Effects of Social Interaction on Performance and Mood State during Computer-Based Data Entry Work

Abstract

The effects of social interaction on performance and mood state were investigated for computer-based data entry work. A highly repetitive, screen-based, numeric data entry task was performed in a laboratory environment. Experienced data entry workers (N=16) performed the task under social and nonsocial conditions. Pairs of subjects worked at adjacent workstations in both conditions. During the nonsocial condition a room divider prevented visual contact and conversation was not permitted. During the social condition visual contact and conversation were permitted. Each condition consisted of three, 40-min work periods separated by 10-min rest breaks away from the workstation. The two subjects entered lines of data which had the same or an unequal number of characters so that interactions between task similarity and social/nonsocial conditions could be evaluated. Keystroke output, error rate, and the number of character corrections with the backspace key were scored for each work period. In addition, a survey of mood state was administered before and after each work period. Data analyses indicated that tension, irritation, perceived stress and error rate were less in the social condition. No effect on total keystroke output or backspace use was found in the social condition. No interaction between task similarity conditions and social/nonsocial conditions was found. These results suggest that social interaction during data entry work can benefit worker well-being and error rate performance without significantly affecting keystroke output. These results have implications for the design of work environments for data entry workers.