{"title":"Reactance to Uncivil Disagreement?","authors":"Shuning Lu, Hai Liang","doi":"10.1027/1864-1105/a000378","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract: This study extends the psychological reactance theory by demonstrating that online political discussions, without explicit social influence attempts, can arouse psychological reactance by certain message features. Based on a 2 (stance: agreement vs. disagreement) × 2 (tone: civil vs. uncivil) × 2 (social endorsement: low vs. high) between-subjects online experiment in the United States ( N = 418), the present study found that both disagreement and uncivil comments led to psychological reactance directly and indirectly via perceived threat to freedom. Unexpectedly, uncivil disagreement had smaller effects on psychological reactance than civil disagreement. In addition, although social endorsement cues did not show any independent effects on psychological reactance, they were found to exacerbate the direct effect of uncivil disagreement on psychological reactance. Overall, our study develops important theoretical connections between political deliberation and psychological reactance literatures. It also yields practical implications for fostering an inclusive and healthy environment for online political discussion.","PeriodicalId":46730,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Media Psychology-Theories Methods and Applications","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7000,"publicationDate":"2023-04-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Media Psychology-Theories Methods and Applications","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000378","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"COMMUNICATION","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Abstract: This study extends the psychological reactance theory by demonstrating that online political discussions, without explicit social influence attempts, can arouse psychological reactance by certain message features. Based on a 2 (stance: agreement vs. disagreement) × 2 (tone: civil vs. uncivil) × 2 (social endorsement: low vs. high) between-subjects online experiment in the United States ( N = 418), the present study found that both disagreement and uncivil comments led to psychological reactance directly and indirectly via perceived threat to freedom. Unexpectedly, uncivil disagreement had smaller effects on psychological reactance than civil disagreement. In addition, although social endorsement cues did not show any independent effects on psychological reactance, they were found to exacerbate the direct effect of uncivil disagreement on psychological reactance. Overall, our study develops important theoretical connections between political deliberation and psychological reactance literatures. It also yields practical implications for fostering an inclusive and healthy environment for online political discussion.
期刊介绍:
Journal of Media Psychology (JMP) is committed to publishing original, high-quality papers which cover the broad range of media psychological research. This peer-reviewed journal focuses on how human beings select, use, and experience various media as well as how media (use) can affect their cognitions, emotions, and behaviors. Submissions must substantially advance the current state-of the art on a theoretical and/or an empirical level. To name just a few typical fields and domains of inquiry, the Journal of Media Psychology considers manuscripts dealing with research on entertainment, computer-mediated communication (including social media), human-computer interaction, e-learning, computer and video games, virtual environments, or advertising. The journal is also open to research from neighboring disciplines as far as this work ties in with psychological concepts of the uses and effects of the media. Submissions of comparative work, e.g., crossmedia, cross-gender, or cross-cultural, are encouraged. Moreover, submissions including alternative analysis procedures such as the Bayesian approach are welcome. Starting in 2015, the pre-registration of research plans will also be possible. To ensure short turn-around cycles for manuscript review and fast publication, the Journal of Media Psychology relies heavily upon electronic communication and information exchange, starting from electronic submission and continuing throughout the entire review and production process.