Project info
Project name
6.3 Ethnic Diversity, Norms and Networks
Work package
- Inclusion
Sustainability threat
- Feedback Cycles
Challenge
- Dealing with diversity
Study info
Related studies according to other researchers
The influence of group membership on online expressions and polarization on a discussion platform: an experimental study
Description of Study
There has been much debate about how cultural differences between ethnic groups may affect the cohesion of multicultural societies. Still, we know little about the extent to which cultural differences between groups also materialize into behavioral differences, especially in online settings. To study this, we conducted an experiment in which second-generation Moroccan and Turkish Dutch participants first indicated their personal opinion on sexual liberalism, and then participated in discussions on this topic on an online platform. On the discussion platform, participants were randomly assigned to either a progressive, conservative or mixed online discussion. Overall, we found that the convergence between personal opinions and online expressions was stronger for progressive than for conservative participants. Additionally, conservatives (but not progressives) were less likely to express their personal opinions, and more likely to deviate from their personal opinions, when they were exposed to an incongruent versus congruent online environment.
Study research question
How do personal opinions relate to online expressions?
What is the influence of norm congruency on this relationship?
Collection provenance
- Collected during project
Collection methods
- Experiment
- Questionaire
Personal data
No
External Source
Source description
File formats
- .csv
- Stata
Data types
- Structured
Languages
- Dutch
- English
Coverage start
Coverage end
14/10/2021
25/10/2021
Spatial coverage
The Netherlands
Collection period start
14/10/2021
Collection period end
25/10/2021
Variables
Unit
Unit description
Sample size
Sampling method
Individuals
Forum users
222
Convenience sample
Other
Forum pages
1,110
Convenience sample
Other
Forum likes
2,466
Convenience sample
Other
Forum dislikes
1,211
Convenience sample
Other
Forum comments
148
Convenience sample
Hypothesis
Theory
Second-generation Moroccan and Turkish Dutch participants are more likely to express their personal opinion in a congruent online norm condition than in a mixed and incongruent online norm condition by posting (a) (dis)likes and (b) comments.
Spiral of Silence
Second-generation Moroccan and Turkish Dutch participants are less likely to deviate from their personal opinion in their online expressions in a congruent online norm condition than in a mixed or incongruent online norm condition by posting (dis)likes.
Preference falsification
Second-generation Moroccan and Turkish Dutch participants with a conservative opinion post more progressive comments and those with a progressive opinion post more conservative comments in the incongruent norm condition than in the congruent norm condition.
Preference falsification
Variable type
Variable name
Variable description
Discipline-specific operationalizations
Conflict of interest
-
Data packages
Publications
Documents
Filename
Description
Date
Ethics
Ethical assessment
Yes
Ethical committee
Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences of Utrecht (approval number 21-0389).