Much is written about the benefits of computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) but many accounts report problematic interactions and less than desirable outcomes for attempts at CSCL. A theoretical approach is presented that is grounded in a social identity perspective of groups and seeks to promote and support successful collaborations. Using this approach, along with examples from laboratory and field studies, key concepts such as cohesion, participation, accountability and group norms ... Continue Reading
Journal Articles
Panacea or panopticon? The hidden power in computer-mediated communication
Spears, R. & Lea, M. (1994). Panacea or panopticon? The hidden power in computer-mediated communication. Communication Research, 21, 427-459.
This article examines how interaction by means of computer-mediated communication (CMC) affects the operation of both status differentials and power relations, and attempts to identify the social psychological processes mediating the social and behavioral effects of these factors. The dominant assessment, particularly within social psychological analyses, is that CMC tends to equalize status, decentralize and democratize decision-making, and thus empower and liberate the individual user. This ... Continue Reading
Breaching or building social barriers? SIDE effects of computer-mediated communication
Postmes, T. Spears, R. & Lea, M. (1998). Breaching or building social barriers? SIDE effects of computer-mediated communication. Communication Research 25, 689-715 (Special issue on '[Mis]communicating across boundaries').
Computer-mediated communication (CMC) is sometimes heralded for its power to break down social boundaries and to liberate individuals from social influence, group pressure, and status and power differentials that characterize much face-to-face interaction. This paper reviews research conducted within the framework of the social identity model of deindividuation effects demonstrating that this is not always the case. When communicators share a common social identity, they appear to be more ... Continue Reading
Visibility and anonymity effects on attraction and group cohesiveness
Lea, M., Spears, R., & Watt, S.E. (2007). Visibility and anonymity effects on attraction and group cohesiveness. European Journal of Social Psychology, 37, 761-773.
This study investigated attraction and group cohesiveness under different visibility and anonymity conditions for social categories that differed in their capacity to be visually cued. Using computer-mediated communication in 36 mixed gender (visually cued category) and nationality (non-visually cued category) groups, we manipulated social category salience (via discussion topic), and anonymity vs. visibility (via live video links). Under high salience, the effects of anonymity versus visibility ... Continue Reading
Rationalist assumptions in cross-media comparisons of computer-mediated communication
Lea, M. (1991). Rationalist assumptions in cross-media comparisons of computer-mediated communication. Behaviour & Information Technology, 10, 153-172.
Users' comparisons between computer-mediated communication (CMC) and other forms of communication are of theoretical interest and have important implications for system design and implementation. This paper outlines the prevalent systems rationalist perspective on CMC, which sees the medium primarily as an efficient channel for information transfer in specific organizational tasks, and critically reviews the evidence which studies of users' perceptions and media preferences offer for this ... Continue Reading
Investigating personal constructs of emotions
Parkinson, B. & Lea, M. (1991). Investigating personal constructs of emotions. British Journal of Psychology, 82, 73-86.
Forty-two first-year psychology students took part in an exploratory study of conceptions of emotions using Kelly's (1955) Repertory Grid technique. Each participant generated eight different personal constructs for comparing and contrasting eight different emotional states then rated these emotions on the basis of their own constructs. Analysis of the group data revealed five significant principal components. The first four of these components related to evaluation (positive versus ... Continue Reading
Social presence in distributed group environments: The role of social identity
Rogers, P. & Lea, M. (2005). Social presence in distributed group environments: The role of social identity. Behaviour & Information Technology, 24,151-158.
This paper argues that to achieve social presence in a distributed environment, it is not necessary to emulate face-to-face conditions of increased cues to the interpersonal. Rather, it is argued, that a sense of belongingness to the group, or perceptual immersion in the group, can be realised through the creation of a shared social identity between group members. From this perspective, social presence is a function of the cognitive representation of the group by group members and not the ... Continue Reading
SIDE-VIEW: An interactive web environment to support group collaborative learning
Lea, M., Postmes, T. & Rogers, P. (1999). SIDE-VIEW: An interactive web environment to support group collaborative learning. Educational Technology and Society 2, 33-34.
The aims and objectives are: (1) To provide a specification for the design of an interactive web environment to support group collaboration among geographically dispersed higher education students, based on recent social psychological theorizing about computer-mediated group interaction and ethnographic study of the problem domain of peer-learning and collaboration. (2) To iteratively develop a prototype software system, comprising a series of interactive web pages to support group ... Continue Reading
SIDE-VIEW: Evaluation of a prototype system to develop team players and improve productivity in Internet collaborative learning groups
Lea, M., Rogers, P. & Postmes, T. (2002). SIDE-VIEW: Evaluation of a prototype system to develop team players and improve productivity in Internet collaborative learning groups. British Journal of Educational Technology 33, 53-64.
This paper briefly summarizes the initial development of a computer-supported collaborative learning environment and evaluates its effects in relation to the productivity of CSCL groups. The design of the SIDE-VIEW system is driven by the social identity approach to understanding group behaviour and is premised upon the need to establish congruity between the self-definition of group members and their collaborative learning tasks. We begin by outlining the rationale for the system in relation to ... Continue Reading
The formation of group norms in computer-mediated communication
Postmes, T., Spears, R. & Lea, M. (2000). The formation of group norms in computer-mediated communication. Human Communication Research, 26, 341-71.
The formation of group norms in computer-mediated communication (CMC) was examined among students who used email as part of a course. A network analysis of group structures revealed that (a) content and form of communication is normative, group norms defining communication patterns within groups, (b) conformity to group norms increases over time, (c) communication outside the group is governed by different social norms. Results show that norms prescribing a particular use of technology are ... Continue Reading
When are net effects gross products? The power of influence and the influence of power in computer-mediated communication
Spears, R., Postmes, T., Lea, M. & Wolbert, A. (2002). When are net effects gross products? The power of influence and the influence of power in computer-mediated communication. Journal of Social Issues 58, 91-107 (Invited contribution to Issue on 'Consequences of the Internet for self and society'').
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
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
Paralanguage and social perception in computer-mediated communication
Lea, M. & Spears, R. (1992). Paralanguage and social perception in computer-mediated communication. Journal of Organizational Computing, 2, 321-342.
It is widely held that computer-mediated communication (CMC) filters out many of the social and affective cues associated with human interaction with consequent effects on communication outcomes and the medium's suitability for interpersonal tasks. The relationship between paralanguage and social perception in CMC in different social contexts in investigated in two experiments. In Study 1 it was hypothesized that there would be significant differences in subjects' perceptions of anonymous ... Continue Reading
Social processes and group decision making: Anonymity in group decision support systems
Postmes, T. & Lea, M. (2000). Social processes and group decision making: Anonymity in group decision support systems. Ergonomics, 43, 11521274. (Special issue on Contemporary theory and methods in the analysis of team working).
Various social processes in decision-making groups are considered detrimental to the quality of decisions. It is often assumed that removing the ability for groups to exert strong social influence on its members improves group decisions. Group decision support systems (GDSSs) are increasingly used to remedy the social faults of the decision-making process in groups. In these systems, anonymity is seen as a tool to reduce the impact of the group over its members, and therefore as the key to ... Continue Reading
Deindividuation and group polarization in computer-mediated communication
Spears, R., Lea, M. & Lee, S. (1990). De-individuation and group polarization in computer-mediated communication. British Journal of Social Psychology, 29, 121-134.
A computer-mediated communication system (CMCS) was used to explore the effects of de-individuation on group polarization. Reicher (1984) argued that de-individuating members of a group should increase the salience of group identity and hence normative behaviour, while de-individuating subjects treated as individuals should have the reverse effect. We extended this idea to the group-polarization paradigm and in addition independently manipulated group salience and de-individuation, which were ... Continue Reading
Knowing me, knowing you: Anonymity effects on social identity processes within groups
Lea, M., Spears, R. & de Groot, D. (2001). Knowing me, knowing you: Anonymity effects on social identity processes within groups. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 526-537.
The Social Identity Model of Deindividuation Effects (SIDE) proposes that depersonalization of self and others is responsible for the effects of visual anonymity on group behavior. The authors investigated these mediating processes by assessing the effects of group-based self-categorization and stereotyping of others on group attraction within visually anonymous or video-identifiable groups communicating via computer. Structural equation modeling showed that visual anonymity increased ... Continue Reading
Intergroup differentiation in computer-mediated communication: Effects of depersonalization
Postmes, T., Spears, R. & Lea, M. (2002). Intergroup differentiation in computer-mediated communication: Effects of depersonalization. Group Dynamics, Theory, Research and Prractice, 6, 3-16. (Special issue on 'Groups and the Internet').
Two studies examined intergroup discussions via computer-mediated communication systems. It was hypothesized that depersonalization, in comparison with individuated interaction, would increase the tendency for intergroup differentiation in attitudes and stereotypes. In Study 1, 24 groups communicated internationally over the Internet in a longitudinal design. Interacting groups, based in 2 different countries, were individuated versus partially unidentifiable, and thus depersonalized. Results ... Continue Reading
Computer-mediated communication as a channel for social resistance: The strategic side of SIDE
Spears, R., Lea, M., Corneliussen, R. A., Postmes, T., & Ter Haar, W. (2002). Computer-mediated communication as a channel for social resistance: The strategic side of SIDE. Small Group Research 33, (5), 55-574. (Special Issue on European views of computer-mediated communication).
In two studies, the authors tested predictions derived from the social identity model of deindividuation effects (SIDE) concerning the potential of computer-mediated communication (CMC) to serve as a means to resist powerful out-groups. Earlier research using the SIDE model indicates that the anonymity of virtual groups can accentuate the lower differentials associated with salient social identities: a cogntive effect. The present research builds on the strategic component of the SIDE model ... 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