Is Civility Contagious? Examining the Impact of Modeling in Online Political Discussions

Social Media + Society

Soo-HyeHan¹ 

关键词: civility;    political discussion;    modeling;    metacommunication;    online discussion;   

DOI  :  10.1177/2056305118793404

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Sage Journals

【 摘 要 】

This study examines a way to promote civility in online political discussions through modeling discursive cues. An online experiment (N = 321) was conducted to investigate the impact of civil and uncivil discursive cues on participants’ mode of discussion. Results show that participants who were exposed to civil cues were more likely to engage in civil discourse themselves, stay on-topic, and offer additional perspectives in their comments. We also found that metacommunication (i.e., talking about the tone of discussion) engendered more metacommunication. This study illustrates the impact of modeling discursive cues and illuminates the possibility that participants in online discussion can improve their discursive environment.

【 授权许可】

CC BY-NC