Media effects on information sharing: A field experiment

Abstract

The purpose of this field experiment was to test hypotheses concerned with media effects on the ability to share and discuss information in administrative appeals hearings in the area of unemployment insurance. Three communication modes were compared: (a) face‐to‐face, the traditional mode; (b) split telephone, in which participants speak from locations convenient to each; and (c) office telephone, in which the agency representative is at one location and all other participants are located together at another agency office. Of the numerous tests conducted, few revealed significant differences among the three modes. These results corroborated findings from previous laboratory and field research: in‐person hearings compared favorably with the two telephone modes, and the split conference hearing tended to receive higher ratings than the office telephone configuration.