Social Information Processing Theory

The social information processing theory (SIP) explains how communicators who meet through text-based computer-mediated communication (CMC) develop interpersonal impressions and relationships. Introduced in 1992 by Joseph Walther, SIP provides an explanation for how aspects of the communication process interact with technological features of media to foster the development of affinity and attraction in online [Page 898]environments. Since then, the theory has been utilized to explain online impression- and relationship-formation processes across a variety of social and task contexts including international workgroups, dating sites, and social networking venues.

Similar to social penetration theory and uncertainty reduction theory, SIP explains relationship development. However, SIP employs verbal and temporal cues as central influences on relationship formation. The theory uses both sets of cues as parameters under which communication and technology may combine to produce impersonal, interpersonal, or hyperpersonal relationships. Recent developments in testing SIP have identified factors that provide motivation for SIP processes.

Prior to its introduction in the early 1990s, the predominantly held view was that relationship formation via CMC formats was not possible because they provided only one channel for interaction—text (or verbal). This supposed deficiency, particularly when compared to the multitude of channels inherent in face-to-face (FtF) interaction, led to the creation of several similar theoretical positions espousing its negative effects on messages and interpersonal relations. Termed collectively as the cues-filtered-out perspectives, the positions assumed the presence of nonverbal cues was a necessary condition in order to form positive impressions of and warm relationships with others online; restricting access to said cues—as text-based formats do—was thought to be an inherent drawback of CMC, thereby making such tools less useful for pursuing social goals. Thus, early perspectives assumed a deterministic link between the number of nonverbal cues made available by a medium and the type of communication it produced: Fewer cues equaled less affiliative and warm communication. SIP offered an alternative perspective.