Evolutionary Psychology and Information Systems Research (eBook)

Ned Kock (full name: Nereu Florencio Kock) is Professor of Information Systems in the Division of International Business and Technology Studies, A.R. Sanchez, Jr. School of Business, Texas A&M International University. Ned also serves as the Director of the Collaborative for International Technology Studies (CITS), VP for Public Relations and former Founding President of the South Texas Information Management Society (STIMS), Founding Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of e-Collaboration (IJeC), and Associate Editor for Information Systems of the journal IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication (IEEE TPC).   He holds a B.E.E. in electronics engineering from the Federal Technological University of Parana at Curitiba, Brazil, a M.Sc. in computer science from the Institute of Aeronautical Technology, Brazil, and a Ph.D. in management with a concentration in information systems from the School of Management Studies, University of Waikato, New Zealand. Ned's Ph.D. research analyzed the impact of asynchronous e-collaboration technologies on business process improvement groups.

Preface 5
Contents 7
Contributors 9
About the Editor 12
About the Authors 14
Part I Theoretical and Conceptual Issues 22
1 Evolutionary Psychology and Information Systems Theorizing 23
1 Introduction 23
2 Darwins Theory of Evolution and Evolutionary Psychology 25
3 The Evolution of Psychological Traits by Natural Selection 27
4 How Evolved Psychological Traits Affect Modern Human Behavior 29
5 Evolutionary Information Systems Theorizing 30
6 Natural Selection Versus Sexual Selection 31
7 Theorizing About Sex Differences: A Difficult Task 32
8 Why There Is a Need to Integrate Evolutionary and Non-evolutionary Theories 34
9 Four Important Preconditions for Theoretical Integration 37
10 Theoretical Integration in Practice: Media Naturalness and Channel Expansion 39
10.1 Media Richness Theory 40
10.2 Media Naturalness Theory 41
10.3 Naturalness Versus Richness: What Is the Difference? 44
10.4 Taking the Evolutionary Argument a Bit Too Far? 45
10.5 Integration with Channel Expansion Theory 47
11 Discussion 48
12 Conclusion 51
References 53
2 Group-Level Evolution and Information Systems: What Can We Learn From Animal Colonies in Nature? 58
1 Introduction 59
2 Group-Level Evolution 60
3 Colonies 62
4 Punctuated Equilibrium 64
5 Ten Characteristics of Human Colonies 65
5.1 Phylogeny (Evolutionary History) 66
5.2 Ontogeny (Lifetime History) 66
5.3 Change 67
5.4 Boundaries 67
5.5 Complexity 69
5.6 Structure 70
5.7 Growth 70
5.8 Goals 71
5.9 Power 72
5.10 Control 72
6 Empirical Research 73
7 Concluding Remarks 73
References 75
3 Applying Evolutionary Psychology to the Study of Post-adoption Information Technology Use: Reinforcement, Extension, or Revolution? 79
1 Introduction 80
2 How Evolutionary Psychology Relates to the Study of Post-adoption IT Use 81
2.1 Current IS Research on Post-adoption IT Use 81
2.2 Evolutionary Psychology and Its Relevance for the Study of Post-adoption IT Use 85
2.2.1 Evolutionary Psychology Compared and Contrasted with Cognitive Psychology 86
2.2.2 Controversies Relevant to the Study of Post-adoption IT Use 87
2.3 Summary and Implications 89
3 How Evolutionary Psychology Could Influence the Study of Post-adoption IT Use 89
3.1 Reinforcement: An Evolutionary or Biological Justification for the Current Perspective 89
3.2 Extension: A Springboard for Explanatory and Methodological Innovation 91
3.3 Revolution: A Radical Departure from Current IS Theory 92
3.3.1 Direct Effects of Emotion on Behavior 92
3.3.2 Unconscious Generalizations 94
4 Discussion and Conclusion 96
References 97
4 The Behavioral Ecology of Human Foraging in an Online Environment: Of Omnivores, Informavores, and HunterGatherers 102
1 Introduction 102
2 Foraging Is a Biobasic Behavior 103
3 Foraging Research 104
4 Foraging Theory 104
5 Foragers Are Financiers 105
6 Marginal Value Theorem 106
7 Matching 106
8 Delay Discounting 108
8.1 Human Foraging in an Online Environment: Behavioral Ecology of Consumption 109
9 Human Foraging in an Online Environment: Information Foraging 112
10 Conclusions 113
11 Different Species, Same Choices 114
References 115
Part II Empirical Research Exemplars 117
5 Surprise and Human Evolution: How a Snake Screen Enhanced Knowledge Transfer Through a Web Interface 118
1 Introduction 119
2 Background and Hypotheses 121
3 Research Methods 124
4 Data Analysis Results 126
5 Discussion 127
6 Conclusion 129
References 131
6 How Do e-Learners Participate in Synchronous Online Discussions? Evolutionary and Social Psychological Perspectives 134
1 Introduction 134
2 Theoretical Background 137
2.1 Theories on Media Choice and Use 137
2.2 Comparative Studies of Asynchronous and Synchronous Communication 138
2.3 Researching Online Participation 142
3 Method 143
3.1 Research Setting 144
3.2 Data Collection 145
4 Results 148
4.1 Communication Patterns 150
4.2 Perceived Social Networks 151
5 Discussion 153
5.1 Personal and Cognitive Online Participation 154
6 Limitations and Further Research 156
7 Conclusions 157
References 158
7 Who Is in Your Shopping Cart? Expected and Experienced Effects of Choice Abundance in the Online Dating Context 163
1 Introduction 164
2 From Too Many Products to Too Many Mates 166
3 Empirical Evidence: Is There Such a Thing as Too Many Mates? 168
3.1 Expectations 168
3.2 Experience 170
3.3 Summary 173
3.4 Limitations 174
4 Implications 174
4.1 Theoretical 174
4.2 Practical 177
5 Conclusions 178
References 179
8 Cognitive Adaptation and Collective Action: The P2P File-Sharing Phenomenon 182
1 Introduction 183
1.1 Cooperation and Collective Action 183
1.2 Costly Signaling Theory 184
1.3 Cognitive Adaptations for Status Ambition and Resource Exchange 185
1.4 Mismatch Theory 186
2 Theoretical framework and Hypotheses 188
3 Materials and methods 189
4 Results 191
4.1 Participants 191
4.2 Computer Skill 191
4.3 Motivations for File Sharing 193
5 Discussion 195
5.1 File Sharing Is a Selfish Enterprise 195
5.2 Uploading Is a Predominantly Male Endeavor 197
5.3 Uploading and the Quest for Status 198
5.4 Cognitive Adaptations, Collective Action, and the P2P Phenomenon 200
5.5 Conclusions and Future Directions 201
References 202
9 Studying Invisibly: Media Naturalness and Learning 205
1 Introduction 206
1.1 Theoretical Explanations for Differences Between Computer-Mediated and Face-to-Face Communication 206
1.1.1 Media Richness Theory 206
1.1.2 Media Naturalness Theory 207
1.1.3 Online Disinhibition Effect 209
1.2 Learning via Audio-Written Conferencing Relative to Face-to-Face Class 212
2 Study 1: Field Study 214
2.1 Method 214
2.1.1 Participants 214
2.1.2 Instruments 214
2.1.3 Procedure 215
2.2 Results 215
2.3 Discussion 217
3 Study 2: Laboratory Experiment 218
3.1 Method 218
3.1.1 Participants 218
3.1.2 Instruments 218
3.1.3 Procedure 219
3.2 Results 219
3.3 Discussion 221
4 General Discussion 222
4.1 The Influence of Invisible Communication on Learning 223
5 Summary 224
References 225
10 Using Evolutionary Psychology to Extend Our Understanding of Fit and Human Drives in Information Systems (IS) Utilization Decisions and Performance 229
1 Introduction 229
2 The Technology Artifact 234
3 Theoretical Underpinnings 235
3.1 Fit Models 235
3.2 Evolutionary Psychology 238
3.3 The Four-Drive Model: An Instantiation of Evolutionary Psychology 240
4 Research Design 241
4.1 Exploring the Influence of Evolutionary Psychology in Technology Utilization and Performance 242
4.1.1 Defining Fit Notions 244
4.1.2 Conceptualizing Human Drives as Individual Characteristics 245
4.2 Testing the Results of the Exploratory Effort 250
5 Discussing the Relevance of the Human Drives and Fit Notions 255
6 Conclusion 260
References 261
11 The Interaction of Communication Medium and Management Control Systems in the Processes and Outcomes of Transfer Price Negotiations 266
1 Introduction 267
2 Research Background 268
2.1 Computer-Mediated Communication 268
2.2 Transfer Price Negotiations 269
2.3 Management Control Systems 269
3 Theory Development and Hypotheses 270
3.1 Communication Medium 270
3.2 CMC and Arbitration 271
3.3 CMC and Incentive Pay Scheme 271
4 Method 272
4.1 Negotiation Task 272
4.2 Experimental Design 272
4.3 Experimental Sequence 274
5 Results 276
6 Conclusion 277
References 278
12 A Research Model for Online Social Behavior Based on an Evolutionary, Social Psychological, and Technological Approach 279
1 Introduction 280
2 Evolutionary and Social Psychological Perspectives 280
2.1 Rewards and Physical Attractiveness 281
2.2 Evolution of Dating: Historical and Social Aspects 282
3 Technological Perspectives 284
3.1 Sample and Questionnaire in the Study 284
3.2 Statistical Reliability and Validity of the Study 284
3.3 Virtual Nearness Experience 286
3.4 Interactivity Level 287
3.5 Technological Perspective Model of Virtual Social Interactions 289
4 Conclusion 289
Appendix: Scales, Factors, and Factor Loadings of Items After Factor Analysis 291
References 292
Part III Emerging Issues and Debate 296
13 Costly Traits and e-Collaboration: The Importance of Oral Speech in Electronic Knowledge Communication 297
1 Introduction 297
2 Costly Traits, Survival, Fitness, and the Handicap Principle 298
3 Costly Traits Commonalities: Rarity, Late Evolution, and Strong Effects 300
4 The Evolution of Oral Speech in Humans: A Costly Trait Associated with Choking and Illnesses 301
5 Oral Speech and Knowledge Communication: Fitness Enhancement and Evolution 303
6 Oral Speech in e-Collaborative Tasks: The Effects on Communication Fluency and Ambiguity 305
7 Compensatory Adaptation as a Moderating Effect 306
8 Conclusion and Implications 307
References 309
14 Homo Virtualensis: Evolutionary Psychology as a Tool for Studying Video Games 312
1 Introduction 312
2 A Review of Non-evolutionary Research 314
3 Evolutionary Perspectives on Video Games 316
3.1 An Evolutionary Explanation for Video Game Content 317
3.2 The Evolutionary Origins of Virtual Character Preferences 317
3.3 Virtual Environments and Evolved Landscape/Habitat Preferences 319
3.4 Game Objectives and the Means to Achieve Them 321
3.5 An Evolutionary Perspective on Sex Differences in Gaming 323
3.6 The Evolutionary Roots of Play Behaviors 325
4 Future Research and Conclusions 329
References 332
15 The Modern HunterGatherer Hunts Aliens and Gathers Power-Ups: The Evolutionary Appeal of Violent Video Games and How They Can Be Beneficial 336
1 Introduction 336
2 Understanding Aggression 337
3 Violent Video Games and Aggression 338
4 An Evolutionary Model of Violent Video Game Playing 341
5 Using Violent Video Games for Positive Purposes 343
6 The Use of Violent Games in Education 345
References 346
16 Three Roads to Cultural Recurrence 350
1 First Road 351
2 Second Road 352
3 Third Road 355
4 Conclusion 358
References 361
17 Evolution as Metaphor: A Critical Review of the Use of Evolutionary Concepts in Information Systems and e-Commerce 363
1 Introduction 363
2 Evolution and Information Systems 365
2.1 Evolution 365
2.2 Information Systems and e-Commerce 366
2.3 e-Commerce as an Evolved Phenomenon 368
3 Evolution of e-Commerce as a Metaphor 369
3.1 Advantages of Metaphors 370
3.2 Metaphors in e-Commerce 371
3.3 Problems of Metaphors 372
4 e-Commerce Evolution as Ideology 373
4.1 Ideology 373
4.2 The Evolutionary Metaphor as Ideology 374
4.3 Evolution and Ethics in e-Commerce 375
5 Conclusion: Overcoming the Ideology of Evolution? 376
References 378
Index 382