Your Co-author Received 150 Citations: Pride, but Not Envy, Mediates the Effect of System-Generated Achievement Messages on Motivation

Sonja Utz,Nicole L. Muscanell

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00628

Abstract

ResearchGate, a social network site for academics, prominently displays the achievements of people one follows (“With 150 new reads, X was the most read author from their institute”). The goal of this paper was to examine the emotional and motivational effects of these system-generated messages, thereby extending prior research on envy-evoking status updates on Facebook to a professional context. We also extend the research on social comparisons and more broadly, on emotional responses elicited by social media. Specifically, social media research has largely focused on examining emotional reactions to content that is both generated by and is about others. In this research we directly examine updates generated by the system (ResearchGate) while also directly comparing reactions to updates about others’ achievements with reactions to updates that are about the self—i.e., one’s personal achievements which are also displayed on ResearchGate (“With 150 new reads, you were the most read author from your institute”). Particular attention was paid to the mediating role of envy and pride. The results of our quasi-experimental field study (n = 419) showed that the achievements of others elicited envy, whereas personal achievements elicited pride. People exposed to their personal achievements (vs. the achievement of others) showed a higher motivation to work harder. This effect was mediated by pride, but not envy. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Highlights

Social network sites (SNS) for researchers such as ResearchGate, Academia.edu or loop are professional networks whose mission is to help their users build a scientific reputation and boost their citations
Pride but not envy mediated the effect of achievement source on motivation
We contribute to the literature on social comparison processes on social media by showing that friend-generated status updates can elicit envy (Krasnova et al, 2013; Kross et al, 2013; Tandoc et al, 2015) and system-generated messages on professional platforms

Summary

Introduction

Social network sites (SNS) for researchers such as ResearchGate, Academia.edu or loop are professional networks whose mission is to help their users build a scientific reputation and boost their citations. These networks push information to their users that was either previously not available or needed to be pulled manually from the internet, such as the number of publications and various altmetrics such as views, downloads, or citations. We conducted a quasi-experiment in the field on the role of system-generated messages on motivation, focusing on envy and pride as potential mediators. This research has largely focused on Facebook, linking it to envy and depression

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