In-person, video conference, or audio conference? Examining individual and dyadic information processing as a function of communication system

The wide use of virtual communication has raised a need to understand its effect on communication effectiveness and the ways its different forms influence users’ information processing. To that end, this study proposes the Dynamical Interpersonal Communication Systems Model and posits that the amount of information directly perceived affects individual and dyadic information processing. This proposition is tested by examining how visual information influences physiological patterns, known to underlie information processing, during in-person, video, and audio-only conferences. Results indicate that while audio-only communication sustained emotional intensity better, visual-based communication required less initial cognitive effort. Visual information in combination with physical presence (in-person communication) resulted in consistently lower cognitive effort and stronger synchronization of positive emotions, compared to contexts involving visual but without embodied information (video communication). This study shows the importance of investigating interpersonal communication simultaneously across multiple systems and at the intra- and inter-personal levels.