E-mail misunderstanding

The Christian Science Monitor (May 15, 2006), published an article by Daniel Enemark on misunderstanding occurring in e-mail exchanges. A recent essay published by Nicholas Epley and Justin Kruger sheds light on some of its sources.

Enemark cites prof. Morris: "Though e-mail is a powerful and convenient medium, researchers have identified three major problems. First and foremost, e-mail lacks cues like facial expression and tone of voice. That makes it difficult for recipients to decode meaning well. Second, the prospect of instantaneous communication creates an urgency that pressures e-mailers to think and write quickly, which can lead to carelessness. Finally, the inability to develop personal rapport over e-mail makes relationships fragile in the face of conflict."

Misunderstanding occurs when communication means are perceived as immediate and close to spoken communication (even though they obviously are not). But clues present in spoken communication (paralinguistic features, facial expression, prosody and intonation, voice emotional features etc.) cannot be easily inferred by the written word, thus generating conflict and misperception of the writer's intentions. E-mails result often in ambiguity, as chat and instant messenging do. Irony, sarcasm, humour are only some of the most common misunderstanding sources. Furthermore in e-mail sender and recipient do not actually engage an informal dialogue (as they uncorrectly perceive) where a certain amount of potential misunderstaning can be negotiated and resolved by metalinguistic means and immediate clarification.

Textual analysis on actual e-mail exchanges is needed as well as psychological research on expectations of participants while engaging in e-mail, chat and messenging communication.

Isabella Chiari

References

"When What You Type Isn't What They Read: The Perseverance of Stereotypes and Expectancies over E-Mail." Nicholas Epley and Justin Kruger; Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 2005, 41(4), pp. 414. (picture above is taken from this research).

"Effects of emotional cues transmitted in e-mail communication on the emotions experienced by senders and receivers", Computers in Human Behavior, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 24 January 2006, Yuuki Kato, Shogo Kato and Kanji Akahori

"Some consequences of e-mail vs. face-to-face communication in experiment" Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Volume 35, Issue 3, 15 April 1998, Pages 389-403 Norman Frohlich and Joe Oppenheimer


Links

It's all about me: Why e-mails are so easily misunderstood, By Daniel Enemark, Christian Science Monitor.
E-mails and egos by By Lea Winerman, Monitor on Psychology.