Do You Get What I Mean?!? The Undesirable Outcomes of (Ab)Using Paralinguistic Cues in Computer-Mediated Communication

Abstract

The shift to working from home, which has intensified due to Covid-19, increased our reliance on communication technology and the need to communicate effectively via computer-mediated communication and especially via text. Paralinguistic cues, such as repeated punctuation, are used to compensate for the lack of non-verbal cues in text-based formats. However, it is unclear whether these cues indeed bridge the potential gap between the writer’s intentions and the reader’s interpretations. A pilot study and two experiments investigated the effect of using repeated punctuation on behavioral intention to assist an email writer in a work-related situation. Findings demonstrate that while the intentions behind using repeated punctuation relate to signaling situational importance or affective state, behavioral intentions are driven by dispositional rather than situational attributions. Specifically, the use of repeated punctuation reduces perceived competence of the message writer and consequently decreases positive behavioral intentions. Overall, the study challenges the simplified view of paralinguistic cues as communication facilitators, highlighting their potential harmful effects on impression formation and behavioral intentions in the digital age.

Corpus Linguistics on the Impression Management Strategy of Indonesian Public Officials after Covid-19 Denial Statements

“…space to facilitate the legitimacy of other interests. Furthermore, defining crisis as a threat indicates efforts to normalise a significant number of victims and losses (Sobral et al, 2020;Sidi, Glikson and Cheshin, 2021;Lanza et al, 2022).…”

“…The literature asserts the significance of impression management for managing crises, including the Covid-19 pandemic Sidi, Glikson and Cheshin, 2021;Talbot and Boiral, 2021;Carnevale and Gangloff, 2022;Ono, 2022). Therefore, it is important to investigate the process in which collective meaning is created from impression management because creating meaning is at the heart of leadership in a crisis.…”

“…This also includes questions relating to how leaders demonstrate their leadership style, how leaders develop a relationship with their followers, and how leaders objectively and subjectively define the crisis to gain the public's attention in order to carry out the mobilisation process. By focusing on the language that leaders use and the word choices they make, the political and psychological potential of the words they present to the public is instilled in the collective arrangement where they operate (Im, Kim and Miao, 2021;Sidi, Glikson and Cheshin, 2021). Language, including the word choices made by leaders, is also a reflection of their followers, particularly concerning how they understand and interpret the world (Craig and Brennan, 2012;Cruz, 2016;Vaičekauskienė, 2018).…”

Textual variations affect human judgements of sentiment values

“…Babii et al (2020) mentioned that number of exclamation marks may serve as as a marker for identifying emotion. A more recent study of Sidi et al (2021) examined repeated exclamation marks in a simulation, where they presented email with repeated exclamation marks and asked participants to interpret them. They concluded that females in their study tended to express their emotions using repeated punctuations more than males in their cohort (Sidi et al, 2021).…”

“…A more recent study of Sidi et al (2021) examined repeated exclamation marks in a simulation, where they presented email with repeated exclamation marks and asked participants to interpret them. They concluded that females in their study tended to express their emotions using repeated punctuations more than males in their cohort (Sidi et al, 2021). Moreover, the level of perceived sender happiness was higher for the participants who received the message with exclamation marks (Soderlund et al, 2021).…”