Attitude Change in Intercultural Interpersonal Computer-Mediated Communications

In this paper we tried to depict the effect of computer-mediated communication on attitude change in intercultural interpersonal communications. The researchers arranged 20 virtual informal deep interviews with non-Iranian interviewees who have been in contact with the researchers via the internet during the last 10 years. Despite the fact that their perceptions about Iranians years ago were very schematic in the first encounters with the researchers, the researchers recognized these attitudes had changed gradually during these years. Observing such a change in the daily communications, the researchers decided to share this ethno-methodological knowledge with their intellectual colleagues; so this paper started to be written systematically. First, in reference to Arbib, Conklin, and Hill, the researcher tried to discover the mechanisms of schema formation about Iranians in the minds of these interviewees. The researchers also classified the schematic perceptions- what Wood defines as Personal Constructs, Prototypes, Stereotypes, and Scripts- about Iranians. Second, an attempt was made to find out why these interviewees, with those pre-maintained negative attitudes about Iranians, became interested to interact with an Iranian on the internet. Next, they have been asked about their mental experiences of facing an Iranian, whose characteristics are in contrast to the prejudice they had maintained about Iranians. Finally, Affective-Cognitive Consistency Theory was used by Rosenberg and Abelson to explain how those stereotypical and prejudicial attitudes about Iranians have changed in the context of emotional give-and-takes in friendships.