Social Information Processing Theory Of Joe Walther (Summary)

Joe Walther explained how users of CMC or computed media communication developed relationships through the Internet while comparing the achieved effects on a face-to-face conversation. He created the theory known as Social Information Processing theory or SIP theory which is consistent with the social penetration theory and the uncertainty reduction theory.

There are two features of CMC that provide as a basis for the SIP:

First are the verbal cues. Walther believes that parties are able to convey social information through a linguistic medium, since all nonverbal cues are not used in CMC, and are still able to fully form an impression to the person through the gathered information. Intent to another person can be expressed through CMC and a relationship can be developed through the medium. Though nonverbal behaviors, self-disclosure, praise, and explicit statements of appreciation, CMC users are able to make a positive impression by reducing uncertainty and drawing close through social penetration theory.

Second is the extended time. Given enough or extended time of conversation, since face-to-face users are able to get information faster, CMC users can fully create an idea of yourself to the other party. When CMC is used this doesn’t mean that is as firm as a relationship developed through the face-to-face conversation

There are two other sequential factors that contribute to intimacy on the web:

Anticipated future interaction, or how we predict the relationship will grow, is part of CMC in developing the relationship. Chronemic cues or chronemics is the term used to describe how people perceive, use, and respond to issues of time in their interaction with others. It deals with the messages we send with regard to time, a nonverbal cue, and how the receiver would react or perceive it.

Now Walther introduces the term hyperpersonal which labels a more intimate relationship of parties. It has four media effects:

Sender creates an idea to the receiver through selective self-presentation. We usually carefully pick out and send to the receiving party all the good traits, achievement, etc. to make a cyber-image of our self. But the receiver, the one who will put all the information together, tend to over-attribute that persona. Attribution is assigning qualities to somebody or something. Walther introduced the SIDE theory, short for social identity-deindividuation, by Martin Lea and Russell Spears, to describe this attitude. Another media effect is the asynchronous channel of communication, 1 "parties can use it no simultaneously". Since time giving time for each other is a must when you’re in a relationship CMC offers the users to communicate in their own time. Finally we have the self fulfilling prophecy. It’s the reaction or feed back of a 2"person's expectation of others to evoke a response from them that confirms what he or she anticipated". It becomes a kind of looking-glass self or how we see our self through others, a concept of ourselves through them.

An example is if I use the cellphone as a means of communicating. I send my cyber image to the receiver through how I answer questions or give data about my self. The receiver creates an image of use through the use of the details we sent to him. he feed back he gives to me shows how he sees me and, as discussed in the Symbolic Interactionism, we slowly mold ourselves into that person the receiver sees.

Reference:

1 Griffin, Em (2006) A First Look at Communication Theory 6th ed. (p. 151) Boston, MA: McGraw Hill
2 Griffin, Em (2006) A First Look at Communication Theory 6th ed. (p. 152) Boston, MA: McGraw Hill