TY  - CHAP
AB  - Purpose A long-standing question is how group perception, which is the perception of a whole group, becomes an exaggerated perception of the individuals who comprise the group. The question receives scant attention within computer-mediated communication (CMC), which is increasingly a communication mode for groups and a research tool to study groups. I address this gap by examining bias in group perception when rating copresence, which is the sense of being together, with the group.Methodology/approach I model bias as occurring when perceivers differentially weigh ratings of individual group members on a variable while rating the whole group on the same variable. I analyzed how the degree of bias in participants’ ratings of copresence with a status-differentiated group varied by the availability of visual cues during CMC in an experiment. I also examined how the group’s status hierarchy impacted bias.Findings Bias increase as the availability of visual cues decreased and ratings of middle status members were weighed more in group perception than ratings of other members.Research limitations Middle status was based on possessing inconsistent statuses. Inconsistency, and not status position, may have rendered these members more salient than others.Social implications Interventions that target group perception may benefit from targeting the group’s middle status members. Researchers and practitioners can minimize bias in group perception through increasing the availability of visual cues in CMC.Originality/value The findings illustrate the underpinnings of copresence with an entire group. This is important because copresence shapes several group processes during CMC.
VL  - 34
SN  - 978-1-78743-192-8, 978-1-78743-193-5/0882-6145
DO  - 10.1108/S0882-614520170000034009
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/S0882-614520170000034009
AU  - Campos-Castillo Celeste
PY  - 2017
Y1  - 2017/01/01
TI  - Perceiving Groups During Computer-Mediated Communication
T2  - Advances in Group Processes
T3  - Advances in Group Processes
PB  - Emerald Publishing Limited
SP  - 199
EP  - 217
Y2  - 2024/04/19
ER  -