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Social Science Computer Review
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Visualization of Group Members' Participation

How Information-Presentation Formats Support Information Exchange

Joachim Kimmerle

University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany, j.kimmerle{at}iwm-kmrc.de

Ulrike Cress

Knowledge Media Research Center, Tuebingen, Germany, u.cress{at}iwm-kmrc.de

Previous research has shown that people involved in a computer-mediated information-exchange situation are strongly influenced by the behavior of other participants. In order to avoid being exploited by the other group members, people use the current cooperation level of the rest of the group as an orientation for their own willingness to cooperate. In a highly cooperative group, this leads to a positive development. However, the question arises as to how a negative development can be dealt with, without reinforcing a mutual decline in cooperation. In order to empirically answer this question, the study reported here considers an idea from information-visualization research and experimentally varies information presentation formats. Results show that a cumulative information presentation format supports people's contribution behavior. Moreover, the highest cooperation rate was found for those individuals with a dispositionally high need to engage in social comparison in a situation with a cumulative group feedback format.

Key Words: visualization • participation • information exchange • group awareness • social comparison

Social Science Computer Review, Vol. 27, No. 2, 243-261 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0894439309332312
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