Effect On Internet Rumor To Attitude Change

To humans living near the beginning of recorded history, rumors flood our sociallife in every field. Since the internet has been connected in China in April 1994, thespreading of rumors once lift the new carrier. In recent years with the developmentand the popularity of the Internet, the time of using the network stretches forward andthe space of using the network extends further. To people, rumors can be foundanywhere, at the same time rumors shock greatly, and controlling difficultly. So it issignificance that studying Internet rumors have great influence on explicit attitude andimplicit attitude.Social psychologists realized the importance of attitude, regarding it as the key tochange our behaviors, and they also thought attitude could predict behaviors. In thewake of 21st century, with the development of implicit social cognition and implicitattitude research, implicit attitude psychologists tend to believe that implicit attitudeeffects on behaviors through explicit attitude. Associative-Propositional EvaluationModel (APE) explains the forming and changing of the implicit attitude and explicitattitude as the outcomes of two qualitatively distinct processes. According to APE, ifInternet rumors can directly or indirectly pass associative process to affect implicitattitude changing, we will have reason to presume that rumors likely cause somekinds of behaviors.Based on existing research of rumors and APE, the study updated the method ofpropositional learning affecting the attitude change by M.Whitfield and C.H.Jordanand another method of self-generated information affecting the attitude change byB.G.Gawronski and G.V.Bodenhausen. Combined with A Typical Story internet rumorsmaterial, internet rumors had influenced on implicit attitude and explicit attitude,through the relative mediation model testing the relationship between implicit attitudeand explicit attitude.The results of research was as follows:In the experiment 1(a), subjects carried on propositional learning using shortsentences as the intervention material. Experimental results validated hypothesis of the APE. Explicit attitude evaluations were represented as the outcome ofpropositional processes. The studying of propositional material let the subjects bechange explicit attitude notably. In the experiment 1(b), the positive, negative andneutral information was self-generated. The research results indicated that theself-generated information made explicit attitude of subjects change notably whichwas acquainted objects. Through mediation model, self-generated informationaffected explicit attitude, and association process as the mediation led to implicitattitude change.In the experiment 2, the subjects carried on propositional learning usingparagraph authority rumor, paragraph general rumor, paragraph positive informationand paragraph neutral information as the intervention material. The experimentalresults showed positive information and authority rumor material led to the change ofexplicit attitude, and general rumor material intervention did not change explicitattitude. Through the mediation model, the mediation was relatively notable byreading authority rumor material group and positive information material group, andimplicit attitude had been indirectly changed under the explicit attitude influence. Atthe same time, reading general rumor material, explicit attitude of the subjects did notchange, but implicit attitude changed.In the experiment 3, using the intervention of the self-generated information, inthe light of the positive, negative and neutral words based on existing cognitive, thesubjects carried on propositional learning random using paragraph authority rumor,paragraph general rumor or paragraph neutral information as the intervention material.The experimental results showed that with negative self-generation condition andrumor intervention material, explicit attitude of the subjects had changed. Through themediation model, the mediation was relatively notable by negative self-generationcondition group, and implicit attitude had been indirectly influenced under the explicitattitude influence. Moreover, with positive self-generation condition and rumorintervention material, both explicit attitude and implicit attitude had changed,but themediation was not relatively notable.In the experiment 4, using involved condition classification and self-generated information, the subjects carried on propositional learning random using paragraphauthority rumor, paragraph general rumor or paragraph neutral information as theintervention material. The research results demonstrated that with higher involvedcondition, explicit attitude of the subjects changed, and explicit attitude to researchtarget turned more positive, whether read authentic rumors or general rumors. As faras the low involved subjects that the attitude toward contact lens was negative, thehigh involved subjects maintained that the attitude toward them was positive. Whenhigh involved subjects read rumor material, intermediary mediation effect wassignificant.On the contrary, whether low involved subjects read authentic rumors orgeneral rumors, their explicit attitude changed, and explicit attitude to research targetturned more negative. The implicit attitude relative to high involved subjectsmaintained the attitude toward contact lens was positive, while low involved subjectsproposed the attitude toward contact lens was negative.In the experiment 5,with the intervention of video material, positive or negativeemotion of subjects had been activated. Using paragraph authority rumor, generalrumor, or neutral information as the intervention material, the experimental resultsshowed that the score of explicit attitude activated by positive emotion wassignificantly higher than that of negative emotion. Using the group that positiveemotion activation, neutral material intervention as reference, the mediation effectwas remarkable.Finally, the studies analysed the reason of the change of explicit attitudes andimplicit attitudes with internet rumor intervention. Based on APE model, the researchexplored the relationship between the implicit attitudes and explicit attitudes.In a word, internet rumors had influenced on both the explicit and implicitattitudes. Given to the self-generated condition, involved condition, network rumorshad diverse influences on different people. Different emotion activated, people'sattitudes changed in a different degree. Therefore, the influence by internet rumorscould not treat as the ensemble. In view of the internet rumors the measures takenshould vary from person to person.