Mediated Person-to-Person Communication: A Social Psychological Perspective

Abstract

This review paper summarizes a substantial investigation of mediated person-toperson communication, comprising 13 empirical studies, most undertaken in the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford between 1975 and 1978. It was submitted as the author’s doctoral thesis, and although the thesis was successfully defended in 1978, all but two experiments have not been previously published. During current extraordinary period of communication adjustments made necessary by the COVID-19 pandemic, there may be useful relevance toward such new practices as: professionals consulting via teleconferences; students learning via distance education; industry teams collaborating online to advance shared projects; and family members sharing private time during separation necessitated by quarantine against viral transmission. Generally, the review as reported here reflects the original mid-70s state-ofknowledge in the literature review and research methods. Further it depicts participant viewpoints prior to contemporary experience with such teleconferencing applications as Zoom, Skype, and FaceTime. Our gradual learning and adaptation over recent decades make it difficult today – if not impossible – to probe without a bias under similar conditions and expectations. With an aim of conveying “lessons learned” during times of COVID-19, this investigation review summarizes several enduring phenomena arising from mediated communication and alerts user expectations to include: (a) Social cues that help to facilitate familiar social dynamics like “leadership emergence” can be communicated effectively (although often with less salience) during high quality mediated communication. (b) Teleconferencing applications can enable efficient, effective, and even enjoyable interactions, such as by creating “paradoxical closeness” while overcoming physical separation and social distancing. (c) Today’s computer users in jurisdictions with sophisticated Internet infrastructure may have had some experience with teleconferencing applications. While other users may find themselves plunged into teleconference usage, either by their institutions or by government mandates. Doubtless, these are measures of adjustment for the control viral spread.