This week, Science Sensei investigates why you should be wary of the negative reviews you read online (especially the ones about his show).
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Don't Be Cruel
The Wikipedia entry for the term "ochlocracy," from the Latin ochlocratia, says it means "government by mob or a mass of people, or the intimidation of constitutional authorities. In English, the word mobocracy is sometimes used as a synonym. As a pejorative for majoritarianism, it's akin to the Latin phrase mobile vulgus meaning 'the easily moveable crowd.'"
Now researchers at Indiana University have found that the certain parts of the internet might be a breeding ground for mobile vulgus. Many sites and blogs now offer a democratic, often unfiltered, forum where anyone can leave comments and speak their mind. The researchers, Adam Duhachek, Shuoyang Zhang, and Shanker Krishnan, wanted to know what kind of influence these forums might have on people's attitudes. A series of experiments helped them conclude that negativity may be more contagious and influential than posivitivity.
The researchers presented volunteers (college students) with information about a new product — specifically a study guide for a college course. Some had a negative view of the guide, and others had a positive opinion of it. Then the students were given one of two sets of other people's reviews of the study guide — there was a negative review set and a positive review set.
When the researchers measured the degree to which people's opinions changed, they found that the largest effect was among people who had a positive opinion, but were given negative reviews.
The researchers then ran the experiment, except the students were told that their opinions would be made public, as part of a group interaction, rather private. When the researchers measured the degree to which people's opinions changed among these groups, the largest effect was among people who had a negative opinion and were given negative reviews: Their opinions became even more negative.
The researchers say that in a digital world where the ability to read or submit opinions on nearly anything is a mouse click away, this psychological affect of seeming to be more susceptible to negative opinions may loom large. They say people should be aware of the biases that might exist in their own mind, and that marketers may need to expend extra resources to combat the effect.
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