The findings suggest social media users are more likely to be influenced by others’ posts when the posts violate, rather than support, their cultural values.
It happens all too often: You log on to social media for a fun break, but you find yourself riled up and angry an hour later. Why does this keep happening?
New research by Stanford University psychology Professors Jeanne Tsai and Brian Knutson and their team suggests a key piece of the puzzle involves culture. In a new study, published online Sept. 7 in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the team assessed the emotional content, called “sentiment,” of Twitter posts by Japanese and U.S. users, and found that users were more likely to be influenced by others’ posts when the posts violated, rather than supported, their cultural values.
Cultural nuances
Though social media spans the globe, current studies disproportionately focus on users in the United States, rather than users from non-Western contexts.
“It just felt for me that a piece is missing if you don’t consider culture,” said lead author and graduate student Tiffany Hsu. “Culture is such an important aspect in terms of social media and connecting people.”
In the U.S., for example, most people state that they like to feel excited, happy and positive. Yet, previous research has found that U.S. social media users are most influenced by posts that express anger, rage and other negative emotions. What can explain this paradox?
To try to find out, the...
Read Full Story: https://news.stanford.edu/2021/09/08/cultural-values-influence-goes-viral-social-media/
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