SIPT and Uncertainty Reduction 2
Uncertainty Reduction over Time in Initial Stranger Interactions:
A Social Information Processing Theory Approach
The arrival of new communication technologies is often closely followed by questions and
concerns about the potential effects that technology will have on its users (Wartella & Reeves,
1985). One of the most prominent examples of this concern in recent decades is the Internet, with
questions arising about this technology’s influence on human interaction. A great deal of interest in
both the positive and negative effects the Internet has had on its users followed its arrival as a
communication channel (e.g., Bargh & McKenna, 2004).
As a large and somewhat amorphous channel, the Internet has great potential to impact
communication in many ways. Tasks such as information seeking, entertainment, and commerce
all can be completed though utilization of the Internet. However, another basic and common use of
the Internet is interpersonal communication (Kraut, Mukhopadhyay, Szczypula, Kiesler, &
Scherlis, 2000; Stafford, Kline, & Dimmick, 1999). The potential for internet technology to bring
about fundamental changes to the communication process seems especially likely for interpersonal
communication due to the paucity of nonverbal cues generally offered in online communication
technology (Walther & Parks, 2002). However, in contrast to many early approaches that
suggested social interaction would not be possible online, evidence suggests that the Internet is rife
with such interaction (e.g., Merkle & Richardson, 2000; Parks & Floyd, 1996; Parks and Roberts,
1998).
Other research has found that online relationships can be just as meaningful and rewarding
as offline relationships (Chan & Cheng, 2004; Mesch & Talmud, 2006). For example, Mesch and
Talmud found that when duration of relationship was controlled for, there was no effect of channel
(online vs. offline) on relational quality among Israeli adolescents. Although the Mesch and
Convention