Nasty online comments anger you more than me, but nice ones make me as happy as you

Gina Masullo Chen; Yee Man Margaret Ng

doi:10.1016/j.chb.2017.02.010

Nasty online comments anger you more than me, but nice ones make me as happy as you

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Using online comments posted on news stories as the context, this research used two experiments to assess the influence of online comments on people's emotions as well as on their perceptions of others' emotions. Study 1 (N = 301) showed that people perceived uncivil disagreement comments posted on news stories as having a greater effect on negative emotions than civil disagreement comments. In addition, it found that people perceived uncivil comments as having a greater effect on the negative emotions of others, compared to the self, suggesting support for an emotional third-person perception (TPP). Study 2 (N = 565) showed that people perceived agreement comments as having a greater effect on positive emotions than uncivil disagreement comments. Findings also showed that people perceived agreement comments as having an equal effect on the positive emotions of the self, compared to others. This supports an emotional first-person perception (FPP).

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	181-188
Number of pages	8
Journal	Computers in Human Behavior
Volume	71
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.02.010
State	Published - Jun 1 2017
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

Agreement
Emotions
Face theory
First-person perception
Incivility
Online news
Third-person perception

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
Human-Computer Interaction
Psychology(all)

Online availability

10.1016/j.chb.2017.02.010

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title = "Nasty online comments anger you more than me, but nice ones make me as happy as you",

abstract = "Using online comments posted on news stories as the context, this research used two experiments to assess the influence of online comments on people's emotions as well as on their perceptions of others' emotions. Study 1 (N = 301) showed that people perceived uncivil disagreement comments posted on news stories as having a greater effect on negative emotions than civil disagreement comments. In addition, it found that people perceived uncivil comments as having a greater effect on the negative emotions of others, compared to the self, suggesting support for an emotional third-person perception (TPP). Study 2 (N = 565) showed that people perceived agreement comments as having a greater effect on positive emotions than uncivil disagreement comments. Findings also showed that people perceived agreement comments as having an equal effect on the positive emotions of the self, compared to others. This supports an emotional first-person perception (FPP).",

keywords = "Agreement, Emotions, Face theory, First-person perception, Incivility, Online news, Third-person perception",

author = "Chen, {Gina Masullo} and Ng, {Yee Man Margaret}",

note = "Funding Information: This research was supported by the Student Enrichment Fund, School of Journalism, The University of Texas at Austin. The authors thank Paromita Pain, Shannon Price, Paige Turner, and Taylor Weese for collecting the comments that became the stimuli for this project. An earlier version of this manuscript was presented to the Mass Communication and Society Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication at its annual conference in Minneapolis, MN, in August 2016. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2017 Elsevier Ltd",

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AU - Ng, Yee Man Margaret

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N2 - Using online comments posted on news stories as the context, this research used two experiments to assess the influence of online comments on people's emotions as well as on their perceptions of others' emotions. Study 1 (N = 301) showed that people perceived uncivil disagreement comments posted on news stories as having a greater effect on negative emotions than civil disagreement comments. In addition, it found that people perceived uncivil comments as having a greater effect on the negative emotions of others, compared to the self, suggesting support for an emotional third-person perception (TPP). Study 2 (N = 565) showed that people perceived agreement comments as having a greater effect on positive emotions than uncivil disagreement comments. Findings also showed that people perceived agreement comments as having an equal effect on the positive emotions of the self, compared to others. This supports an emotional first-person perception (FPP).

AB - Using online comments posted on news stories as the context, this research used two experiments to assess the influence of online comments on people's emotions as well as on their perceptions of others' emotions. Study 1 (N = 301) showed that people perceived uncivil disagreement comments posted on news stories as having a greater effect on negative emotions than civil disagreement comments. In addition, it found that people perceived uncivil comments as having a greater effect on the negative emotions of others, compared to the self, suggesting support for an emotional third-person perception (TPP). Study 2 (N = 565) showed that people perceived agreement comments as having a greater effect on positive emotions than uncivil disagreement comments. Findings also showed that people perceived agreement comments as having an equal effect on the positive emotions of the self, compared to others. This supports an emotional first-person perception (FPP).

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Nasty online comments anger you more than me, but nice ones make me as happy as you

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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