The Computer-Mediated Online Round Robin (CMORR): An Online Method for Studying Impressions and Social Interactions

Abstract

Research on impressions and social interactions has predominately examined perceptions of artificial stimuli or those made by convenience samples of undergraduates. In the present work, we introduce and validate a new experimental method, the Computer-Mediated Online Round Robin (CMORR), with the aim of providing researchers a tool to extend the study of inter- personal phenomena to more diverse populations. We describe the method and provide guidance for future CMORR studies. We collected CMORR data from an undergraduate sample (N = 171), and compared the structure and accuracy of impressions of Big Five personality trait to two in-person studies; one with group interactions (N = 225), one with dyadic interactions (N = 511), and meta-analytic estimates from the literature. The results showed a general correspondence between impressions formed in online interactions and in in-person contexts. The findings support using CMORR to study general questions about impressions and social interactions.