Abstract
Problem statement: Research has shown that both positive and negative information can alter a neutral attitude towards an unknown person, with negative information having, in general, a larger impact. Though this positive-negative asymmetry has received considerable attention, it has, to our knowledge, not been tested in more current and powerful social media, such as youtube. Although attitudes are not fixed, literature on the reversal of a recently established attitude by providing counter-attitudinal information is sparse. Therefore, the main aims of the present study were to examine positve-negative asymmetry in attitude formation using youtube fragments and to test the permanence of the establihed attitude by providing counter-attitudinal information. Approach: A total of 89 persons received either a positively (P) or a negatively (N) valued youtube fragment concerning a neutral target person. Subsequently, half of each group received positive written information (groups PP and NP) regarding the target person; the other half received negative written information (groups PN and NN). Results: The results indicate that it is indeed possible to change a neutral attitude using youtube fragments, with a larger attitude change after negative than positive material. Textual information reversed this attitude, with an equal effect for positive and negative information. Conclusion/Recommendations: It is possible to quickly change an attitude towards a neutral person using youtube fragments, this formed attitude can easily be reversed by providing textual counter-attitudinal information. These findings can contribute to gaining a better understanding of the effect of modern social media on attitude formation and its transiency.
Highlights
Attitude and change in attitude is one of the most extensively researched topics among social psychologists
Demographic variables: Seven persons were removed from the data analyses as they explicitly reported a mismatch between the person at the picture and in the film, even though they did score he target person as if he matched the person in the film fragment
Either a positive (P) or negative (N) film fragment was linked to this person, resulting in a respectively, more positive or negative attitude towards the target person
Summary
Attitude and change in attitude is one of the most extensively researched topics among social psychologists. Attitudes are general positive or negative evaluations of someone or something and contain affective, behavioral and cognitive correlates. Attitudes exert a profound influence on information processing including attention, encoding, interpretation and memory,(see for a review Bohner and Dickel, 2011). Attitudes are not fixed and can be altered by exposure to information. Negative information receives more processing and gives a stronger contribution to an impression or attitude than does positive information (Baumeister et al, 2001; Fiske, 1980; but see Peeters and Czapinski, 1990, for a positivity bias). Richey et al (1975) have shown that one negative event about an unknown person is neutralized by presenting five positive events
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