Despite incivility in online discussions being linked to various negative effects, less is known about the mechanisms of how incivility works. So far, explanations by social perception have been neglected. Therefore, drawing on the multiple inference model, this study employs an attribution theoretical approach to examine whether the motives and traits that people attribute to senders of uncivil or opposing comments affect their intentions to join a discussion. Employing a 2 (incivility vs. no incivility) × 2 (like-minded vs. opposing stance) between-subjects design, data from an online experiment (N = 452) were analyzed applying a path model (SPSS AMOS). Results revealed that participants attributed more aggressive and less nonaggressive motives to senders of uncivil messages. The attribution of aggressive motives consequently increased hostile inferences about the target. A similar pattern occurred when individuals were exposed to an opposing stance. In result, hostile inferences about the sender’s traits decreased participants’ willingness to discuss.

尽管在线讨论中的不友好行为与各种负面影响有关，但人们对不友好行为的工作机制知之甚少。迄今为止，社会观念的解释已被忽略。因此，本研究利用多重推理模型，采用归因理论方法来检验人们归因于不文明或反对意见发件人的动机和特征是否会影响他们参加讨论的意图。受试者之间的设计采用2（主动性与无主动性）×2（思想相同与反对的立场），来自在线实验的数据（N = 452）应用路径模型（SPSS AMOS）进行了分析。结果显示，与会人员将不积极的信息发给更多积极进取和较少消极动机的人。因此，攻击动机的归因增加了对目标的敌对推论。当个人处于相反立场时，也会发生类似的情况。结果，对发件人特征的敌意推论降低了参与者的讨论意愿。