Social information processing (theory)
It suggests that people rely heavily on the social information available to them in their environments, including input from colleagues and peers, to shape their attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions.
[2] In this work, he constructed a framework to explain online interpersonal communication without nonverbal cues and how people develop and manage relationships in a computer-mediated environment.
[10] Social information processing researchers like Joseph Walther are intrigued by how identities are managed online and how relationships are able to move from one of superficiality to one of intimacy.
Walther concludes that SIP is a "process" theory because both information and interpersonal meaning is accumulated over time, providing online partners an opportunity to establish a relationship.
Prior research on the relational aspects of computer-mediated communication has suggested strong depersonalizing effects of the medium due to the absence of nonverbal cues.
In this study, data were collected from 96 subjects assigned to computer conferencing or face-to-face zero-history groups of 3, who completed three tasks over several weeks' time.
Results show that the assignment of long-term versus short-term partnerships has a larger impact on anticipated future interaction reported by computer-mediated than face-to-face partners.
To fill in the theoretical gap, Walther and Parks adopt the original concept of warranting presented by Stone, describing connections between one's self and self-presentation as a continuum rather than a binary, moderated by anonymity.
As such, there are many factors – photographs, videos, and the ability to build your own profile – that set social media apart from the text-only CMC that Walther originally studied.
Numerical information, such as height, weight, age, or address constitutes as partial warranting, as these figures are easily checked and provide little room for gray area.
[6] It also confirmed his beliefs by comparing high and low warrant information and finding that friends' remarks were valued higher than the owner's claims in regards to physical attractiveness and outgoingness.
[clarification needed] Some early studies looked at e-mail discussion groups[40] while more contemporary research has placed a great deal of attention on social media networks such as Facebook[41][42] and online dating sites.
For this activity, Daria suggests watching two specific scenes, 2 and 21, which focus on the introduction of the online relationship between the two characters, and also demonstrate the hyperpersonal perspective of this theory.
[49] In business contexts, social information processing has been used to study virtual teams[3][50] as well as the ways viral marketers influence the adoption of products and services through the Internet.
The background which stimulate their academic interests is that online social networks are increasingly being recognized as an important source of information influencing the adoption and use of products and services.
[53] SIP theory provides a useful lens to examine the interpersonal influence processes that are the hallmark of viral marketing, since it views the social network as an important source of information and cues for behavior and action for individuals.
[54] Prior studies examining the diffusion of innovations and the transmission of ideas in social networks have viewed the interpersonal influence as occurring largely from face-to-face interactions.
What is missing is an analysis of viral marketing that highlights systematic patterns in the nature of knowledge-sharing and persuasion by influencers and responses by recipients in online social networks.
To this end, they propose an organizing framework for viral marketing that draws on prior theory and highlights different behavioral mechanisms underlying knowledge-sharing, influence, and compliance in online social networks.
[56] Dip Nandi, Margaret Hamilton, and James Harland from RMIT University did research on asynchronous discussion forums in fully online courses.
They conducted the research on two large fully online subjects for computing students over two consecutive semesters and used a grounded theoretic approach for data analysis.
He talks about the richness of the digital media that is present within SIP and how the medium that is used can help people to demonstrate their emotions, which can be amplified through the use of video production as it provides a completely different perspective and format.
[clarification needed] Employees were able to develop a better connection with their leadership team if it was task orientated and the information was presented in a realistic format that represented who they were, as opposed to a fake personality.
Yanru Guo and Dion Hoe-Lian Goh conducted a content analysis on posting on microblogs in China, where individuals discussed having an STI, and more specifically having AIDS.
[63] Rosie Mi Jahng and Jeremy Littau conducted an experiment on how people gather their information from journalists on social media, specifically related to Twitter.
Their study involved around 150 participants looking at a variety of fake Twitter accounts representing journalists who provided different levels of information and news within their tweets.
SIP provides the option for law enforcement to be able to develop a reputable and healthy relationship with the public in addition to the opinions and structure that they present in a non computer setting.
However, the theory has evolved and been refined over years of research, and has developed more specificity within the discussions of online relationships, such as the topics of warranting and hyperpersonal perspectives.
Although a few criticisms emerge in SIP, people cannot ignore the fact that Walther's theory remains a pivotal framework to consider as we envision future relationship development in an uncertain technological time.
These resources allow for people to connect and develop relationships using methods alternative to the traditional FtF-exclusive past, thus making CMC more prevalent amongst social media users.
