from viewing online lectures than students who attended many lectures. In contrast to our expectations, the regression analysis did not show a significant effect of automated feedback on student performance. Offering recordings of face-to-face lectures is an easy extension of a traditional course and is of practical importance, because it enables students who are often absent from the regular face-to-face lectures to be able to improve their course grade by viewing the lectures online.     

Predictors of job seekers’ self-disclosure on social media

Social media-based screening is a well-known practice to both recruiters and job seekers. Little is known, however, about how job seekers present themselves on social media, i.e. ‘self-disclosure’, for employment purposes. This study builds on the theories of hyperpersonal computer-mediated communication, self-efficacy and social exchange to examine job seekers’ professional online image concerns, social media self-efficacy, and perceptions of social media effectiveness in the job search as predictors of inappropriate and career-oriented self-disclosures on these media. Findings from a sample of 3374 Italian respondents showed that career-oriented self-disclosure was predicted by all three factors, whereas inappropriate self-disclosure was only predicted by social media self-efficacy. Furthermore, the relationship between professional online image concerns and inappropriate self-disclosure was moderated by age, education and work experience, but not by gender. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed, and directions for future research are suggested.     

Face-to-face contact at the midpoint of an online collaboration: Its impact on the patterns of participation, interaction, affect, and behavior over time

This paper describes some of the consequences of introducing a face-to-face contact during an online collaborative learning session. Previous research on the development of online groups has suggested a critical transition period at the midpoint of a collaborative task in which group members redefine their behavior. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether face-to-face contact between participants during this period influences the patterns of participation, interaction, affect and behavior over time. Results show that a face-to-face contact introduced at the midpoint of a collaborative task has a positive influence on participation. However, a time sequence analysis of interactions revealed a further transition which appears between the face-to-face contact and the deadline. This transition is characterized by a decline of participation and task-focused interactions. At the same time, the analyses revealed an increase of interactions oriented towards emotional regulation and coordination, as well as a greater need of face-to-face contact, desire to drop out, and use of synchronous communications. These findings are based on an in-depth and longitudinal examination of a small sample, which limits their generalizability, but they may have a number of implications for the design of blended learning programs and the facilitation of collaborative tasks in distributed learning environments.