Abstract

A common challenge in many situations of computer-supported collaborative learning is increasing the willingness of those involved to share their knowledge with other group members. As a prototypical situation of computer-supported information exchange, a shared-database setting was chosen for the current study. This information-exchange situation represented a social dilemma: while the contribution of information to a shared database induced costs and provided no benefit for the individual, the entire group suffered when all members decided to withhold information. In order to alleviate the information-exchange dilemma, a group-awareness tool was employed. It was hypothesized that participants would use group awareness for self-presentational purposes. For the examination of this assumption, the personality variable "protective self-presentation" (PSP) was measured. An interaction effect of group awareness and PSP was found: when an awareness tool provided information concerning the contribution behavior of each individual, this tool was used as a self-presentation opportunity. In order to understand this effect in more detail, single items of the PSP-scale were analyzed.

Citation

Kimmerle, J. & Cress, U. (2008). Group Awareness and Self-Presentation in Computer-Supported Information Exchange. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 3(1), 85-97. Retrieved August 12, 2024 from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/105878/.

This record was imported from ERIC on April 19, 2013. [Original Record]

ERIC is sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education.

Copyright for this record is held by the content creator. For more details see ERIC's copyright policy.

Keywords

• computer mediated communication
• Computer Uses in Education
• Cooperation
• Cooperative learning
• databases
• educational technology
• Group Behavior
• Group Dynamics
• Information Transfer
• Measures (Individuals)
• Sharing Behavior
• Social Problems