Investigating credibility judgements in social media : the impact of attitude-consistency

The proliferation of social media and web 2.0 applications are enabling consumers of information to also become producers. With the lack of traditional gatekeepers in social media, biased information under the guise of fact that is produced can quickly spread. Some credibility literature indicate th...

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Main Author: Lim, Siu Chen
Other Authors: Sin Sei Ching Joanna
Format: Theses and Dissertations
Language:English
Published: 2017
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Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10356/72722
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
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spelling sg-ntu-dr.10356-727222019-12-10T13:52:54Z Investigating credibility judgements in social media : the impact of attitude-consistency Lim, Siu Chen Sin Sei Ching Joanna Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information DRNTU::Library and information science DRNTU::Social sciences::Communication The proliferation of social media and web 2.0 applications are enabling consumers of information to also become producers. With the lack of traditional gatekeepers in social media, biased information under the guise of fact that is produced can quickly spread. Some credibility literature indicate that people prefer balanced messages, covering all viewpoints, over one-sided messages, regardless of attitude consistency. However, other credibility research suggests the contrary, that people perceived unbalanced but attitude-consistent messages as more credible. Given that this question had never been tested in the context of social media, and given the potentially disconcerting consequences of individuals judging one-sided but attitude-consistent information as more credible on social media, this study investigated the relationship between attitude-consistency and credibility. Further, this study sought to explore a possible intervention that might mitigate the positive relationship between attitude-consistency and credibility. Finally, this study investigated if is a difference between the credibility judgements of factual and opinion based information. Data collection was conducted among the Singapore tertiary undergraduate and graduate population via online surveys. One hundred and seventy-seven (177) usable samples were collected. Results revealed that attitude-consistent information was judged as more credible than attitude-inconsistent information, and balanced information as more credible than attitude-inconsistent information. However, attitude-consistent and balanced information are viewed as comparable in terms of credibility. The social cognitive theory guided intervention aimed at mitigating the relationship between attitude-consistency and credibility was also ineffective. Lastly, factual information on a social media post was judged as more credible than even attitude-consistent information. It is concluded that confirmation bias plays a part in credibility perceptions. Findings of this study might be useful to social media service providers in understanding user behavior and indicates a possible need for indicators of objectivity or fairness of messages to be incorporated into the platform to inform users of one-sided information they might come across. This study also underscores the role of educators and instructional information professionals in educating users about confirmation bias in information processing, and the importance of verification, critical thinking, and the earnest seeking out of diverse opinions on a topic. Finally, the results of this paper prompt many ideas for future research. for example, when does attitude-consistency affect credibility judgements, and vice versa? Do people judge attitude-consistent information as more credible than balanced information in all circumstances? Master of Science (Information Systems) 2017-10-26T09:46:37Z 2017-10-26T09:46:37Z 2017 Thesis Lim, S. C. (2017). Investigating credibility judgements in social media : the impact of attitude-consistency. Master's thesis, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. http://hdl.handle.net/10356/72722 en Nanyang Technological University 62 p. application/pdf
institution Nanyang Technological University
building NTU Library
country Singapore
collection DR-NTU
language English
topic DRNTU::Library and information science
DRNTU::Social sciences::Communication
spellingShingle DRNTU::Library and information science
DRNTU::Social sciences::Communication
Lim, Siu Chen
Investigating credibility judgements in social media : the impact of attitude-consistency
description The proliferation of social media and web 2.0 applications are enabling consumers of information to also become producers. With the lack of traditional gatekeepers in social media, biased information under the guise of fact that is produced can quickly spread. Some credibility literature indicate that people prefer balanced messages, covering all viewpoints, over one-sided messages, regardless of attitude consistency. However, other credibility research suggests the contrary, that people perceived unbalanced but attitude-consistent messages as more credible. Given that this question had never been tested in the context of social media, and given the potentially disconcerting consequences of individuals judging one-sided but attitude-consistent information as more credible on social media, this study investigated the relationship between attitude-consistency and credibility. Further, this study sought to explore a possible intervention that might mitigate the positive relationship between attitude-consistency and credibility. Finally, this study investigated if is a difference between the credibility judgements of factual and opinion based information. Data collection was conducted among the Singapore tertiary undergraduate and graduate population via online surveys. One hundred and seventy-seven (177) usable samples were collected. Results revealed that attitude-consistent information was judged as more credible than attitude-inconsistent information, and balanced information as more credible than attitude-inconsistent information. However, attitude-consistent and balanced information are viewed as comparable in terms of credibility. The social cognitive theory guided intervention aimed at mitigating the relationship between attitude-consistency and credibility was also ineffective. Lastly, factual information on a social media post was judged as more credible than even attitude-consistent information. It is concluded that confirmation bias plays a part in credibility perceptions. Findings of this study might be useful to social media service providers in understanding user behavior and indicates a possible need for indicators of objectivity or fairness of messages to be incorporated into the platform to inform users of one-sided information they might come across. This study also underscores the role of educators and instructional information professionals in educating users about confirmation bias in information processing, and the importance of verification, critical thinking, and the earnest seeking out of diverse opinions on a topic. Finally, the results of this paper prompt many ideas for future research. for example, when does attitude-consistency affect credibility judgements, and vice versa? Do people judge attitude-consistent information as more credible than balanced information in all circumstances?
author2 Sin Sei Ching Joanna
author_facet Sin Sei Ching Joanna
Lim, Siu Chen
format Theses and Dissertations
author Lim, Siu Chen
author_sort Lim, Siu Chen
title Investigating credibility judgements in social media : the impact of attitude-consistency
title_short Investigating credibility judgements in social media : the impact of attitude-consistency
title_full Investigating credibility judgements in social media : the impact of attitude-consistency
title_fullStr Investigating credibility judgements in social media : the impact of attitude-consistency
title_full_unstemmed Investigating credibility judgements in social media : the impact of attitude-consistency
title_sort investigating credibility judgements in social media : the impact of attitude-consistency
publishDate 2017
url http://hdl.handle.net/10356/72722
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