דיבורים ברשת: הקשר בין מאפייני אישיות, סוג אמצעי התקשורת ונושא השיחה לבין נכונותם של אנשים להשתתף בדיון סינכרוני מקוון

The development of instructional technology increases the use of
synchronous e-learning procedures which enable real-time student-instructor
and student-student interactions. The willingness to participate in group
discussions is affected by medium characteristics, discussion topic, and
participant personality. The two personality characteristics considered
influential in online behavior are extroversion-introversion and neuroticism.
The present study investigated readiness to participate in face-to-face
communication versus synchronous interaction through audio conferencing
and textual chat. Specifically, the study explored whether the willingness to
participate in group discussion relates to participant personality
(extroversion-introversion and neuroticism), medium characteristics, and type
of discussion topic. The data was collected by an online questionnaire which
was completed by 405 adult Israeli Internet users.
Results show that, generally, participants prefer conventional over sensitive
discussion topic; they also prefer face-to-face discussion rather than online
communication modes. It seems that participants' media preferences are
affected by their past experience in using audio conference and textual chat
communication. As hypothesized, participant personality affects the
willingness to partake in discussions: extroverts and participants with a low
level of neuroticism prefer taking part via a more revealing communication
medium; introverts and participants with a high level of neuroticism express
greater readiness for discussion via textual chat. Topic sensitivity interacts with
participant personality and type of medium, and adds to this trend. The study
results expand understanding of student behavior in synchronous e-learning.