NONVERBAL CUES IN E-MAIL SUPPORTIVE COMMUNICATION

Abstract

In face-to-face contexts, the use of emotional nonverbal cues tends to increase support satisfaction. However, it is not known whether emotional nonverbal cues function in the same manner in supportive interactions conducted across e-mail. This article reports the findings of two empirical studies examining the association between nonverbal cues, support satisfaction, and communicator sex. Results indicate that female senders use more emotional nonverbal cues than do male senders, yet nonverbal cue usage is not associated with the recipient's support satisfaction. This suggests that emotional nonverbal cues expressed online may lose potency relative to such cues in offline contexts.

Keywords:

• sex differences
• computer-mediated communication
• nonverbal communication
• e-mail
• social support
• supportive communication