| Chapter 2: | Chatrooms and Small Group Learning |
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2.2.2 Behavioral Features of Chat Conversations
Of the many changes that occur when conversations take place in text-based chatrooms, disinhibition holds some of the most interesting implications for the design of new learning environments for education. Briefly, there is considerable evidence to suggest that behaviors in chatrooms and other online environments tend to be less constrained by social inhibitions when compared with interaction in other media (Kiesler, Siegel, & McGuire, 1984; Lea & Spears, 1991; Joinson, 1998; Postmes & Spears, 1998; Spears, Lea, & Postmes, 2001; Joinson, 2003). Online, interlocutors tend to be less aware of power hierarchies (Dubrovsky, Kiesler, & Sethna, 1991; Sproull & Kiesler, 1991). They tend to reveal much more personal information than in other media (Weisband & Kiesler, 1996; Joinson, 2001a, 2001b; Tidwell & Walther, 2002). They provide help in more altruistic ways (Kollock & Smith, 1996; Kollock, 1999; Markey, 2000).
Throughout this book, I look at the implications of disinhibition for educational discussions. On the one hand, disinhibition in educational chat environments seems to lead to greater equity (Sproull & Kiesler, 1991; Beauvois, 1997; Warschauer, 1997) and increased intellectual risk-taking (Kern, 1995; Pellettieri, 2000). On the other hand, there is evidence that disinhibition easily leads to negative forms of interaction, such as flaming (Dery, 1993; Joinson, 2003). Before dealing with the implications of disinhibition, however, it is useful to review one of the current theories of why these behavioral changes occur.