Inspired by the crowd: The effect of online comments on elevation and universal orientation |
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| Authors: | T Franklin Waddell Amanda Bailey |
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| Institution: | Department of Journalism, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA |
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| Abstract: | Past research on meaningful media has shown that the experience of elevation can foster increased feelings of connection to others due to the affective states that meaningful media elicit. However, what happens when inspiring media are accompanied by cues related to the opinion of others? Does the presumed opinion of the audience moderate the affective indicators or behavioral effects of elevation? An online experiment was conducted to answer these questions using a 2 (news type: inspiring vs. non-inspiring control)?×?3 (comment type: civil vs. uncivil vs. no comment control) between-subjects design. Results revealed that news articles accompanied by either civil or uncivil comments elicited lower affective states associated with elevation. Furthermore, civil comments increased universal orientation through the mediating pathway of bandwagon support. |
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| Keywords: | Eudaimonic media comments MAIN model bandwagon heuristic online news |
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