Creating buzz: The neural correlates of effective message propagation
| Authors | Falk, Morelli, Welbourne, Dambacher, Lieberman |
| Journal | Psychological Science |
| Year | 2013 |
| Type | Published Paper |
| Abstract | Social interaction promotes the spread of values, attitudes, and behaviors. Here we report on neural responses to ideas that are destined to spread. Message communicators were scanned using fMRI during their initial exposure to the to-be-communicated ideas. These message communicators then had the opportunity to spread the messages and their corresponding subjective evaluations to message recipients, outside the scanner. Successful ideas were associated with neural responses in the mentalizing system and the reward system when first heard, prior to spreading them. Similarly, individuals more able to spread their own views to others produced greater mentalizing system activity during initial encoding. Unlike prior social influence studies that focus on those being influenced, this investigation focused on the brains of influencers. Successful social influence is reliably associated with an influencer-tobe's state of mind when first encoding ideas. |
| Keywords | Social influence, mass media, social interaction, social behavior, neuroimaging |
| URL | https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797612474670 |
| Tags | Experimental / Survey-Based Empirical | Social Transmission Biases |
On braggarts and gossips: A self-enhancement account of word-of-mouth generation and transmission
| Authors | Angelis, Bonezzi, Peluso, Rucker, Costabile |
| Journal | Journal of Marketing Research |
| Year | 2012 |
| Type | Published Paper |
| Abstract | Previous research on word of mouth (WOM) has presented inconsistent evidence on whether consumers are more inclined to share positive or negative information about products and services. Some findings suggest that consumers are more inclined to engage in positive WOM, whereas others suggest that consumers are more inclined to engage in negative WOM. The present research offers a theoretical perspective that provides a means to resolve these seemingly contradictory findings. Specifically, the authors compare the generation of WOM (i.e., consumers sharing information about their own experiences) with the transmission of WOM (i.e., consumers passing on information about experiences they heard occurred to others). They suggest that a basic human motive to self-enhance leads consumers to generate positive WOM (i.e., share information about their own positive consumption experiences) but transmit negative WOM (i.e., pass on information they heard about others' negative consumption experiences). The authors present evidence for self-enhancement motives playing out in opposite ways for WOM generation versus WOM transmission across four experiments. |
| Keywords | Word-of-mouth valence, word-of-mouth generation, word-of-mouth transmission, self-enhancement |
| URL | https://doi.org/10.1509/jmr.11.0136 |
| Tags | Experimental / Survey-Based Empirical | Social Transmission Biases |
What makes online content viral?
| Authors | Berger, Milkman |
| Journal | Journal of Marketing Research |
| Year | 2012 |
| Type | Published Paper |
| Abstract | Why are certain pieces of online content (e.g., advertisements, videos, news articles) more viral than others? This article takes a psychological approach to understanding diffusion. Using a unique data set of all the New York Times articles published over a three-month period, the authors examine how emotion shapes virality. The results indicate that positive content is more viral than negative content, but the relationship between emotion and social transmission is more complex than valence alone. Virality is partially driven by physiological arousal. Content that evokes high-arousal positive (awe) or negative (anger or anxiety) emotions is more viral. Content that evokes low-arousal, or deactivating, emotions (e.g., sadness) is less viral. These results hold even when the authors control for how surprising, interesting, or practically useful content is (all of which are positively linked to virality), as well as external drivers of attention (e.g., how prominently content was featured). Experimental results further demonstrate the causal impact of specific emotion on transmission and illustrate that it is driven by the level of activation induced. Taken together, these findings shed light on why people share content and how to design more effective viral marketing campaigns. |
| Keywords | Word of mouth, viral marketing, social transmission, online content |
| URL | https://doi.org/10.1509/jmr.10.0353 |
| Tags | Archival Empirical | Consumer Decisions | Experimental / Survey-Based Empirical | Media and Textual Analysis | Social Transmission Biases |
Getting the word out: Neural correlates of enthusiastic message propagation
| Authors | Falk, Donnell, Lieberman |
| Journal | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
| Year | 2012 |
| Type | Published Paper |
| Abstract | What happens in the mind of a person who first hears a potentially exciting idea? We examined the neural precursors of spreading ideas with enthusiasm, and dissected enthusiasm into component processes that can be identified through automated linguistic analysis, gestalt human ratings of combined linguistic and nonverbal cues, and points of convergence/divergence between the two. We combined tools from natural language processing (NLP) with data gathered using fMRI to link the neurocognitive mechanisms that are set in motion during initial exposure to ideas and subsequent behaviors of these message communicators outside of the scanner. Participants' neural activity was recorded as they reviewed ideas for potential television show pilots. Participants' language from video-taped interviews collected post-scan was transcribed and given to an automated linguistic sentiment analysis (SA) classifier, which returned ratings for evaluative language (evaluative vs. descriptive) and valence (positive vs. negative). Separately, human coders rated the enthusiasm with which participants transmitted each idea. More positive sentiment ratings by the automated classifier were associated with activation in neural regions including medial prefrontal cortex; MPFC, precuneus/ posterior cingulate cortex; PC/PCC, and medial temporal lobe; MTL. More evaluative, positive, descriptions were associated exclusively with neural activity in temporal-parietal junction (TPJ). Finally, human ratings indicative of more enthusiastic sentiment were associated with activation across these regions (MPFC, PC/PCC, DMPFC, TPJ, and MTL) as well as in ventral striatum (VS), inferior parietal lobule and premotor cortex. Taken together, these data demonstrate novel links between neural activity during initial idea encoding and the enthusiasm with which the ideas are subsequently delivered. This research lays the groundwork to use machine learning and neuroimaging data to study word of mouth communication and the spread of ideas in both traditional and new media environments. |
| Keywords | fMRI, sentiment analysis, natural language processing, information diffusion, word-of-mouth |
| URL | https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2012.00313 |
| Tags | Experimental / Survey-Based Empirical | Social Transmission Biases |
When social networking is not working: Individuals with low self-esteem recognize but do not reap the benefits of self-disclosure on facebook
| Authors | Forest, Wood |
| Journal | Psychological Science |
| Year | 2012 |
| Type | Published Paper |
| Abstract | The popular media have publicized the idea that social networking Web sites (e.g., Facebook) may enrich the interpersonal lives of people who struggle to make social connections. The opportunity that such sites provide for self-disclosure-a necessary component in the development of intimacy-could be especially beneficial for people with low self-esteem, who are normally hesitant to self-disclose and who have difficulty maintaining satisfying relationships. We suspected that posting on Facebook would reduce the perceived riskiness of self-disclosure, thus encouraging people with low self-esteem to express themselves more openly. In three studies, we examined whether such individuals see Facebook as a safe and appealing medium for self-disclosure, and whether their actual Facebook posts enabled them to reap social rewards. We found that although people with low self-esteem considered Facebook an appealing venue for self-disclosure, the low positivity and high negativity of their disclosures elicited undesirable responses from other people. |
| Keywords | Social networking, facebook, self-esteem, self-disclosure, interpersonal relationships, social interaction |
| URL | https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797611429709 |
| Tags | Experimental / Survey-Based Empirical | Media and Textual Analysis |
The institutional legacy of the Ottoman Empire: Islamic rule and financial development in South Eastern Europe
| Authors | Grosjean |
| Journal | Journal of Comparative Economics |
| Year | 2011 |
| Type | Published Paper |
| Abstract | This paper uses a historical experiment - the occupation of South Eastern Europe by the Ottoman Empire - to shed light on the persistence of financial development. Interest-lending prohibition persisted under Islamic rule much longer than in the rest of Europe. The unique history and political fragmentation of the region allows investigating within-country effects, in six countries that were formerly only partly occupied by the Ottoman Empire. Former Islamic rule is consistently associated with lower contemporaneous formal financial development, both across and within countries. It is associated with a decrease in bank penetration by 10% across countries and 4% within countries. However, within country, the effect of the Ottoman Empire is confined to financial development. There is no association between former Ottoman rule, income, small and medium sized enterprise development or entrepreneurship. The effect is robust to controlling for a wide number of observable characteristics. Moreover, localities with Armenian, Jewish or Greek minorities, who were allowed to practice interest lending under Ottoman rule, have higher levels of bank penetration. By contrast, Islamic religion and trust in the financial system play no role in explaining such long-term persistence. |
| Keywords | Banking penetration, institutional persistence, Islamic finance, Ottoman Empire |
| URL | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147596710000405 |
| Tags | Archival Empirical | Experimental / Survey-Based Empirical |
So you want to run an experiment, now what? Some simple rules of thumb for optimal experimental design
| Authors | List, Sadoff, Wagner |
| Journal | Experimental Economics |
| Year | 2011 |
| Type | Published Paper |
| Abstract | Experimental economics represents a strong growth industry. In the past several decades the method has expanded beyond intellectual curiosity, now meriting consideration alongside the other more traditional empirical approaches used in economics. Accompanying this growth is an influx of new experimenters who are in need of straightforward direction to make their designs more powerful. This study provides several simple rules of thumb that researchers can apply to improve the efficiency of their experimental designs. We buttress these points by including empirical examples from the literature. |
| Keywords | Experimental economics, experimental design, rule of thumb, randomization techniques, optimal sample arrangement |
| URL | https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10683-011-9275-7 |
| Tags | Experimental / Survey-Based Empirical | Theory |
Who's posting facebook faux pas? A cross-cultural examination of personality differences
| Authors | Karl, Peluchette, Schlaegel |
| Journal | International Journal of Selection and Assessment |
| Year | 2010 |
| Type | Published Paper |
| Abstract | This study examines culture and personality differences in student reports of the likelihood that they would post various types of information on their Facebook profiles. As predicted those high on conscientiousness, agreeableness, and emotional stability proved significantly less likely to report posting problematic content (e.g., substance abuse, sexual content) on their profile. Those who scored high on Compulsive Internet Use indicated a greater likelihood to post such profile information. Consistent with our expectations, our cross-cultural analysis revealed that US students were more inclined than German students to post problematic information to their Facebook site. Implications of these results and recommendations for future research are discussed. |
| URL | https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2389.2010.00499.x |
| Tags | Experimental / Survey-Based Empirical | Media and Textual Analysis |
Trusting the stock market
| Authors | Guiso, Sapienza, Zingales |
| Journal | Journal of Finance |
| Year | 2008 |
| Type | Published Paper |
| Abstract | We study the effect that a general lack of trust can have on stock market participation. In deciding whether to buy stocks, investors factor in the risk of being cheated. The perception of this risk is a function of the objective characteristics of the stocks and the subjective characteristics of the investor. Less trusting individuals are less likely to buy stock and, conditional on buying stock, they will buy less. In Dutch and Italian micro data, as well as in cross-country data, we find evidence consistent with lack of trust being an important factor in explaining the limited participation puzzle. |
| Keywords | Social trust, investment decisions, cultural and demographic differences, risk and ambiguity aversion |
| URL | https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6261.2008.01408.x |
| Tags | Experimental / Survey-Based Empirical | Financing- and Investment Decisions (Individual) | Theory |
The role of social capital in financial development
| Authors | Guiso, Sapienza, Zingales |
| Journal | American Economic Review |
| Year | 2004 |
| Type | Published Paper |
| Abstract | To identify the effect of social capital on financial development, we exploit social capital differences within Italy. In high-social-capital areas, households are more likely to use checks, invest less in cash and more in stock, have higher access to institutional credit, and make less use of informal credit. The effect of social capital is stronger where legal enforcement is weaker and among less educated people. These results are not driven by omitted environmental variables, since we show that the behavior of movers is still affected by the level of social capital of the province where they were born. |
| Keywords | Household finance, social capital, financial development, education, legal environment |
| URL | https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/0002828041464498 |
| Tags | Experimental / Survey-Based Empirical | Financing- and Investment Decisions (Individual) | Theory |
Bad is stronger than good
| Authors | Baumeister, Bratslavsky, Finkenauer, Vohs |
| Journal | Review of General Psychology |
| Year | 2001 |
| Type | Published Paper | Literature Review Paper |
| Abstract | The greater power of bad events over good ones is found in everyday events, major life events (e.g., trauma), close relationship outcomes, social network patterns, interpersonal interactions, and learning processes. Bad emotions, bad parents, and bad feedback have more impact than good ones, and bad information is processed more thoroughly than good. The self is more motivated to avoid bad self-definitions than to pursue good ones. Bad impressions and bad stereotypes are quicker to form and more resistant to disconfirmation than good ones. Various explanations such as diagnosticity and salience help explain some findings, but the greater power of bad events is still found when such variables are controlled. Hardly any exceptions (indicating greater power of good) can be found. Taken together, these findings suggest that bad is stronger than good, as a general principle across a broad range of psychological phenomena. |
| Keywords | Health economicsm, COVID-19, vaccines, lottery incentives, public policy |
| URL | https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.5.4.323 |
| Tags | Experimental / Survey-Based Empirical | Social Transmission Biases |
Negativity bias, negativity dominance, and contagion
| Authors | Rozin, Royzman |
| Journal | Personality and Social Psychology Review |
| Year | 2001 |
| Type | Published Paper |
| Abstract | We hypothesize that there is a general bias, based on both innatepredispositions and experience, in animals and humans, to give greater weight to negative entities (e.g., events, objects, personal traits). This is manifested in 4 ways: (a) negative potency (negative entities are stronger than the equivalent positive entities), (b) steeper negative gradients (the negativity of negative events grows more rapidly with approach to them in space or time than does the positivity of positive events, (c) negativity dominance (combinations of negative and positive entities yield evaluations that are more negative than the algebraic sum of individual subjective valences would predict), and (d) negative differentiation (negative entities are more varied, yield more complex conceptual representations, and engage a wider response repertoire). We review evidence for this taxonomy, with emphasis on negativity dominance, including literary, historical, religious, and cultural sources, as well as the psychological literatures on learning, attention, impression formation, contagion, moral judgment, development, and memory. We then consider a variety of theoretical accounts for negativity bias. We suggest that 1 feature of negative events that make them dominant is that negative entities are more contagious than positive entities. |
| URL | https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327957PSPR0504_2 |
| Tags | Archival Empirical | Experimental / Survey-Based Empirical | Media and Textual Analysis | Social Transmission Biases |
Survey evidence on diffusion of interest and information among investors
| Authors | Shiller, Pound |
| Journal | Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization |
| Year | 1989 |
| Type | Published Paper |
| Abstract | Questionnaire surveys of institutional and individual investors were undertaken to learn about patterns of communications. It was found that direct interpersonal communications are very important in investor decisions. Questions elicited what fraction of investors were unsystematic and allowed themselves to be influenced by word-of-mouth communications or other salient stimuli. Randomly sampled investors were studied as well as investors in stocks whose price had recently increased dramatically. Contagion or epidemic models of financial markets are proposed in which interest in individual stocks is spread by word of mouth. The survey evidence is interpreted as supporting such models. |
| URL | https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-2681(89)90076-0 |
| Tags | Experimental / Survey-Based Empirical | Financing- and Investment Decisions (Individual) | Investment Decisions (Institutional) |