Making your views known: the importance of anonymity before and after classroom debates

The current study aimed to examine the effect of anonymity and privacy on students' voting behaviour before and after classroom debate. A positioning system with three different settings was prototyped (Private, Anonymous or Public). It was predicted that students voting publicly would be less inclined to express changes in their views, and that they would tend to conform to the class' overall position more than students voting either anonymously or privately. Three groups of students (N=55) taking A Level General Studies took part in debates and voted in one of the three conditions. Results supported both hypotheses and suggest that anonymity and privacy play a crucial role in encouraging students to express individual and authentic positions. The implications of these results for technology mediated voting systems are discussed.