Abstract
This paper reports the second experiment in a series investigating the effects of video
delay on emotions and communication outcomes. Drawing on theory about the effects of
temporal coordination, we hypothesized that even a small delay in visual and auditory
feedback through a video communication system could produce changes in emotion and
communication outcomes, and that this effect is moderated by an individual’s level of
involvement while performing the task. Our operationalization of involvement accounted
for situational, enduring, rational, and affective types of involvement. We also explored the
effect of one, two, and four second delays on the outcome variables. Results showed that,
when discussing political topics, highly involved individuals experienced significantly less
communication satisfaction and positive emotion in the delay condition, and that this effect
was stronger with longer delays. Lowly involved individuals were generally less affected by
the delay, although they did report increased negative emotion. Implications for this
construction of involvement are discussed.
2
Convention