Abstract

Social media (SM) allow citizens to not only read news but also express their political opinions. Drawing from cognitive appraisal and affective intelligence theory, this study investigated the affective foundation of political opinion expression on social media (POESM) using two-wave panel data. The results indicate that enthusiasm and anger stimulated POESM but only for individuals with a minimum threshold motivation to use SM for political purposes. Among the politically motivated, anxiety increased POESM for individuals with low political knowledge but lessened POESM for ones with high political knowledge. Thus, emotional states can be powerful drivers of POESM. In contexts with low levels of POESM, emotions may stimulate online discussion as well as contribute to the further emotionalization of political debates.

中文翻译：

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社交媒体上政治观点表达的情感基础：面板分析

摘要

社交媒体（SM）使公民不仅可以阅读新闻，而且可以表达其政治见解。基于认知评估和情感智力理论，本研究使用两波面板数据研究了社交媒体上政治观点表达的情感基础。结果表明，热情和愤怒刺激了POESM，但仅适用于出于政治目的使用SM的最低门槛动机的个人。在出于政治动机的人群中，焦虑会增加政治知识水平较低的人的POESM，但会减少政治知识水平较高的人的POESM。因此，情绪状态可能是POESM的强大驱动力。在POESM水平较低的情况下，情绪可能会刺激在线讨论，并有助于进一步推动政治辩论的情绪化。