How Can We Explain the Features of Audience Applause?

Abstract

Today, COVID-19 has spread all over the world, and situations in which you clap have been increasing. Therefore, clapping, especially clapping as a vehicle of communication, seems interesting as an object of research. In this research, it is clarified what features each instance of clapping made by an audience has, and what reasons can be considered for these features. The words individuality and interactivity were our keywords for this research. The word individuality means the rate at which a person claps their hands without any influence from other people. The word interactivity means the rate at which a person claps their hands with influence from other people.In this research, three clapping events formed by more than 100 people were observed and some common features were found. First, clear spread of clapping was not observed, and clapping might spread due to aural signals. Second, clear patterns are found as audiences stop clapping. Third, the sense of belonging has an effect on clapping. This study is expected to become useful for future communication studies.