Face-to-Face Communication over the Internet: Emotions in a Web of Culture, Language, and Technology(Studies in Emotion and Social Interaction)

Social platforms such as MySpace, Facebook and Twitter have rekindled the initial excitement of cyberspace. Text-based, computer-mediated communication has been enriched with face-to-face communication such as Skype, as users move from desktops to laptops with integrated cameras and related hardware. Age, gender and culture barriers seem to have crumbled and disappeared as the user base widens dramatically. Other than simple statistics relating to e-mail usage, chatrooms and blog subscriptions, we know surprisingly little about the rapid changes taking place. This book assembles leading researchers on nonverbal communication, emotion, cognition and computer science to summarize what we know about the processes relevant to face-to-face communication as it pertains to telecommunication, including video-conferencing. The authors take stock of what has been learned regarding how people communicate, in person or over distance, and set the foundations for solid research helping to understand the issues, implications and possibilities that lie ahead.

Table of Contents:
Introduction. Electronically-mediated face-to-face communication: issues, questions, and challenges Arvid Kappas and Nicole C. Krämer; Part I. General Aspects of Visual Cues in CMC: 1. Visual cues in computer-mediated communication: sometimes less is more Joseph B. Walther; 2. To be seen or not to be seen: the presentation of facial information in everyday telecommunications José-Miguel Fernández-Dols and Pilar Carrera; 3. Gendered social interactions in face-to-face and computer-mediated communication Agneta Fischer; Part II. Video- and Avatar-Based Communication: 4. Nonverbal communication and cultural differences: issues for face-to-face communication over the internet Pio Enrico Ricci Bitti and Pier Luigi Garotti; 5. Video-linking emotions Brian Parkinson and Martin Lea; 6. Impact of social anxiety on the processing of emotional information in video-mediated interaction Pierre Philippot and Céline Douilliez; 7. Facing the future: emotion communication and the presence of others in the age of video-mediated communication Antony S. R. Manstead, Martin Lea and Jeannine Goh; 8. Virtual gestures: embodiment and non-verbal behavior in computer-mediated communication Gary Bente and Nicole C. Krämer; Part III. Emotions and Visual Cues in HCI: 9. Emotions in human-computer interaction Veikko Surakka and Toni Vanhala; 10. Embodiment and expressive communication on the internet Elisabeth Oberzaucher, Karl Grammer and Susanne Schmeh.

About the Author :
Arvid Kappas is Professor of Psychology in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Jacobs University Bremen. Nicole C. Krämer is Professor of Social Psychology, Media and Communication at the University Duisburg, Essen.

Review :
'This book brings together important chapters for anyone seriously interested in Internet mediated face-to-face social interaction. It is comprehensive, bringing together the thoughts and research of major scholars in this area. It makes the jobs of those creating such virtual interactions whether to further technological development, investigate social interaction experimentally or to create entertainment much more efficiently. I highly recommend it.' Jim Blascovich, Director, Research Center for Virtual Environments and Behavior, University of California, Santa Barbara 'The Internet and social medial have revolutionized people's communication in the workplace and in their daily lives. This fascinating and timely collection brings together some of the foremost scholars in the areas of new media and emotions and does so in a most novel way. It is 'must' reading for students of nonverbal, interpersonal, mass and mediated communication and psychology.' Judee K. Burgoon, Professor of Communication, Family Studies, and Human Development, University of Arizona