Field Experiments on Social Media

Article Multidisciplinary Sciences

Shared partisanship dramatically increases social tie formation in a Twitter field experiment

Mohsen Mosleh et al.

Summary: The study found that shared partisanship has a strong causal effect on the formation of social ties, and this effect is present across both Democrats and Republicans.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (2021)

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Article Multidisciplinary Sciences

Cognitive reflection correlates with behavior on Twitter

Mohsen Mosleh et al.

Summary: The study found that individuals with higher levels of cognitive reflection tend to use social media more discerningly, follow more judgmental types and numbers of accounts, and share more reliable news sources. On the other hand, those with lower levels of cognitive reflection are more likely to engage with like-minded individuals, creating echo chambers.

NATURE COMMUNICATIONS (2021)

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Article Multidisciplinary Sciences

Shifting attention to accuracy can reduce misinformation online

Gordon Pennycook et al.

Summary: In recent years, there has been growing concern over the spread of false information on social media. Research has shown that while most people value sharing accurate news, the veracity of headlines does not necessarily impact their intentions to share. By shifting attention to accuracy, the quality of news that people share can be improved, challenging the belief that people prioritize partisanship over accuracy.

NATURE (2021)

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Review Behavioral Sciences

The Psychology of Fake News

Gordon Pennycook et al.

Summary: Research shows that people are better at discerning truth from falsehood when evaluating politically related news, poor truth discernment is mainly associated with lack of critical thinking and relevant knowledge. There is a notable disconnect between what people believe and what they share on social media, which can be addressed by nudging users to focus more on accuracy and leveraging crowdsourced veracity ratings to improve social media algorithms.

TRENDS IN COGNITIVE SCIENCES (2021)

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Article Multidisciplinary Sciences

Testing the effects of Facebook usage in an ethnically polarized setting

Nejla Asimovic et al.

Summary: This study examines the impact of social media on interethnic attitudes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, finding that deactivating Facebook may lead to decreased respect for outgroups, with this effect potentially being dependent on the ethnic heterogeneity of respondents' residence. Additionally, deactivation of Facebook may result in improvements in subjective well-being, but a decrease in knowledge of current events.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (2021)

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Article Psychology, Multidisciplinary

A Practical Guide to Doing Behavioral Research on Fake News and Misinformation

Gordon Pennycook et al.

Summary: With the global rise in concern over misinformation on social media, there has been an influx of behavioral research on fake news and other forms of misinformation. These studies face challenges such as the dynamic nature of news content on social media, the importance of content selection, and the potential impact of researcher biases on study outcomes.

COLLABRA-PSYCHOLOGY (2021)

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Article Economics

Social Media, News Consumption, and Polarization: Evidence from a Field Experiment

Ro'ee Levy

Summary: The study shows that exposure to news on social media affects the slant of news sites individuals visit, while exposure to counter-attitudinal news reduces negative attitudes toward opposing political parties. Although the political leanings of news outlets do not influence political opinions, Facebook's algorithm is less likely to supply individuals with posts from counter-attitudinal outlets.

AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW (2021)

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Article Multidisciplinary Sciences