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Attentional Social Presence

Attentional Social Presence is a theory developed by Sonja Foss and Jeanine Turner, professors at the University of Colorado Denver and Georgetown University, respectively. The theory suggests that there are new ways to study and understand social presence within an attention-scarce, multicommunicative environment. Attentional Social Presence is the ability to shift audience attention to the communicator in order to influence an interaction or relationship.

Because of these pressures and availability of communicative media, individuals must make strategic decisions about how to construct their presence to maximize their perception, influence, and interaction with others.[1] This theory applies to both face-to-face interactions as well as computer-mediated communication. Employing Attentional Social Presence concepts can help communicators construct invitational rhetoric and create salience in relationships and communicative interactions. This can be critical for teachers, managers, supervisors, doctors, but also within intimate personal relationships.

Core Elements

The theory focuses on how people use communication technologies to experience various types of presence, choose to engage with and influence audiences, and break through digital barriers to communicate. Research shows four options for the construction of social presence in order to enhance communication and secure audience interaction: budgeted, entitled, competitive, and invitational.^[1]

• Budgeted – maximize own availability across multiple interactions.

Since most people now carry a smart phone, tablet, or computer everywhere they go, they must make the choice to allocate parts of their attention to among multiple conversations or forms of communicative devices.^[3] This required juggling multiple messages, effectively apportioning their attention and social presence among various interactions. In managing their audiences, communicators evaluate the priority and relationship cost of interactions and engagement.^[1]

• Entitled – focus on environment to limit competing messages.

Demonstrating an air of privilege or importance, communicators can work to ensure their message is received by limiting the availability of other forms of communication. In this way, communicators attempt to secure audience attention through power or coercion, either by limiting opportunities or removing access to other forms of competing communication.^[1] To asking for electronics to be put away, phones to be turned off, or direct requests to pay attention, entitled communicators can try to ensure the audience is focused on them and that their message is prioritized. This may be seen most in hierarchical or asymmetrical communicative relationships.^[1]

• Competitive – place emphasis on making a compelling message.

Communicators in lower-power positions are often forced to make their messages more interesting, appealing, and engaging to gain audience attention within multicommunicative environments.^[1] Recognizing that the audience is likely faced with a number of other competing media demands, competitive social presence requires additional effort in compelling an audience's attention. Communicators may employ persuasive, engaging, or various tone techniques to shift the audience's attention to their message. ^[1]

• Invitational – focus on direct/dedicated audience interaction. See also Invitational rhetoric

Founded by feminist principles of equality, immanent value, and self determination, this form of social presence provides an invitation for communicators to see another's perspective and create understanding.^[4] Instead of attempting to persuade or establish power over an individual or audience, communicators remove judgement, hierarchy, and assumptions to create equal and open interactions. Information and opinions can change amongst both parties as a result of understanding and insights gained by sharing information and communicating on a level playing field.^[4]

Key Concepts

Options for the construction of social presence:^[1]

• Budgeted – maximize own availability across multiple interactions.
• Entitled – focus on environment to limit competing messages.

• Competitive – place emphasis on making a compelling message.
• Invitational – focus on direct/dedicated audience interaction.

Models

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^[3]

See Also

• Communication theory
• Social presence theory
• Multicommunicating
• Rhetorical and Communication Theory
• Emotions in virtual communication
• Social information processing theory
• Computers are social actors
• Computer Mediated Communication
• Media Richness Theory

References