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The effects of likes on public opinion perception and personal opinion

The effects of likes on public opinion perception and personal opinion AbstractDrawing on the spiral of silence theory and heuristic information processing, we contend that individuals use likes as sources for assessing public opinion. We further argue that individuals may even adapt their personal opinions to the tenor reflected in those cues. The assumptions were tested using data from an experiment involving 501 participants, who encountered media items on two issues with or without likes. The findings show that respondents inferred public opinion from the media bias if it was supported by likes, however, only in cases of high levels of fear of social isolation. Respondents further adapted their personal opinion to the media bias if it was supported by likes. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Communications de Gruyter

The effects of likes on public opinion perception and personal opinion

Porten-Cheé, Pablo; Eilders, Christiane
Communications , Volume 45 (2): 17 – May 26, 2020
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Publisher
de Gruyter
Copyright
© 2018 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
ISSN
1613-4087
eISSN
1613-4087
DOI
10.1515/commun-2019-2030
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

AbstractDrawing on the spiral of silence theory and heuristic information processing, we contend that individuals use likes as sources for assessing public opinion. We further argue that individuals may even adapt their personal opinions to the tenor reflected in those cues. The assumptions were tested using data from an experiment involving 501 participants, who encountered media items on two issues with or without likes. The findings show that respondents inferred public opinion from the media bias if it was supported by likes, however, only in cases of high levels of fear of social isolation. Respondents further adapted their personal opinion to the media bias if it was supported by likes.

Journal

Communications – de Gruyter

Published: May 26, 2020

Keywords: likes; public opinion; heuristic processing; online media; media effects

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