Force-Feedback in computer-mediated communication.

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of force-feedback in computer-mediated communication. Participants completed a screen-based maze task with an alleged remote participant in a 2 (task characteristics: cooperative vs. competitive) by 2 (modality: haptic/force-feedback vs. visual) balanced, between-participants experiment. There were a number of cross-over interactions. In the competitive task, participants felt more powerful and more positively overall when interacting through force-feedback than when interacting visually. They also liked the other participant more and trusted them more. The opposite results were obtained for the cooperating participants. Implications for including force-feedback in computermediated communication are outlined.