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Dissertation Information for T. Andrew Finn

NAME:
- T. Andrew Finn

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Social Psychology

SCHOOL:
- Washington University in St. Louis (USA) (1983)

ADVISORS:
- None

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- None

MPACT Status: Incomplete - Inspected

Title: PROCESS AND STRUCTURE IN COMPUTER-MEDIATED GROUP COMMUNICATION

Abstract: "This study examines the effect of group process on performance in computer-mediated group discussions. The theoretical framework views performance as a function of both group resources and process. It is hypothesized that the use of organizing strategies (i.e., group process) related to agenda setting, to the demands of the specific task, and to the demands of the specific medium are all related to the performance measures of consensus and decision quality.

Transcripts generated in 24 five-person group discussions of a standard rank-order problem solving task in an earlier study of computer conferencing provide the data base for the present analyses. Measures of the theoretically relevant dimensions of organizing processes are constructed for each group discussion in the original experiment. These organizing strategies are analyzed for effects on the group performance measures. Multiple regression analysis is employed to control the effects of certain group resources and to assess the unique effect of each organizing strategy on group performance.

The results provide limited support for the notion that organizing enhances group performance in computer-mediated communication. Task-specific organizing was found to be positively related to decision quality, while organizing tailored to the medium was found to be negatively related to decision quality. Organizing the agenda was positively related to group consensus. These effects are reliable when controlling for the initial level of decision quality or consensus in each group. No other significant effects on performance were found for any of the process measures investigated.

Group resources such as the degree of previous experience with computer terminals and the presence of females in the group were also significantly related to consensus.

These results call into question the importance of organizing strategies in computer conferencing. The failure of these organizing strategies to be significant determinants of group performance is addressed in terms of the appropriateness of the theoretical framework, the specific measures of group process employed, and the particular nature of the computer conferences analyzed in this study."

MPACT Scores for T. Andrew Finn

A = 0
C = 2
A+C = 2
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-01-31 06:10:41

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