مؤتمر
MORAL GRANDSTANDING: EDUCATING THE PUBLIC TO MINIMIZE ONLINE CONFLICT.
| العنوان: | MORAL GRANDSTANDING: EDUCATING THE PUBLIC TO MINIMIZE ONLINE CONFLICT. |
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| المؤلفون: | Bennett, Andrea R. |
| المصدر: | AMA Marketing & Public Policy Academic Conference Proceedings; 2022, Vol. 32, p172-175, 4p |
| مصطلحات موضوعية: | NONPROFIT organizations, MOTIVATION (Psychology), ONLINE information services, SELF regulation, STAKEHOLDERS |
| مستخلص: | Research Question Policy makers, nonprofit and for-profit entities, and other stakeholders need novel insights on seemingly benign behaviors that might indicate an individual's potential to engage in future extreme behaviors. This research identifies one such behavior--moral grandstanding (MG), the use of public discourse on a moral and/or political topic for self-aggrandizement--and offers insights on how public education on moral grandstanding might attenuate its relationship to downstream conflict and vicariously future more violent acts. Of specific interest is the statusseeking motivation that underlies MG and how policy initiatives might encourage individuals to self-regulate their MG tendencies. Therefore, this research examines the question: Does educating individuals about MG and providing them with tools for self-regulation moderate their MG behaviors and associated downstream conflict? To answer this question, this research employs an experimental design, whereby participants are presented with an educational intervention (vs. a control intervention) that aims to foster self-regulation of MG behaviors by informing individuals about the underlying status-seeking motivations, the potential for deleterious outcomes associated with MG, and alternatives to posting to social media that might be more beneficial to the issue athand. The intervention is assessed for its effectiveness as a boundary condition for both statusseeking and conflict. Method and Data Two hundred twenty-eight Prolific workers participated in this two-condition betweengroups study for a nominal payment. All participants were told: "People form groups or communities online for several reasons. Sometimes, online communities form around a shared belief about a moral (i.e., what is right or wrong) or political (i.e., government) issue." Participants in the intervention condition (n = 109) then received information about MG and were asked to consider: "Am I saying this to try to do something good or am I saying this to try to make myself look good?' and "What can I do, rather than posting to social media, that would have more impact on this important topic?" Participants in the control condition (n = 119) received information about personal style and were asked: "What is my favorite store to buy clothing at and how would I describe its overall vibe?" and "What do I want my style to say about who I am?" Participants in both conditions then composed a social media post to share their feelings about a topic of importance to their online group and responded to items related to MG motivation (a = .76), conflict (ɑ = .93), and status-seeking (ɑ = .73). Summary of Findings The study's results indicate the conditions under which individuals are likely to engage in MG. Specifically, all participants were asked to post about an important topic to a salient moral/political group, and there is no significant difference in MG motivation across manipulation conditions. The results also indicate significant reduction of both status-seeking and conflict reported by participants who received the self-regulation intervention. Manipulation check. T-test results revealed no significant differences (t(226) = -1.32, p = .188) between the degree of MG motivation reported by participants in the control (coded as 0; n = 119, M = 2.88, SD = 1.16) and intervention (coded as 1; n = 109, M = 2.69, SD = 1.02) conditions. Analysis of boundary condition. T-test results confirmed that both the status-seeking motivation and anticipated conflict were significantly lower among participants who received the intervention (Mstatus = 3.80, SD = 1.29, t(226) = -2.45, p = .015; Mconflict = 2.58, SD = 1.24, t(226) = -2.18, p = .030) versus those who received the control manipulation (Mstatus = 4.22, SD = 1.29; Mconflict = 2.98, SD = 1.51). Statement of Key Findings The results of an experimental design support the overarching hypothesis that providing social media users with information about the deleterious outcomes associated with MG and tools for regulating their MG tendencies effectively moderates these relationships. Specifically, though all study participants were primed for MG motivation, those who received the educational intervention reported significantly less status-seeking motivation and downstream conflict in response to their posts. By moderating status-seeking motivation--the defining characteristic of MG--the posts' content becomes that of civil discourse, which is imperative to a thriving democracy. This research's results indicate that policy makers and marketers should consider educating the public about MG and providing them with tools for the self-regulation of MG motivations. Such self-regulation campaigns must inform individuals of the definition of MG and about its potential deleterious effects on online interpersonal communication and civil discourse. Once the public is aware of the consequences of MG, individuals can question their own motivations before making social media posts and can consider alternative actions to posting, thereby mitigating their MG. Campaigns should be explicit about the importance of selfregulation of MG and inform individuals about the potential for harm associated with policing others' perceived MG behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| قاعدة البيانات: | Complementary Index |
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