Does Uncertainty Reduction Facilitate the Perceptual Disconfirmation of Negative Expectancies in Computer-Mediated Communication?: A Test of Two Models

Abstract

This study tests two models of perceptual disconfirmation. Perceptual disconfirmation occurs when individuals have a negative expectation regarding their future conversation partners’ demeanor, but after conversing with and influencing their partners’ behavior, individuals’ assessment of their partners’ demeanor becomes more positive. This effect is, so far, novel to computer-mediated communication: When individuals with similar expectancies get acquainted using phone or face-to-face channels their negative preinteraction expectancies persist and assessments remain unchanged. This experiment explored the extent to which questions and disclosures, and partners’ disclosive responses, mediated perceptual disconfirmation. Individuals were led to believe that a dyadic conversation partner was either in a bad mood (negative and malleable expectation) or had a bad personality (negative and nonmalleable expectation). After a 30-min online conversation to get acquainted, perceptual disconfirmation emerged, although the verbal strategies did not mediate the effect. This study raises new questions about the process by which individuals who have negative expectancies of their future conversation partners defy these negative expectations and shift their attitudes to become more positive online.