Is the Reception Better on a Different Channel? Interpersonal Communication Satisfaction of Introverts and Extraverts During Face-to-Face Versus Instant Messenger Conversations

Satisfying communication is sometimes hard to come by. Due to differences in social expression and reception, individuals tend to express and receive communication in dissimilar ways, especially within different social contexts. In the present study, the effects of personality and channel of communication on individual and mutual satisfaction after a conversation will be tested. Participants will take a personality test to determine introversion or extraversion. They will then be randomly assigned to conversation pairs which will communicate either through an instant messaging (IM) program or face-to-face (FtF). Satisfaction will be determined using a modified version of the Interpersonal Communication Satisfaction Inventory (ICSI). It is hypothesized that individual satisfaction will be significantly higher for introverts in the IM condition and extraverts in the FtF condition. With regards to mutual satisfaction, it is hypothesized that pairs with dissimilar personalities in the FtF condition will be significantly lower than all other pairings. Finally, it is expected that individuals with high ratings of satisfaction will also report feeling as though they were able to express themselves more authentically. The results of this study will contribute to our view of interpersonal relationships in the modern digital age, as well as present possibilities for creating more mutually beneficial communication between differing personality types