Posting versus Lurking: Communicating in a Multiple Audience Context
- 1 September 2005
- journal article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Journal of Consumer Research
- Vol. 32 (2), 260-265
- https://doi.org/10.1086/432235
Abstract
Two experiments examined public and private responding in a multiple-audience context—a context in which members have varying opinions. I propose and find that posters (those communicating their experience to others) are influenced only by another's negative opinion because it triggers such social concerns as appearing indiscriminate. Consequently, they adjust their public attitudes downward. Self-presentational concerns appear to cause this negativity bias: lurkers (those not posting their opinion) were less affected by another's negative opinion. Furthermore, posters presented more than one side when publicly explaining their attitudes. These effects persisted despite posters' favorable product experiences and commitment to these attitudes.Keywords
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