They organize their research by building on a 40 year tradition of experimental work on small group behavior carried out by social psychologists. The results of Sproull, Kiesler and their colleagues extends that tradition to give useful insights into these newer forms of electronic group work. For example, small group researchers have found that groups are much more apt to make riskier decisions than individual members would when they act alone. Electronic groups are not as dominated by the amount of talk generated by the higher status participants. But participants get less ongoing feedback in body language, and consequently, do not exhibit as much conventional behavior.
Participants are polite with each other, and take more extreme positions.
Further, electronic communicants do not see symbols of the social status of a meetings' participants, and consequently are less constrained by them. We find this argument interesting, but not completely convincing. Blank paper provides no more social cues than do computer screens. But people often embellish paper and screens with clues about their status and orientations. As a discussion continues, people learn about other's perceptions.