The Role of Visual Communication in Social Interaction

Abstract

Twelve male and twelve female pairs of subjects, assuming management and union roles, engaged in a negotiation-type task either face-to-face or in separate rooms communicating via a headphone-microphone link. Transcripts of their discussions were taken and analysed using Conference Process Analysis, a new system for describing the content of negotiations.It was predicted that in comparison with face-to-face conversations, conversations by audio link would be ' depersonalized' and ' task-oriented'. Results supported both hypotheses. I n the absence of visual communication there was less praise for one's opponent and more 'party' references. The second hypothesis was supported by a significantly greater exchange of 'offers of information' in the absence of visual communication, while union representatives exchanged more ' offers of information about their opponent's party'by audio link than face-to-face. Results highlighted interesting and unpredicted differences in behaviour between the representatives of the two sides in relation to medium of communication. Taken together, the results suggest that visual communication has three main effects upon the content of exchanges: it encourages spontaneity and, hence, a more wideranging discussion, while at the same time promoting the adoption of conventional role relationships by the participants. that in certain circumstances, it may depersonalize conversations so that, in a negotiation for example, a speaker will be less aware of the impact of what he says on his opposite number. He will know less about how the other feels about his statements and, hence, the conversation will more likely concentrate on the issues dividing the parties, and less on the people who represent the parties. For this reason, Morley & Stephenson predicted, and demonstrated, that outcomes of experimental negotiations by audio link were more likely to reflect the relative strength of the respective parties than were negotiations face-to-face. SimilarlyWilson (1974), in an analysis of President Nixon's conversation with two of his aides both face-to-face and by telephone suggests that the absence of visual communication over the telephone increases anonymity and decreases intimacy.In his case at least, the predictable effect of this was to increase the amount of

Social presence in distributed group environments: The role of social identity

“…This supposition has subsequently been the basis for further theories of social influence in mediated environments, e.g. the cuelessness model (Rutter, 1984(Rutter, , 1987 and the reduced social cues approach (Kiesler et al, 1984;Kiesler, 1986). The assumption is that, as (text-based) computer-mediated environments do not allow for communication of non-verbal cues such as gestures or facial expressions, which impact on face-to-face interpersonal communication, these media are less social and therefore enable less social presence.…”

The Cultural Organization of Attention

“…2 See, for example, Kendon 1997Kendon , 2004Kita 2003Kita , 2009Kleinke 1986 ;Rutter 1984. 3 Kulick ( 1992 claims that, when Gapun adults (mainland New Guinea) speak to infants and small children, they switch to Tok Pisin to secure and hold the child ' s attention.…”

What speakers do and what addressees look at

“…Finally, gestures could be in competition with the face for social, pragmatic reasons. The human face has been shown to draw a lot of attention both on static pictures (Yarbus 1967) and in face-to-face interaction (Fehr and Exline 1987;Kleinke 1986;Rutter 1984). In particular, addressees look more intently and continuously at the speaker's face than vice versa (e.g.…”