Persuade him by email, but see her in person: Online persuasion revisited

This study replicated and expanded on earlier research on gender differences in the evaluation of computer-mediated persuasive messages. Participants discussed a counter-attitudinal topic with a same-gender confederate. Those participants made to feel a sense of shared identity (high oneness) with the communicator were the most favorable toward the proposal whereas those participants made to feel a distinct identity (low oneness) were the least favorable. However, the results were different for men and women depending on communication modality. Cognitive responses indicated that men engaged in a more rational evaluation of the persuasive message in the email condition, even when the communicator and recipient did not share an identity. Thus, one implication of this research is that email may be an effective route for men to use for interacting with one another if they share no mutual identity. ! 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.