Effects of Conversational Involvement Cues on Understanding and Emotions in Instant Messaging Conversations

Abstract

In today’s multitasking workplace, conversations are often carried out amid other tasks. This article explores how multitasking affects people’s levels of involvement or engagement in their conversations, and how levels of involvement in turn influence people’s language, understanding, and affective responses to the conversation. We manipulated participants’ levels of involvement in instant messaging conversations using a distraction task (an online game). We found that the distraction task lowered communication involvement. In addition, higher levels of involvement (both of the participant and of the partner) had a positive effect on understanding, emotions, and satisfaction. Moreover, a partner’s verbal cues of involvement, such as assent words and definite articles, influenced participants’ communication outcomes. We conclude by suggesting design features that might allow people to maintain appropriate levels of involvement during instant messaging conversations.