Teorías y modelos de comunicación mediada por la tecnología 2/3 | 9/21 | UPV

Introduction to Media Synchronicity Theory

This section introduces the theory of media synchronicity as an evolution of previous theories on social presence and media richness.

Theory of Media Wealth

• The theory focuses on the task as the key element for selecting a medium, emphasizing two fundamental communication processes: transmission and convergence.

Transmission and Convergence Processes

• Transmission involves exchanging information followed by deliberation on its meaning, highlighting the importance of understanding others' viewpoints.

• Media synchronicity theory posits that aligning tool capacities with transmission and convergence processes enhances communication performance.

Key Capacities in Communication Tools

This section explores various capacities in communication tools that impact the communication process.

Variety of Symbols

• Refers to the ways information can be transferred within a tool, influencing the richness of communication.

Parallelism in Conversations

• Describes the number of simultaneous conversations a medium can support effectively, affecting group interaction based on size.

Immediacy of Response

• Measures how quickly a medium allows users to respond to feedback, enhancing understanding and correcting message transmission promptly.

Enhancing Communication Effectiveness

This section delves into factors like editability and reprocessability that contribute to effective communication.

Editability and Reprocessability

• Editability is crucial for complex messages, allowing for clearer understanding through enhanced editing capabilities.

• Reprocessability aids in repeated message processing for precise comprehension, particularly valuable in complex communications.

Optimizing Media Selection

Discusses how choosing appropriate media based on task requirements can enhance group communication effectiveness.

Selecting Suitable Media

• Differentiating between tools that facilitate transmission versus convergence processes is essential for effective group communication.

Balancing Immediacy and Parallelism

• Choosing media with appropriate immediacy and parallelism levels based on task needs can optimize synchronicity for different processes.

New Section

This section discusses how group dynamics and norms influence communication efficiency within different types of groups.

Factors Influencing Efficiency in Groups

• Situational factors can impact efficiency by altering perceptions of media wealth and communication tools over time.

• Mature groups tend to work separately on tasks with established norms, requiring less rich information exchanges for routine projects.

• Newly formed groups lack established norms, leading to the need for more complex processes for information transmission and convergence.

• Members of newly formed groups often require social interaction activities to work effectively together, facilitated by media with high social presence.

New Section

This part delves into the communication requirements of newly formed groups based on their dynamics and shared experiences.

Communication Requirements of Newly Formed Groups

• Newly formed groups necessitate high synchrony, feedback, and low parallelism in media usage due to evolving communication needs.

• Group perceptions about media usefulness evolve over time as members share experiences, leading to more agile group functioning.

• Over time, groups require less convergence processes and use less synchronous communication as they develop shared experiences.

New Section

The focus shifts towards understanding three key tools related to group performance and task-tool alignment.

Tools for Group Performance

• Social presence emphasizes task performance linked to interaction type (relational or activity-focused).

• Media richness theory suggests task performance improves when aligned with a tool's information transmission capacity.