Professor of Social Psychology and Human Computer Interaction at Carnegie Mellon University
Robert Kraut is a Professor of Social Psychology and Human Computer Interaction at Carnegie Mellon University, with joint appointments in the Department of Social and Decision Sciences, the Human Computer Interaction Institute, and the Graduate School of Industrial Administration. He started his career as a social psychologist, but working in industry for 12 years shifted his focus from disciplines to problems. His research concentrates on the design and social impacts of information technologies in small groups, in the home, and between organizations.
One research strand examines the challenges that groups face in performing intellectual tasks, designs new technology to meet some of these challenges and evaluates the usefulness of the new technology. This cycle of needs-assessment, technological design and evaluation has both scholarly and applied products. For example, research on scientific collaboration examined the problems scientic teams must solve and the technologies that might aid them. Data collection demonstrated the importance of informal communication for accomplishing scientific work. This research led to the construction of an experimental video teleconferencing system for informal interaction and computer software for collaborative writing. Current research is examing how small teams can collaborate at a distance on physical tasks, how teams construct shared mental models, so that they can collaborate with less explicit communication, and how individuals and groups allocate attention efficiently in an era of abundant information.
A second strand of research examines the impact of the Internet on the average US family. This project is a longitudinal field trial called HomeNet. We gave families computers and Internet access and then carefully assessed how their use of the Internet changed over time and how they incorporated the new media into their daily lives.
He is also working to understand the role that nationwide computer networks, such as Minitel in France or the Internet in the United States, have on the interrelationships among firms. These networks increase the efficiency with which firms can search for or exchange information, but they also shift the type of information that can easily be exchanged, from personal to quantitative. His group is examining how these shifts in the cost and quality of communication may influence interfirm loyalties and market relationships.
