The Role of Social Presence in Opinion Expression During FtF and CMC Discussions

This study sought to examine the process of talk and opinion expression in face-to-face (FtF) and text-based, synchronous, computer-mediated communication (TBS-CMC) discussions. A model was tested in which it was proposed that communication environment and communication apprehension (CA) would affect perceived social presence, which would, in turn, be related to the amount of talk and opinion expression in discussions. An experimental design using an adult sample who engaged in real discussions revealed that the data were a good fit to the model. All hypotheses were supported in that those in the FtF condition experienced more social presence than those in TBS-CMC; those high in CA experienced less social presence than those low in CA; those who experienced high social presence talked more in the discussion than those who experienced low social presence; and those who experienced low social presence expressed more opinions than those who experienced high social presence.