It may be possible to apply research findings related to the implications of seeing oneself during Zoom calls to other contexts such as seeing oneself in a mirrored surface during a conversation. Researchers determined via a study published in Clinical Psychological Science that “the more a person stares at themself while talking with a partner in an online chat, the more their mood degrades over the course of the conversation. The findings point to a potentially problematic role of online meeting platforms in exacerbating psychological problems like anxiety and depression. . . participants who could see themselves and their conversation partners on a split-screen monitor answered questions about their emotional status before and after the online conversations.
“Staring at Yourself During Virtual Chats May Worsen Your Mood, Research Finds.” 2022. Press release, University of Illinois, https://news.illinois.edu/view/6367/117509126
Sally Augustin, PhD, a cognitive scientist, is the editor of Research Design Connections (www.researchdesignconnections.com), a monthly subscription newsletter and free daily blog, where recent and classic research in the social, design, and physical sciences that can inform designers’ work are presented in straightforward language. Readers learn about the latest research findings immediately, before they’re available elsewhere. Sally, who is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, is also the author of Place Advantage: Applied Psychology for Interior Architecture (Wiley, 2009) and, with Cindy Coleman, The Designer’s Guide to Doing Research: Applying Knowledge to Inform Design (Wiley, 2012). She is a principal at Design With Science (www.designwithscience.com) and can be reached at sallyaugustin@designwithscience.com.