Effects of Source and Participant Anonymity and Difference in Initial Opinions in an EMS Context*
通过实验室实验，研究了电子会议系统中来源匿名和参与者匿名对参与度、满意度和讨论后一致性的影响，发现匿名效果取决于匿名类型和初始意见的异同。
ABSTRACT This laboratory experiment studied the effects of source and participant anonymity, and differences in initial opinions in an electronic meeting system (EMS) context. Results indicated that (a) inhibition to participate did not mediate the effect of anonymity on participation as suggested in prior deindividuation and EMS literature; and (b) the effect of anonymity on participation, satisfaction, and postdiscussion agreement depended on the level and type of anonymity involved and whether initial opinions among group members were similar or different. A mechanism that suggests that anonymity may cause participants to focus more on their task by turning attention away from other participants partly accounts for the effects of source and participant anonymity on participation in this study. Future work should focus on determining how different types and levels of anonymity influence process and outcomes in different types of groups.