Effects of Visual Representation on Social Influence in Computer‐Mediated Communication

Two experiments investigated if and how visual representation of interactants affects depersonalization and conformity to group norms in anonymous computer‐mediated communication (CMC). In Experiment 1, a 2 (intergroup versus interpersonal) × 2 (same character versus different character) between‐subjects design experiment (N= 60), each participant made a decision about social dilemmas after seeing two other (ostensible) participants’ unanimous opinions and then exchanged supporting arguments. Consistent with the Social Identity model of Deindividuation Effects (SIDE), when the group level of self‐identity was rendered salient in an intergroup encounter, uniform virtual appearance of CMC partners triggered depersonalization and subsequent conformity behavior. By contrast, when the personal dimension of the self was salient, standardized representation tended to reduce conformity. To elucidate the mediation process, Experiment 2 investigated the causal links between depersonalization, group identification, and conformity. The results show that depersonalization accentuated adherence to group norms, both directly and indirectly via group identification.     

The Multiple Source Effect and Synthesized Speech

Two experiments examine the effect of multiple synthetic voices in an e‐commerce context. In Study 1, participants (N= 40) heard five positive reviews about a book from five different synthetic voices or from a single synthetic voice. Consistent with the multiple source effect, results showed that participants hearing multiple synthetic voices evaluated the reviewed books more positively, predicted more favorable public reaction to the books, and felt greater social presence of virtual speakers. The effects were mediated by participants’ feelings of social presence. The second experiment (N= 40) showed that the observed effects persisted even when participants were shown the purely artificial nature of synthesized speech. These results support the idea that characteristics of synthetic voices in doubly disembodied language settings influence participants’ imagination of virtual speakers, and that technological literacy does not hinder social responses to anthropomorphic technologies such as text‐to‐speech (TTS).     

Association between anxiety and depression in children and adolescents with anxiety disorders

The relationship between anxiety and depression was examined in a sample of 106 children and adolescents referred to an outpatient anxiety disorder clinic for children. Twenty-eight percent of patients with DSM-III diagnoses of anxiety disorders displayed a concurrent major depression. Children with anxiety disorders plus major depression were found (1) to be older, (2) to demonstrate more severe anxiety symptomatology, and (3) to be diagnosed with different rates of certain anxiety-disorder subtypes, when compared to anxious patients without major depression. Nondepressed anxious children and adolescents did not differ from a psychopathological control group in severity of either anxiety or depression symptoms.     

Overanxious disorder: An examination of developmental differences

Differences between a clinical sample of younger (ages 5 to 11) and older (ages 12 to 19) children meeting DSM-III criteria for overanxious disorder (OAD) were examined. Younger and older children were compared in terms of (1) the rates of OAD diagnoses occurring in the two age groups, (2) sociodemographic characteristics, (3) symptom expression, (4) association with other forms of maladjustment, and (5) self-reported anxiety and depression. The prevalence of OAD diagnoses and sociodemographic characteristics did not differ. Although younger and older OAD children showed similar rates of most specific DSM-III OAD symptoms, older children presented with a higher total number of overanxious symptoms than younger children. Older children more frequently exhibited a concurrent major depression or simple phobia, whereas younger OAD children more commonly had coexisting separation anxiety or attention deficit disorders. Older OAD children reported significantly higher levels of anxiety and depression on self-report measures. Findings indicated that the expression of OAD varies by developmental level.     

Does spreading activation summate?

Summary Network models of semantic memory assume implicitly or explicitly that the degree of activation of a node is a monotonic function of the total amount of excitation reaching that node from all sources. For example, the activation level of the node representing apple should be greater if it is receiving excitation due to the activation of the nodes for fruit and pear than if only one of these neighboring nodes is activated. This notion was tested by presenting semantic primes 80 ms or 320 ms before a letter string (e.g., apple or ipple) requiring a lexical decision. The prime stimuli consisted of a pair of simultaneous items that were identical in the single prime condition (e.g., fruit/fruit or pear/pear) or different in the double prime condition (e.g., fruit/pear or pear/fruit), and were either related (target = apple) or unrelated (target = copper) to the target, or neutral. As predicted by the summation of semantic activation assumption of network models there was a larger priming effect (in the 320 ms SOA condition) following the simultaneous activation of two related nodes than following the activation of only one node.This research was supported by grants to the first author from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.     

The Influence of Applicant Communication Style and Interviewer Characteristics on Hiring Decisions1

This study examined the influence of the gender and communication style of job applicants, as well as the gender and sex-role stereotyping of interviewers, on hiring decisions. Fifty-six personnel officers viewed videotapes of simulated employment interviews, in which male and female candidates used either aggressive, assertive, or nonassertive styles of communication. Personnel officers rated job candidates on likeability, similarity to the officers themselves, and hireability. Interviewers were most likely to employ assertive applicants, and the sex-role stereotypes of interviewers did not influence their perceptions of these candidates. Sex-role beliefs, however, did affect evaluations of aggressive and nonassertive job applicants. Interviewers who were low in sex-role stereotyping were more likely to hire a nonassertive than an aggressive candidate, while interviewers with higher levels of sex-role stereotyping were more likely to hire aggressive candidates. For assertive candidates, judgments by the interviewers of the perceived similarity of the candidate to themselves and their liking for the applicant both influenced their decision to hire the candidate. For aggressive and nonassertive candidates, however, the interviewers' liking toward the candidate mediated the relationship between perceived similarity and hiring decisions.