Gamze Yilmaz

The Influence of Social Categories and Interpersonal Behaviors on Future Intentions and Attitudes to Form Subgroups in Virtual Teams

Subgroup formation within larger virtual teams can lead to biased information sharing and conflict. Given this, the present study examined how social categories (i.e., in-group vs. out-group status) and interpersonal behaviors (i.e., a teammate behaving positively vs. negatively) influenced intentions and attitudes toward subgrouping in short-term virtual teams. One hundred sixty-four participants interacted in four-person teams using a synchronous chat program. The analysis showed that, though both social categories and interpersonal behaviors affected subgrouping choices, interpersonal behaviors had a stronger effect. Additionally, there was no evidence for the “black sheep hypothesis” predicting that in-group members behaving negatively discourages subgrouping. Overall, this exemplified how minimal categorical cues trigger in-group favoritism and out-group discrimination in virtual teams as anticipated by social identity models. The findings also illustrated how interpersonal behaviors robustly affect virtual team dynamics as stated by social information processing theory.

What You Do and How You Speak Matter Behavioral and Linguistic Determinants of Performance in Virtual Teams

The primary goal of the present study is to investigate complex relationships among interpersonal behaviors, language use, and group performance in short-term virtual teams. Thirty-four, four-person groups completed a decision-making task in real time using an online chat program. The findings suggest that having a negatively communicating collaborator in the group is associated with higher group performance compared with having a positively communicating collaborator. Also, linguistic style matching is a stronger predictor of group performance for groups with a positively communicating confederate compared with groups with a negatively communicating confederate. The findings are discussed within the theoretical framework of shared mental models, minority influence, and communication accommodation theory.

How Do Interpersonal Behaviors and Social Categories Affect Language Use?: The Case of Virtual Teams

The present study examined how interpersonal behaviors (i.e., negative communication vs. positive communication) and social categories (i.e., in-group vs. out-group status) influenced language use in short-term virtual teams. One-hundred-sixty participants interacted in four-person teams using a synchronous chat program. The results suggested that having a negatively communicating member in the group was associated with higher linguistic style matching compared to having a positively communicating group member. Negative behaviors were strongly associated with increased word counts and negations (e.g., “no”), whereas positive behaviors were associated with increased use of assents (e.g., “yes,” “ok”). Social categories had no significant effects on linguistic style matching, thus suggesting that language use depended on interpersonal behaviors instead of in-group or out-group status.

Optimizing the Presentation of Mental Health Information in Social Media: The Effects of Health Testimonials and Platform on Source Perceptions, Message Processing, and Health Outcomes

ABSTRACT Using social media for the purpose of disseminating mental health information is a critical area of scientific inquiry for health communication professionals. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the presence of a first-person testimonial in educational mental health information placed in Facebook and Twitter messages influenced college students’ (N = 257) source perceptions, information processing, cognitive elaboration, health information recall, beliefs, and behavioral intentions. Results show that exposure to social media messages that featured mental health information embedded with a testimonial predicted less source homophily and more critical thoughts about the social media source, less systematic message processing, and less cognitive elaboration. Health information recall was significantly impacted by both the social media platform and message content such that participants in the testimonial condition on Facebook were more likely to recall the health facts in those messages whereas participants who viewed the testimonial in Twitter were less likely to recall the facts in those tweets. Compared to those who read Facebook messages, participants who read Twitter messages reported higher levels of systematic message processing. These findings suggest that the integration of health testimonials into social media messages might inadvertently provoke psychological resistance to mental health information, thereby reducing the persuasive impact of those messages.

Tweeting Facts, Facebooking Lives: The Influence of Language Use and Modality on Online Source Credibility

The present study examines how language use (e.g., personalized vs. depersonalized language) and modality (e.g., tweets vs. Facebook status updates) influence source credibility interdependently. A total of 257 participants read personalized or depersonalized health messages embedded in mock-up tweets or Facebook status updates. The results show that users perceive depersonalized tweets as more credible than depersonalized status updates posted on Facebook. On the other hand, personalized status updates on Facebook generate higher credibility judgments than personalized tweets. The findings are discussed in light of the MAIN model as well as the preconceived user expectations and communication norms of social media.

Food for thought: Exploring how people think and talk about food online

This exploratory study examined the ways in which people communicate about food online by analyzing food-related conversations on Reddit, a social news networking site. The Meaning Extraction Helper (MEH) was used to analyze 2 corpora and define central themes related to online food talk. In light of these themes, the researchers discuss socio-cultural components shaping the food conversations in our society in general as well as healthy versus unhealthy communities, and provided specific directions for future empirical research.

The Application of Minority Influence Theory in Computer-Mediated Communication Groups

Using computer-mediated communication (CMC) groups as a context, this theoretical study aims at providing further specifications for the application of minority influence theory in small group research. Based on a focused literature review, this article proposes a framework that contextualizes strategic language use as an essential component of minority influence in CMC groups. Highlighting the role that unique features of CMC (e.g., interactive text-based communication, anonymity, salience of status markers) play in shaping and modifying minority influence in CMC groups, the proposed framework outlines testable propositions for future empirical studies.

The Effects of Self-Awareness and Self-Reflective Writing on Online Task Performance

This study examined self-awareness and self-reflective writing effects on performance in an online task environment. Participants (N = 98) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: self-awareness (private vs. public) and self-reflection (reflection vs. no-reflection). They were instructed to complete two successive online survival tasks that required analytical thinking and problem-solving skills. Findings demonstrated that participants in the private self-awareness condition performed better after writing a self-reflection than the no self-reflection condition. However, participants in the public self-awareness condition performed worse in the second task upon completion of their self-reflection compared with those that did not write a self-reflection. Additionally, a post-hoc linguistic analysis of the self-reflections illustrated that high-performers discussed their task completion using more cognitively complex language compared to low-performers.

Let's Peel the Onion Together: An Application of Schein's Model of Organizational Culture

Courses: Organizational Communication, Communication Theory, Introduction to Communication Objective: To illustrate the manifestation of cultural markers, espoused values, and basic assumptions in a real organizational context using Scheins Model of Organizational Culture.