Media naturalness theory is also known as the psychobiological model. The theory was developed by Ned Kock and attempts to apply Darwinian evolutionary principles to suggest which types of computer-mediated communication will best fit innate human communication capabilities. Media naturalness theory argues that natural selection has resulted in face-to-face communication becoming the most effective way for two people to exchange information. The theory has been applied to human communication outcomes in various contexts, such as: education, knowledge transfer, communication in virtual environments, e-negotiation, business process improvement, trust and leadership in virtual teamwork, online learning, maintenance of distributed relationships, performance in experimental tasks using various media, and modular production. Its development is also consistent with ideas from the field of evolutionary psychology. The media naturalness theory builds on the media richness theory's arguments that face-to-face interaction is the richest type of communication medium by providing an evolutionary explanation for the face-to-face medium's degree of richness. Media naturalness theory argues that since ancient hominins communicated primarily face-to-face, evolutionary pressures since that time have led to the development of a brain that is consequently adapted for that form of communication. Kock points out that computer-mediated communication is far too recent a phenomenon to have had the time necessary to shape human cognition and language capabilities via natural selection. In turn, Kock argues that using communication media that suppress key elements found in face-to-face communication, as many electronic communication media do, ends up posing cognitive obstacles to communication, and particularly in the case of complex tasks (e.g., business process redesign, new product development, online learning), because such tasks seem to require more intense communication over extended periods of time than simple tasks.
Medium naturalness The naturalness of a communication medium is defined by Kock as the degree of similarity of the medium with the face-to-face medium. The face-to-face medium is presented as the medium enabling the highest possible level of communication naturalness, which is characterized by the following five key elements: (1) a high degree of co-location, which would allow the individuals engaged in a communication interaction to see and hear each other; (2) a high degree of synchronicity, which would allow the individuals to quickly exchange communicative stimuli; (3) the ability to convey and observe facial expressions; (4) the ability to convey and observe body language; and (5) the ability to convey and listen to speech. Media naturalness theory predicts that any electronic communication medium allowing for the exchange of significantly less or more communicative stimuli per unit of time than the face-to-face medium will pose cognitive obstacles to communication. In other words, media naturalness theory places the face-to-face medium at the center of a one-dimensional scale of naturalness, where deviations to the left or right are associated with decreases in naturalness (see Figure 1).
Electronic media that enable the exchange of significantly more communicative stimuli per unit of time than the face-to-face medium are classified by media naturalness theory as having a lower degree of naturalness than the face-to-face medium. As such, those media are predicted to be associated with higher cognitive effort; in this case due primarily to a phenomenon known as information overload, which is characterized by individuals having more communicative stimuli to process than they are able to.
Main predictions Media naturalness effects on cognitive effort, communication ambiguity, and physiological arousal. Media naturalness theory's main prediction is that, other things being equal, a decrease in the degree of naturalness of a communication medium leads to the following effects in connection with communication interactions in complex tasks: (a) an increase in cognitive effort, (b) an increase in communication ambiguity, and (c) a decrease in physiological arousal. Naturalness of electronic communication media. Electronic communication media often suppress key face-to-face communication elements, with the goal of creating other advantages. For example, Web-based bulletin boards and discussion groups enable asynchronous (or time-disconnected) communication, but at the same time make it difficult to have the same level of feedback immediacy found in face-to-face communication. That often leads to frustration from users who expect immediate feedback on their postings. The high importance of speech. Media naturalness theory predicts that the degree to which an electronic communication medium supports an individual's ability to convey and listen to speech is particularly significant in determining its naturalness. The theory predicts, through its speech imperative proposition, that speech enablement influences naturalness significantly more than a medium's degree of support for the use of facial expressions and body language. Compensatory adaptation. According to media naturalness theory, electronic communication media users can adapt their behavior in such a way as to overcome some of the limitations of those media. That is, individuals who choose to use electronic communication media to accomplish complex collaborative tasks may compensate for the cognitive obstacles associated with the lack of naturalness of the media. One of the ways in which this can be achieved through email is by users composing messages that are redundant and particularly well organized, compared to face-to-face communication. This often contributes to improving the effectiveness of communication, sometimes even beyond that of the face-to-face medium.
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