Research and Insights: Online Products and Consumers: Partisan Ratings and Mechanisms for Affective Polarization
Can star ratings for political content on platforms like Amazon alter our feelings towards others with similar or opposing political preferences? When we see ratings that disagree with our own, are we more likely to believe the ratings are manipulated? And when we see ratings that agree with our own, are we more likely to trust those ratings?
Research has shown that exposure to online ratings can influence affective polarization, the steady growth of mutual dislike between political parties. This can create negative effects on the democratic process, such as creating stereotypes, conflict and diminished interest in interacting with out-group members.
Researchers Benjamin K. Johnson, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Advertising Assistant Professor, and Rachel L. Neo at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, used two online experiments to determine if the established feelings consumers hold toward politicians or political parties become more aggravated and polarized when confronted with online ratings opposing their beliefs and more favorable when exposed to beliefs similar to their own. In particular, they showed participants images of Amazon book ratings.
Posted: October 14, 2020
Category: Digest Only
