Optimism: Individual Contribution and the Inability to Accurately Perceive Optimism in Virtual Communication

Abstract

Authors from m ultiple disciplines have discussed the im portance o f
personality/ attributes an d the effect these attributes have on group
experiences an d the overlying im pact o f personality on organizational
perform ance. Seventy-four five-person team s (equally divided into fa c e
to face, WebCf, an d em ail groups) each analyzed three m anagerial cases
in this study. Using two previously validated instruments (LOT-R an d
PGOT), the study confirm s that traditional fa c e to fa c e group m em bers
can accurately identify> the level o f optim ism in a group. Further, the
study fin d s that m em bers o f technology driven (m ediated) virtual
groups (both WebCT an d Email) lack the ability to identify the level o f
optim ism in a group.