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Producing expertise and achieving attribution in the context of computer support
Michael Quayle1, Kevin Durrheim
1School of Psychology, University of KwaZulu-Natal, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. quaylem@ukzn.ac.za
The British Journal of Social Psychology
|November 20, 2008
Summary
Computer support interactions reveal how users and technicians negotiate problem definitions and social contracts. Achieving agreement on attributions is key to resolving technical issues within institutional roles and obligations.
Area of Science:
- Social Sciences
- Communication Studies
- Sociology of Technology
Background:
- Institutional computer support involves complex interactions between technicians and users.
- Understanding the dynamics of problem-solving and attribution in these interactions is crucial for effective support.
- Previous research has not fully explored the negotiation of attributions within the social and institutional context of technical support.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the activities related to attribution and problem-solving in institutional computer support interactions.
- To explore how consensual attributions are achieved and managed during diagnosis.
- To analyze the influence of immediate interactional interests and longer-term participant concerns on attribution processes.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of transcribed interaction recordings between computer technicians and users.
- Qualitative examination of conversational data to identify patterns in attribution and problem-solving.
- Focus on negotiation processes regarding problem definition and social contracts.
Main Results:
- Consensual attributions during diagnosis are integral to managing social demands in real-time.
- Problem-solving outcomes are shaped by negotiations over the definition of the issue and the nature of the user-technician social contract.
- Immediate interactional interests are influenced by participants' longer-term 'moral careers,' institutional roles, and obligations.
Conclusions:
- Socially accomplished attributions in computer support are a complex interplay of immediate interactional needs and broader institutional/personal concerns.
- Effective technical support relies on navigating these layered concerns to reach shared understanding and problem resolution.
- The study highlights the contingent relationship between micro-level interaction and macro-level social/institutional factors in problem-solving contexts.
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