We’ve often heard that videoconferencing is set to be the next disruptive technology, providing an alternative to long distance travel for a meeting. However, a recent study suggests that videoconferencing may distort interactions in an indirect but real way.

The study researchers discovered that doctors and nurses who participate in seminars conducted through videoconferences were more likely to be influenced by the charisma of the presenter. However, participants who attended meetings where the presenter was in the same room with them were more likely to base their judgments and decision on the actual points that were made.

The study was conducted by researchers at the Pennsylvania State University and Boston University. It was a small study which asked 44 healthcare professionals which participated in early morning medical seminars through high-quality video links and 99 colleagues who participated in face-to-face meetings. The participants were asked several questions, such as how likeable they believed the speaker was and how likely they would be to refer a given patient to the speaker.

The study was published in the September issue of the journal Management Science. The researchers came up with the hypothesis that a videoconference is mentally more challenging than a meeting where all participants are in the same room. During a video conference, the brain is busy being focused on both the speaker’s words and specific personal cues which are harder to follow. As a result, the videoconference subjects were more likely to declare that the speaker’s message was hard to fully comprehend and also that they experienced a higher stress level.

Lastly, the researchers correctly pointed out that previous studies had showed mixed results.