Main effect of “you” category words, F(2, 333)= 24.52, p <.001. Main effect of “they” category words, F(2, 333) = 7.86, p <.001. This study provides a first glimpse into how interaction partners develop a mutual understanding for each other (i.e., develop LSS) during their initial interactions through computer-mediated interactions. Future Directions Longitudinal study designs to investigate LSS across longer periods of time. This would answer several follow-up questions: at what point during the interaction does LSS cease to decline and begin to stabilize? Does LSS return to its initial levels after a certain amount of interaction? Or, is the high level of LSS that is achieved in the initial stages of interaction unique to only that period? Does the amount of information dyads have about each other prior to their interaction affect the development of LSS? If dyad members were provided with their interaction partner’s picture, demographic information, or interests/hobbies prior to their interaction (e.g., online dating), would this facilitate the development of LSS? Would more attractive interaction partners maintain higher LSS throughout their interaction than less attractive interaction partners? How do different relationship dynamics influence the development of LSS? RESULTS DISCUSSION Measuring Latent Semantic Similarity in Initial Online Dyadic Interactions Vivian Ta 1 & William Ickes 1 1 Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX PREVIOUS RESEARCH METHOD Babcock, Ta, & Ickes (2014) Established LSS as a measure of shared meaning between interaction partners. The level of LSS that the dyad members achieved was positively correlated with: How much they talked to each other How much they looked at each other How much they acknowledged each other, both verbally and nonverbally Latent Semantic Analysis Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) is an automated statistical method that determines the contextual meaning of a text by examining relationships among words (Landauer & Dumais, 1997). The LSA Pairwise Comparison program can be used to compare two blocks of text to estimate the overall degree of semantic similarity between the two texts (i.e., the Latent Semantic Similarity index). The LSS index ranges from -1 to +1 with higher indices indicating higher levels of latent semantic similarity. lsa.colorado.edu Participants 120 dyads(all strangers) 77 FF dyads 43 MM dyads Procedure Participants arrived at two separate lab spaces each equipped with a computer Completed demographic survey and BFI Participants chatted with another participant who was also participating in the study using AOL Instant Messenger for 18 minutes Completed Post-Interaction Questionnaire Transcripts of chat conversations were saved and run through the LSA program Method Mixed model ANOVA Gender composition: between-dyads factor Dyad-level LSS score for each 3 time periods: within- dyads factor Main effects of time period (within-dyads factor) and gender composition (between-dyads factor) and time period X gender composition were tested in this model Word count per period: covariate Ta, Babcock, & Ickes (in press) Replicated and extended Babcock et al. (2014). Talking and asking questions was the only unique predictor of LSS. Nonverbal behaviors (e.g., looking, smiling, acknowledging, and gesturing) are not essential to partners coming to use words in the same way. The exchange of words in conversation is all that is needed for the development of LSS (i.e., shared meaning) in the initial, unstructured interactions of strangers. Based on the findings of Ta et al. (in press), it was hypothesized that dyad-level LSS is expected to increase over time in the initial online conversations of strangers. Across time, dyads should (1) engage more in behaviors that add words to the conversation, and (2) take advantage of accumulating opportunities to sample each other’s word choices and align their own word choices and intended meanings to achieve higher LSS with their interaction partner, thus increasing their level of LSS across time. Each dyad’s interaction will be divided into three equal stages of interaction (i.e., the first 6 minutes, middle 6 minutes, and final 6 minutes) LSS index score will be generated for each of these three stages. HYPOTHESIS Significant main effect for: Gender, F(1,145.80) = 4.34, p =.04 Time, F(2, ) = 14.06, p <.001 Why does LSS decrease, rather than increase, over time? Compensation Effect: Perhaps strangers work harder to achieve an acceptable level of LSS at the beginning of their online interaction. As soon as they feel their LSS is sufficient (though not optimal) to sustain the conversation, their efforts to achieve an acceptable level of LSS are relaxed-- thus, LSS decreases To test the compensation effect: examine the content of chat logs (using LIWC software) during the first 6-minute interaction period; is there evidence of dyads trying harder to get in sync linguistically than they are in the two subsequent interaction periods? Prediction: Higher frequencies of “you” category words in the first 6-minutes than in subsequent interaction periods; lower frequency of “they” category words in first 6-minutes than subsequent periods. *p <.05 **p <.001 * * ** Suggests that dyad members are directly involving their interaction partner in their conversation and are asking each other more questions initially in order to maximize their level of LSS and to reduce the level of uncertainty in their interaction. Suggests that dyads switch from directly involving their interaction partner in their conversation to talking about others once they have achieved an acceptable level of LSS at the beginning of their online interaction. INTRODUCTION