I have seen many people talk on the DC++ chat option before but never thought to enter the conversation myself. For those who are confused about the online space I entered, THCHUB on DC++ is the Cornell hub for peer to peer downloading. There is a chat option that allows you to interact with other people who are also online at the same time.
I entered in the midst of several conversations with a simple hi. At first I was ignored which was understandable since I was a newbie and was not adding much to the conversation. After being ignored for a while, I decided to take another approach. I jumped into one of the ongoing conversations about how to beat a certain level of some computer game I had never even heard of. My suggestion (that the person look up cheats on Google) was not appreciated much but it did get someone talking to me.
Before I even looked at what the person wrote back to me, I looked at his/her screen name to get an initial impression. The screen name was 007trayn. Automatically, I assumed that the person was a James Bond fan. This led to my thinking of the person as someone who loved action, violence and movies.
In response to my wayward comment, 007trayn replied that I was obviously someone who did not appreciate the true value of beating video games with hard work. I replied stating that I wasn't one who spent a lot of time playing video games so I didn't really see the difference between beating it one way or the other. This angered her/him into going into a spiel about how people "like me" did not appreciate the time and effort people put into not only creating the game but discovering small nuances about the game that allowed a player to beat it. Just based on this quick 5 minute conversation, I felt as if I had enough information about him/her.
We talked about five traits; Neuroticism, Openness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. Based on my first impression about this person, I would state that the person is not very extraverted due to the fact that he/she obviously spends a lot of time playing video games (often a one man activity). He/she was definitely rude and not open to the fact that people have a variety of opinions on video games (Agreeableness and Openness). As to neuroticism and conscientiousness, I did not get enough information to make a valid judgment.
My findings prove the hyperpersonal theory. I over attributed the few cues I was able to attain through the medium to stereotypical views of the stranger. I definitely have a strong, negative impression of the person I conversed with. This was due to the fact that I had very few non verbal cues to work with. There was also behavioral confirmation since I perceived my partner to be someone who was nerdy and loved video games, he/she started to exhibit those characteristics stronger than before.
2 comments:
Hey Radhika,
From what you've written here, it seems as if 007trayn also had developed some strong impressions of you as well. By outright claiming that you don't appreciate the hard work that is required in completing a game, in what appears to be cold remarks, after a single comment on taking a shortcut, he/she must have had some strong negative impressions of you as well.
Also, I believe your impressions of 007trayn was of the hyperpersonal model. You attributed stereotypes immediately after reading the screen name and initial remark. It's pretty amazing how our minds pick up so quickly on the online mannerisms and develop stereotypes. Very interesting post!
Radhika,
Like you, I entered the world of online gaming. I had never played online computer games, and I only knew about the game I chose to investigate by watching a television show. After reading your post, I realize that my original interpretation of my interaction was not whole or complete. I thought of my interaction as coinciding with the CFO theory, yet I am glad that I read your post. Your reasoning for the hyperpersonal model is convincing and makes more sense to me now. While I did make negative, underdeveloped opinions about the character I interacted with, I also now realize that I used the information I got throughout the interaction to make stereotypes about him. Therefore, I would like to thank you for opening my eyes wider to help me interpret and understand the hyperpersonal model.
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