The rush to judgment about the social effects of the new communications media has branded them as positive and negative in equal measure. Alienation from "real world' relationships coupled with a lack of social regulation within the medium is balanced by liberation from the influences, inequalities, and identities to which people are subjected in face-to-face interaction. The authors argue that such general conclusions may in fact be turned upside down and propose that these media may actually ... Continue Reading
Books and Chapters
Computer-mediated communication, deindividuation, and group decision-making
Lea, M. & Spears, R. (1991). Computer-mediated communication, deindividuation, and group decision-making. International Journal of Man-Machine Studies, 34, 283-301 (Special issue on 'Computer supported cooperative work and groupware).
This paper discusses social psychological processes in computer-mediated communication and group decision-making in relation to findings that groups communicating via computer produce more polarized decisions than face-to-face groups. A wide range of possible explanations for such differences have been advanced, in which a lack of social cues, disinhibition, 'deindividuation' and a consequent tendency to antinormative behavior are central themes (Kiesler et al.,1984; Kiesler, 1986; Siegel et ... Continue Reading
Computer-mediated communication and social identity
Spears, R. Lea, M. & Postmes, T. (2007). CMC and social identity. In A. Joinson, K. McKenna, T. Postmes, & U Reips (Eds.) Oxford handbook of Internet psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (pp. 253-272).
The reader is asked to tolerate a degree of egocentrism if this chapter appears to be written from an “ingroup” point of view, particularly with an emphasis on our own theoretical slant, and to some extent research. This is after all meant to be a general overview chapter on social identity and CMC. Our excuse is that this is difficult to avoid to some extent. When we started working in this area in the mid-80s there was very little research on the role of social identities in CMC, and what ... Continue Reading
Social Psychology of the Internet
Lea, M. & Spears, R. (2003). Social Psychology of the Internet. In K. Christensen & D. Levinson (Eds.) Sage Encyclopedia of Community: From the Village to the Virtual World. (pp. 779-783). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Social psychology has a long history of researching the effects of communication technologies, such as the telephone and television, on individuals and groups. Social psychological research on the Internet has focused predominantly on text-based computer-mediated communication (CMC), such as e-mail, bulletin boards, newsgroups, conferencing, and chat. These have been compared both theoretically and empirically with face-to-face communication or with some other standard that controls for certain ... Continue Reading
Love at first byte: Building personal relationships over computer networks
Lea, M. & Spears, R. (1995). Love at first byte? Building personal relationships over computer networks. In J. T. Wood & S. Duck (Eds.). Under-Studied Relationships: Off the Beaten Track (pp. 197–233). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Our discussion of personal relationships and computer networks focuses on three issues of central concern in this volume. The first issue is to do with how relationship research currently privileges certain kinds of relationships while neglecting others. We describe relationships that have been observed in this new medium and identify a number of assumptions and biases underlying much social psychological theorizing that are common to both relationship research and media analyses. These ... Continue Reading
Facing the future: Emotion communication and the presence of others in video communications
Manstead, A.S.R., Lea, M. & Goh, J. (2011). Facing the future: Emotion communication and the presence of others in the age of video telephony. In Arvid Kappas (Ed.) Face-to-face communication over the Internet: Issues, research, challenges. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (pp. 144-175).
Video-mediated communication is becoming a ubiquitous feature of everyday life. This chapter considers the differences between face-to-face and video-mediated communication in terms of co-presence and considers the implications for the communication of emotion, self-disclosure, and relationship rapport. Following initial consideration of the concepts of physical presence and social presence, we describe recent studies of the effect of presence on the facial communication of emotion. We then ... Continue Reading
Flaming in computer-mediated communication: Observations, explanations, implications
Lea, M., O’Shea, T., Fung, P. & Spears, R. (1992). 'Flaming' in computer-mediated communication: Observations, explanations and implications. In M. Lea (Ed.) Contexts of Computer-Mediated Communication. (pp. 89–112). London: Harvester-Wheatsheaf.
The notion that ‘uninhibited behaviour’ is associated with communicating via computer has gained a great deal of attention. One manifestation, ‘flaming’ (the hostile expression of strong emotions and feelings) has been widely reported in the research literature and commented on in the national press. Indeed, flaming has come to be regarded as symptomatic of the down-side of installing computer conferencing and electronic mail systems in organizations. Advice on how management can ... Continue Reading
Social influence and the influence of the social in computer-mediated communication
Spears, R. & Lea, M. (1992). Social influence and the influence of the ‘social’ in computer-mediated communication. In M. Lea (Ed.) Contexts of Computer-Mediated Communication. (pp. 30–65). London: Harvester-Wheatsheaf.
In this chapter we explore the social psychological dimensions of computer-mediated communication (CMC). We shall not be directly concerned here with the processes by which people choose CMC in preference to other communications media (see e.g., Fulk & Boyd, 1991, for a recent review), although it will become obvious that our argument has implications for media choice models. Rather we are interested here in the social psychological factors operating once "inside" CMC and particularly the ... Continue Reading
Power and gender in computer-mediated communication: A SIDE look
Spears, R., Lea, M., Postmes, T., & Wolbert, A. (2014) "A SIDE look at computer-mediated communication: Power and the gender divide". In Zachary Birchmeier, Beth Dietz-Uhler, and Garold Stasser (Eds.). Strategic uses of social technology: An interactive perspective of social psychology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
The new communications technologies are developing at such a fast pace that it is difficult for research and theorizing to keep up. Although exploring the range of applications and instantiations of the latest forms of computer-mediated communication (CMC), texting, and video-based phone systems provides many useful insights, research and theorizing that lags behind the technological developments will run the risk of being phenomenon- and even technology-driven, making it difficult to anticipate ... Continue Reading
Engaging in email discussion: conversational context and social identity
Watts, L, Nugroho, Y, Lea, M. (2003). Engaging in email discussion: conversational context and social identity in computer-mediated communication. In G. W. M.Rauterberg, M. Menozzi & J. Wesson (Eds.) Human computer interaction: INTERACT'03 (pp. xx-xx). Amsterdam: IOS Press. ISBN: 1586033638.
For millions of people, text-based computer-mediated communication (CMC) is a convenient and engaging way to exchange information and opinion. Research shows that the social ambiguity of text-based CMC, such as email, can both promote participation and group cohesion and lead to misunderstanding, offence and social division. We report a field experiment that attempted to expose some underlying factors. GNU Mailman was configured to promote either individual or group perspectives during email ... Continue Reading
Social psychological theories of computer-mediated communication: Social pain or social gain?
Spears, R., Lea, M., & Postmes, T. (2001). Social psychological theories of computer-mediated communication: Social pain or social gain? In W. P. Robinson and H. Giles (eds.) The New Handbook of Language and Social Psychology (pp. 601-623). Chichester: Wiley.
It is a safe bet that computer-mediated communication (CMC) features in the everyday life of those likely to be consulting this volume. Less than two decades ago this would not have been the case. The growth of the Internet has meant that CMC use has become ubiquitous in the developed world, and a marker of social exclusion for those denied access. Social science has hardly kept pace with these technological changes in communication, either in terms of understanding their global impacts or ... Continue Reading
Cohesion in Online Groups
Rogers, P. & Lea, M. (2004). Cohesion in Online Groups. In K. Morgan, C. A. Brebbia, J. Sanchez & A. Voiskounsky (Eds.). Human Perspectives in the Internet Society: Culture, Psychology and Gender. Southampton: WIT Press (pp.115-124).
Groups are traditionally defined in terms of the interpersonal bonds that exist between group members and thus cohesion is based on the strength of those bonds. The transition of this definition of the group onto online groups leads to attempts to emulate face to face behaviour through presentation of group member pictures, video and detailed personal descriptions. However, this can be problematic due to reduced bandwidth and individual cues necessary for supporting ... Continue Reading
Social processes in electronic teamwork: The central issue of identity.
Lea, M., Spears, R. & Rogers, P. (2003). Social processes in electronic teamwork: The central issue of identity. In S. A. Haslam, D. van Knippenberg, M. J. Platow, & N. Ellemers (Eds.). Social identity at work: Developing theory for organizational practice. (pp. 99-116). New York: Psychology Press.
In this chapter we argue that issues of identity are central to understanding how communication technologies affect organizational practice. We develop this argument by first reviewing some of the dominant approaches to understanding the social psychological processes implied or held responsible for CMC effects. We highlight the common themes underpinning these approaches, and trace their origins. As we hope to make clear, despite the variety of approaches, they rely nevertheless on a small set ... Continue Reading
How social is Internet communication? A reappraisal of bandwidth and anonymity effects
Susan Watt, Martin Lea, & Russell Spears (2002). How social is Internet communication? A reappraisal of bandwidth and anonymity effects. In Steve Woolgar (Ed.) Virtual Society? (pp.61-77). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
The use of Internet communications has increasingly become part of our lives both at work and at home, for business and for recreation. Internet communications are augmenting and substituting for many of the interpersonal and group interactions that were previously conducted face-to-face. Surveys have repeatedly shown that electronic mail benefits business as a replacement for meetings (McKenna & Bargh, 2000), and evidence is also emerging that interpersonal communication is the dominant ... Continue Reading
A SIDE view of social influence
Spears, R., Postmes, T., Lea, M., & Watt, S. E. (2001). . In J. P. Forgas & K. D. Williams (Eds.). Social influence: Direct and indirect processes (pp. 331-350). Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press.
Researchers from the field of intergroup relations, and notably self-categorization theorists, have investigated how our group memberships impinge on the social influence process. Much progress has been made in showing how ingroup and outgroup information is processed differently and can have different impacts. Within this tradition, the way in which we categorize the source is more than an input, but may actually change the way we see the same message, and even whether we process it ... Continue Reading
Constructing the networked organization: Content and context in the development of electronic communications.
Lea, M., O’Shea, T. & Fung, P. (1999). Constructing the networked organization: Content and context in the development of electronic communications. In G. DeSanctis & J. Fulk (eds.). Shaping Organizational Form (pp. 295-324). Thousand Oaks: Sage. First published: Lea, M., O'Shea, T. & Fung, P. (1995) in Organization Science, 6, 4, 462-478
This paper presents a case study of the development of electronic communications in a changing organization with the aim of studying the complex relationship between content and context in the design and implementation of technological change in communications. The development of a computer-mediated communication system was followed over a period of four years during which time the participating organization expanded by acquisition and then reformed in conjunction with its neighbours in other ... Continue Reading
Social identity, group norms, and deindividuation: Lessons from computer-mediated communication for social influence in the group
Postmes, T., Spears, R., & Lea, M. (1999). Social identity, group norms, and "deindividuation": Lessons from computer-mediated communication for social influence in the group. In N. Ellemers, R. Spears, & B. Doosje (Eds.), Social identity: Context, commitment, content. Oxford: Blackwell.
This chapter reviews a program of research that has developed around the Social Identity model of Deindividuation Effects (SIDE; Lea & Spears, 1991; Postmes & Spears, 1998; Postmes, Spears, & Lea, 1998; Reicher, Spears, & Postmes, 1995; Spears & Lea, 1992; 1994). In particular, we review intra-group processes in private and public settings in order to advance our understanding of normative influence in groups. Download full text This article has ... Continue Reading
Representations of the group and group processes in CSCW research: A case of premature closure?
Lea, M & Giordano, R. (1997). Representations of the group and group processes in CSCW research: A case of premature closure? In G.C. Bowker, S. L. Star, W. Turner & L. Gasser, (eds.). Social Science, Technical Systems and Cooperative Work: Beyond the Great Divide (pp. 5-26). Mahwah, NJ: LEA
This paper considers the extent to which the representation of the 'group' and 'group processes' in the design of CSCW and groupware[1] systems reflects some of the wider preoccupations of the computing and telecommunications communities. This is part of our larger concern, which is that activity modelers tend to represent human activities in ways that are most appropriate to the tools and techniques they have at hand. This implies that their modelling activities go beyond viewing human ... Continue Reading
Breakdown of personal relationships and the threat to personal identity
Duck, S. & Lea, M. (1983). Breakdown of personal relationships and the threat to personal identity. In G. Breakwell (Ed.) Threatened Identities (pp. 53–73). Chichester: Wiley.
... Continue Reading
Video-linking emotions
Parkinson, B. & Lea, M. (2011). Video-linking emotions. In Arvid Kappas (Ed.) Face-to-face communication over the Internet: Issues, research, challenges. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (pp. 100-126).
How does video mediation influence communication of affective information? In the present chapter, we review the range of possible constraints associated with the video medium and consider their potential impact on transmission and co-ordination of emotions. In particular, we focus on the effects of transmission delays on interpersonal attunement. Results of a preliminary investigation of this issue are described. In the study, pairs of participants discussed liked and disliked celebrities ... Continue Reading