ERIC Number: EJ774023
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2003
Pages: 10
Abstractor: Author
Reference Count: 0
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0047-2395
Forming On-Line Impressions: A Class Exercise
Bishop-Clark, Cathy; Dietz-Uhler, Beth
Journal of Educational Technology Systems, v31 n3 p251-260 2002-2003
In an exercise designed to assess the accuracy of the impressions we form of people in online settings, students in a Psychology of the Internet course were asked to interact with two people in two different Internet settings. First, students were asked to interact with "Tom" (a college student) in an asynchronous discussion board setting over the period of one week. They were instructed to "try to get to know him" and form an impression of him. Likewise, students were asked to interact with "Dr. Smith" (a mathematics professor) in a synchronous chat room setting for a period of 30 minutes. Students were asked to describe physical appearance, gender, age, personality, political orientation, and likeability for both Tom and Dr. Smith. Students then met Tom and Dr. Smith in person. Students were shocked to learn Dr. Smith was female and Tom was a quadriplegic. The exercise was a powerful illustration of the issues involved in online impression formation. Pseudo-names are used throughout the article.
Descriptors: Internet, Communication (Thought Transfer), Computer Mediated Communication, Individual Characteristics, Misconceptions, Validity
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers: N/A

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