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Attempts to encourage diplomacy in online interactions: Three informative failures
Carla Anne Roos1, Tom Postmes2, Namkje Koudenburg2
1Tilburg University, Department of Communication and Cognition, the Netherlands.
Acta Psychologica
|July 5, 2022
Summary
Online communication struggles with diplomacy, as key behaviors like responsiveness and ambiguity are hard to replicate digitally. This study explored ways to improve online interactions but found participants adapted to manipulations, suggesting social motivations influence online behavior.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Communication Studies
- Human-Computer Interaction
Background:
- Online discussions often lead to polarization and misunderstanding compared to face-to-face interactions.
- Diplomatic behaviors such as responsiveness and ambiguity are crucial for tact in person but difficult to achieve online.
- Understanding these communication differences is vital for improving online dialogue and mitigating conflict.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether manipulating diplomatic behaviors (responsiveness, ambiguity) online and offline impacts conversational experiences.
- To test if increasing ambiguity and responsiveness online enhances feelings of solidarity.
- To examine if reducing these behaviors face-to-face hinders navigating disagreements while maintaining solidarity.
Main Methods:
- Three exploratory studies were conducted, manipulating communication behaviors in online and face-to-face settings.
- Studies 1 & 2 involved online chats with real-time typing and sound-enabled keyboards to boost ambiguity and responsiveness.
- Study 3 reduced these behaviors in face-to-face discussions, with participants providing quantitative and qualitative feedback.
Main Results:
- The expected effects of increased solidarity or hindered disagreement navigation were not observed in any study.
- Qualitative analysis revealed participants often compensated for or distanced themselves from the experimental manipulations.
- Observed behavioral adaptations appeared to be driven by social motivations, influencing conversational outcomes.
Conclusions:
- Directly manipulating online communication behaviors like responsiveness and ambiguity may not yield desired outcomes due to participant adaptation.
- Social motivations play a significant role in how individuals navigate and respond to communication changes, even in digital environments.
- Further research is needed to understand the complex interplay of behavior, social motivation, and online interaction dynamics, particularly concerning online polarization.
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