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 this researcher
How do personal opinions relate to online expressions? An experimental study among Muslim minority groups in the Netherlands
Description of Study
Despite much attention for group polarization in online environments, little is known about how group membership affects online behavior. We designed an online platform where ethnic minority and majority users in the Netherlands participated in discussions about controversial topics (homosexuality and abortion). Participants were randomly assigned to either progressive, conservative, or mixed discussions on these topics, which were ostensibly held among ethnic minority or majority users. We find that when ethnic minority users are exposed to discussions among the ethnic majority (i.e., outgroup) with which they disagree, they are less likely to express their opinions and more likely to deviate from their personal opinions. Among ethnic majority users, we find the opposite: when confronted with a discussion among the ethnic minority with which they disagree, they are more likely to voice their opinion and less likely to deviate from their personal opinions. This shows that group membership can affect online polarization.
Study research question
How do personal opinions relate to online expressions?
What is the influence of norm congruency on this relationship?
What is the influence of (similarity in) ethnic group membership 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
27/06/2022
26/07/2022
Spatial coverage
The Netherlands
Collection period start
27/06/2022
Collection period end
26/07/2022
Variables
Unit
Unit description
Sample size
Sampling method
Individuals
Turkish/Moroccan-Dutch and ethnic majority Dutch
604
Convenience sample
Other
Forum pages
1,208
Convenience sample
Other
Forum likes
2,235
Convenience sample
Other
Forum dislikes
2,070
Convenience sample
Other
Forum comments
180
Convenience sample
Hypothesis
Theory
Participants are less likely to express their personal opinion using (dis)likes in a mixed or incongruent online opinion climate than in a congruent online opinion climate (expression effect)
Spiral of Silence
Participants are more likely deviate from their personal opinion using (dis)likes in a mixed or incongruent online opinion climate than in a congruent online opinion climate (deviation effect)
Preference falsification
The expression effect (H1) and deviation effect (H2) are stronger in the ingroup condition than in the outgroup condition (ingroup effect).
Social identity approach
Variable type
Variable name
Variable description
Discipline-specific operationalizations
Conflict of interest
-
Data packages
Publications
The influence of group membership on online expressions and polarization on a discussion platform: An experimental study
New Media & Society
Documents
Filename
Description
Date
Ethics
Ethical assessment
Yes
Ethical committee
Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences of Utrecht (approval number 22-0268).