The Chat Room Phenomenon: Reciprocal Communication in Cyberspace

Abstract

Three experiments examined the effects of a number of variables on reciprocal conversation in Internet chat rooms. The results indicated that the perceived gender of the participant and whether or not the typed messages were general or specific had no effect on reciprocal communication. The length of written statements and the amount of time spent in a chat room increased reciprocal communication. However, one counterintuitive finding was that the amount of reciprocal communication in a chat room was directly related to the aversive quality of the statements made by the participants.