Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-mzp66 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-07T06:15:37.801Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

4 - Nonverbal communication and cultural differences: issues for face-to-face communication over the internet

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

By
Pio Enrico Ricci Bitti  and
Pier Luigi Garotti
Edited by
Arvid Kappas  and
Nicole C. Krämer
Pio Enrico Ricci Bitti
Affiliation:
University of Bologna, Italy
Pier Luigi Garotti
Affiliation:
University of Bologna, Italy
Arvid Kappas
Affiliation:
Jacobs University Bremen
Nicole C. Krämer
Affiliation:
Universität Duisburg–Essen
Get access

Summary

Overview: The various forms of interpersonal communication that take place on the internet are considered and several questions concerning the efficacy of interpersonal communication over the internet are raised (i.e., whether this form of communication can be compared to actual face-to-face communication).

The technologies for communication over the internet do not always allow access to “kinesic” behaviors through the visual channel or to vocal-intonational modulations of speech through the auditory channel; they therefore cannot count on a wide range of nonverbal signals that are of extreme importance for certain communicative processes. Graphic and linguistic strategies permit internet users to compensate for this lack of communicative signals and render communication via the internet more immediate, natural, spontaneous, and expressive. Videoconference might be an effective means for conveying the sense of presence to interlocutors; it can be used in many different areas: in work (long-distance collaboration and meetings between people in different locations), long-distance education (teleteaching, e-learning), and health care (telemedicine, telehealth, psychotherapy), as well as in legal contexts.

This contribution, finally, analyzes the video-based interactions between individuals belonging to different cultures and evaluates the differences in nonverbal communication in this perspective.

Introduction

The internet is now a means of communication widely used in the interaction between individuals: It is used for work, to chat with friends, to meet new people, to discuss matters of social importance, for educational purposes, etc. The videoconference has now been added to the most frequently used systems (email, discussion forums, mailing lists, etc.

Type
Chapter
Information
Face-to-Face Communication over the Internet
Emotions in a Web of Culture, Language, and Technology
 , pp. 81 - 99
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Argyle, M. (1982). Intercultural communication. In Bochner, S. (ed.), Cultures in Contact: Studies in Cross-Cultural Interaction (pp. 61–79). Oxford: Pergamon.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bouchard, S., Payeur, R., Rivard, V., et al. (2000). Cognitive behaviour therapy for panic disorder with agoraphobia in videoconference: preliminary results. Cyberpsychology and Behavior, 3(6), 999–1007.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Castelnuovo, G., Gaggioli, A., and Riva, G. (2001). Cyberpsychology meets clinical psychology: the emergence of e-therapy in mental health care. In Riva, G. and Galimberti, C. (eds), Towards Cyberpsychology: Mind, Cognition and Society in the Internet Age (pp. 230–251). Amsterdam: IOS Press.Google Scholar
Collett, P. (1982). Meetings and misunderstandings. In Bochner, S. (ed.), Cultures in Contact: Studies in Cross-Cultural Interaction (pp. 81–98). Oxford: Pergamon.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cook, J. E. and Doyle, C. (2002). Working alliance in online therapy as compared to face-to-face therapy: preliminary results. Cyberpsychology and Behavior, 5(2), 95–105.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Egido, C. (1990). Teleconferencing as a technology to support cooperative work: its possibilities and limitations. In Calegher, J., Kraut, R. E., and Egido, C. (eds), Intellectual Team Work: Social and Technological Foundations of Cooperative Work (pp. 351–371). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Ekman, P. (1972). Universals and cultural differences in facial expressions of emotions. In Cole, J. (ed.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, 1971, vol. 19, (pp. 207–283). Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.Google Scholar
Federico, P. A. (1999). Hypermedia environments and adaptive instructions. Computers in Human Behavior, 15(6), 653–692.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ghosh, G. J., McLaren, P. M., and Watson, J. P. (1997). Evaluating the alliance in video-link teletherapy. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 3, 33–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grohol, J. M. (1999). Best practices in e-therapy. http://psychcentral.com/best/best3.htm.
Harrison, J. K. (1992). Individual and combined effects of behavior modelling and the culture assimilator in cross-cultural management training. Journal of Applied Psychology, 3, 431–460.Google Scholar
Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture's Consequences. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Hofstede, G.(1983). Dimensions of national cultures in fifty countries and three regions. In Deregowsky, J., Dziurawiec, S., and Annis, R. (eds), Explications in Cross-Cultural Psychology (pp. 335–355). Lisse, The Netherlands: Swets & Zeitlinger.Google Scholar
Jerome, L. W. and Zaylor, C. (2000). Cyberspace: creating a therapeutic environment for telehealth applications. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 31, 478–483.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kies, J. K., Williges, R. C., and Rosson, M. B. (1996). Controlled Laboratory Experimentation and Field Study Evaluation of Video Conferencing for Distance Learning Applications. HCIL Hypermedia Technical Report HCIL-96–02. Human–Computer Interaction Laboratory, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA.Google Scholar
Landis, D. (1996). A model of intercultural training and behaviour. In Landis, D. and Bhagat, R. (eds), Handbook of Intercultural Training (2nd edn., pp. 1–13). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Matsumoto, D. (1990). Cultural similarities and differences in display rules. Motivation and Emotion, 14, 195–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matsumoto, D. (1991). Cultural influences on facial expressions of emotion. Southern Communication Journal, 56, 128–137.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGinley, H., Blau, G. L., and Takay, M. (1984). Attraction effects of smiling and body position. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 58, 915–922.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mintzberg, J. (1973). The Nature of Managerial Work. New York: Harper & Row.Google Scholar
Mondada, L. (2001a). Intervenir à distance dans une operation chirurgicale: l'organisation interactive d'espaces de participation. Bulletin Suisse de Linguistique Appliquée, 74, 33–56.Google Scholar
Mondada, L. (2001b). Operating together through videoconference: members' procedures accomplishing a common space of action. Proceedings of II EMCA Conference, Orders of Ordinary Action, Manchester, July 9–11, 2001.
Morrison, T., Conaway, W. A., and Borden, G. A. (1994). Kiss, Bow or Shake Hands: How to Do Business in 60 Countries. Holbrook, MA: Adams Media.Google Scholar
Muhlbach, L., Bocker, M., and Prussog, A. (1995). Telepresence in videocommunication: a study on stereoscopy and individual eye contact. Human Factors, 37(2), 290–305.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Newhagen, J. E. (1996). Why communication researchers should study the internet. A dialogue. Journal of Communication, 46(1), 4–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nickelson, D. (1998). Telehealth and the evolving health care system: strategic opportunities for professional psychology. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 29, 527–535.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olson, J. S., Olson, G. M., and Meader, D. K. (1995). What mix of video and audio is useful for small groups doing remote real-time design work?Proceedings of CHI 1995, ACM Conference on Human Factors in Software, pp. 362–368.Google Scholar
Rettinger, L. A. (1995). Desktop Videoconferencing: Technology and Use for Remote Seminars Delivery. Master's thesis, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC. http://pvprm.zesoi.fer.hr/1998-99-web/literatura/DVC4seminar.pdf.Google Scholar
Riva, G. (2001). Shared hypermedia: communication and interaction in web-based learning environments. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 25(3), 205–226.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robson, J., Routcliffe, P., and Fitzgerald, R. (1991). Remote Schooling and Information Technology. Canberra: Australian Catholic University.Google Scholar
Short, J., Wiliams, E., and Christie, B. (1976). The Social Psychology of Telecommunication. London: Wiley.Google Scholar
Snyder, F. W. (1971). Travel Patterns: Implications for New Communication Facilities. Bell Laboratories Memorandum.Google Scholar
Sproull, L. and Kiesler, S. (1986). Reducing social context cues: electronic mail in organizational communication. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 37, 157–187.Google Scholar
Ward, C., Bochner, S., and Furnham, A. (2001). The Psychology of Culture Shock. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Ward, C. and Kennedy, A. (1999). The measurement of sociocultural adaptation. InternationalJournal of Intercultural Relation, 56, 1–19.Google Scholar
Williams, E. (1975). Medium or message: communications medium as determinant of interpersonal evaluation. Sociometry, 38, 119–130.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, E. (1977). Experimental comparisons of face to face and mediated communication: a review. Psychological Bulletin, 84, 963–976.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×