How Do Frequency and Duration of Messaging Affect Impression Development in Computer-Mediated Communication?

Computer-mediated Communication (CMC) has been commonly compared to face-to-face (FtF) communication in recent CMC literature. Research comparisons suggested depersonalizing effects of CMC. However, this experimental study indicates that CMC is a potentially viable mode of social-emotion-oriented communication. In this study, the effects of frequency and duration of messaging on impression development in CMC were investigated. Undergraduate participants were randomly assigned to each of the four experimental groups. For a period of two weeks, participants monitored discussion lists that differed in relation to the frequency and duration of messaging in asynchronous CMC environments. ANOVA results indicated that duration and frequency had significant main effects on impression development in asynchronous CMC environments. No interaction effects were found. The results of this study not only theoretically support the social-emotion-oriented model in CMC, but also lay foundations for further research in many popular types of interactive CMC environments, including e-learning, e-commerce, and e-health