In the online context we often have explicit access to people's opinions.
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Online, opinions are often the only available cues to inform in and out-groups.
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Opinions can serve as category cues from which people deduce opinion-based identities.
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Online contexts characterised by opposing opinions can facilitate group identification.
Abstract
Computer mediated communication has marked differences from the face-to-face context. One major difference is that, in the online context, we often have explicit access to others' opinions and these opinions are often the only informational cues available. We investigate if awareness of opinion congruence, in the absence of any other reference categories, may be sufficient to foster social identification. In a pre-registered experiment (N = 681), we manipulated exposure to opinions, and measured levels of ingroup identification, opinion-based identification and their social influence on activism intentions. Our results demonstrate exposure to others' opinions in an otherwise anonymous context fosters ingroup and opinion-based identification. There was no effect on opinion-based group activism intentions. We conclude that computer mediated contexts have consequences for identification – opinion (in)congruence is becoming more relevant as a source of social categorization. While we did not find this identification had a social influence on activism, we discuss avenues for future research to disentangle the features of opinion-based groups necessary to foster activism.
Graphical abstract
Keywords
Opinion based groups
Social identity theory
Identification
Computer mediated communication
Online opinion sharing
Data availability
I have shared the link to my data and code (within the manuscript text)