Reticence and Communication Preferences in the Classroom: Comparing "E-mail" and "Face-to-face" Interactions

Abstract

This study examines underlying factors that influence undergraduate students' willingness to enhance communication with their instructor by comparing the frequency of e-mail and face-to-face interaction between students and instructors. Data was collected through a survey of 322 undergraduate journalism students at a large Midwestern university. The findings showed that the more passive students were in expressing their opinion during the class, the less likely they were to send e-mails to their instructor p < .01) or to communicate with their instructor face-to-face p < .01). The findings also showed that the more students described their personality as "shy," the less likely they were to e-mail their instructor p < .05) or communicate with their instructor face-to-face p < .01). It is noteworthy that the degrees of both passivity and shyness had a more negative effect on the probability of face-to-face interaction than they did on email interaction. In summary, email usage follows similar broader patterns of social interaction, rather than introducing a different trend in communication. This finding implies that the importance of e-mail should not be exaggerated as a communication tool for reticent students.