Assessing a Measure of Social Emotional Interaction in Face-to-Face and Computer-Mediated Communication Using the IPA

Groups generally perform better when they are able to establish a high level of group cohesion. It is commonly accepted that this status can be reached by establishing a positive social emotional environment in the group. In the field of Group Support Systems (GSS) many studies tried to compare the establishment of social emotional interactions among members in face-to-face and computer-mediated environments often providing contrasting results. The results of a laboratory experiments are here presented. The main goal of the experiment is to provide inferences on the assessment of social emotional interactions in the face-to-face (F2F) and computer-mediated communication (CMC). The data has been analysed coding members’ comments using a slightly modified version of the Bales’ Interaction Process Analysis (IPA). The results assess the F2F communication as creating higher social emotional interactions.