Is communicating via Skype or other video media equivalent to a face-to-face meeting? We have known for some time that after interacting face-to-face, people can predict the cooperative behaviour of strangers with better-than-chance accuracy. But is this ability affected when communications are mediated by video technology? This study reports four laboratory experiments examining how different communication conditions affect cooperation prediction efficacy. Unfamiliar subject-pairs were assigned to different media conditions, allowed to interact, and then asked to predict their counterparty’s actual cooperative behaviour. Consistent with prior research, unencumbered face-to-face subjects predicted cooperativeness at greater than chance frequency. However, predictions by video-to-video subjects, and face-to-face subjects with their eyes concealed, were not significantly different from chance. These results indicated communication media affected the ability of individuals to solve evolutionary ‘adaptive’ problems. Additional analysis suggested the communication media did not affect the message content or signals sent, but rather media affected the receiver’s perception of those content and signals. Theory of mind was employed to explain these results. Organizational and managerial implications, and future research opportunities are discussed.
Biographical Sketch
Mahdi Roghanizad, Ph.D. is an adjunct research professor at Ivey. He completed his doctoral studies at the University of Waterloo (2016) under the supervision of Vanessa Bohns from Cornell University. Before pursuing his Ph.D. Mahdi finished his Master of Applied Science in Trust and Electronic Commerce under the supervision of Efrim Boritz. Mahdi explores social psychology of mediated communication by conducting in-lab experiments. It is safe to conclude his focus is at the intersection of IS and OB. Currently, he studies the effect of media on persuasion, interpersonal trust, and cooperation. Those involve perspective taking and social prediction after a short mediated interaction with a partner.
His work has been published in Computers in Human Behavior, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, and Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, and featured in the Harvard Business Review.
*Light refreshments will be served at 10:30am