Social-Psychological Influences on Opinion Expression in Face-to-Face and Computer-Mediated Communic...

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Bibliographische Detailangaben
Beteiligte: Ho, Shirley S., McLeod, Douglas M.
In: Communication Research, 35, 2008, 2, S. 190-207
veröffentlicht:
SAGE Publications
Medientyp: Artikel, E-Artikel

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Umfang: 190-207
ISSN: 0093-6502
1552-3810
DOI: 10.1177/0093650207313159
veröffentlicht in: Communication Research
Sprache: Englisch
Schlagwörter:
Kollektion: SAGE Publications (CrossRef)
Inhaltsangabe

<jats:p> This study used an experiment embedded within a Web-based survey to examine the influence of contextual (i.e., face-to-face vs. online chat room discussion) and social-psychological factors on individuals' willingness to express opinions. In this experiment, respondents were asked whether they would be willing to express an opinion if they were placed in a face-to-face discussion group in one condition and in an online chat room discussion group in the other condition. Results indicate that print news use, fear of isolation, communication apprehension, future opinion congruency, and communication setting significantly predict willingness to speak out. In addition, not only did fear of isolation have a negative main effect on opinion expression, but this effect was significantly attenuated by computer-mediated discussion. Findings suggest that computer-mediated communication may avoid some of the dysfunctional social-psychological influences found in face-to-face interactions and create a forum conducive for public deliberation. </jats:p>