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Chronemic Cues and Sex Differences in Relational E-Mail: Perceiving Immediacy and Supportive Message Quality
Andrew M. Ledbetter, PhD*
Ohio State University
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: ledbette{at}ohio.edu.
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Abstract |
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Although major computer-mediated communication theories incorporate assumptions about
the potency of chronemic cues, the claim that chronemic cues shape online message interpretation has received little empirical attention. This article reports the results of two studies
designed to assess the influence of reply rate in benign and complex relational e-mail. Study
1 demonstrates that reply rate functions as an immediacy cue, with some evidence for overall
sex differences in the perception of e-mail. Nevertheless, Study 2 demonstrates that reply rate
is not directly associated with perceived quality of social support e-mail, instead finding a
three-way interaction between emotional empathy, participant sex, and reply rate on message
quality. Among the more important implications of these results is that although chronemic
cues are significantly associated with online message interpretation, obtained effect sizes suggest that the influence of these cues is not as potent as some dominant computer-mediated
communication theories imply.
First published on March 4, 2008, doi:10.1177/0894439308314812
Social Science Computer Review 2008;26:466.
A more recent version of this article appeared on November 1, 2008

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[Abstract]
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