The effect of reticence on college students’ use of electronic mail to communicate with faculty

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether reticent and non‐reticent college students differed in their use of e‐mail, motives for employing e‐mail, and preferred channel of communication with faculty. Results indicated that, although reticent and non‐reticent students did not differ in their frequency of using e‐mail to communicate with faculty, reticent students reported greater comfort and ease in using e‐mail as opposed to oral communication channels than non‐reticents. In addition, compared to non‐reticents, reticent students expressed a greater preference for using e‐mail over speaking to faculty at their offices.

Keywords:

• reticence
• computer‐mediated communication
• electronic mail
• student‐teacher communication