The Effects Of Conformity And Self-Control On Hostile Emotions And Aggressive Commenting Tendencies In Online Reviews

In the Internet age,people can freely express their opinions and views on various topics through online discussions.However,the cyberspace is often filled with highly aggressive comments due to the lack of external supervision and identity anonymity.These comments create a highly inflammatory social influence environment,which easily makes other Internet users conform in behavior and attitude.Previous studies have shown that individuals tend to post more aggressive comments and have higher levels of hostility when they see consistent aggressive comments from others.This study aimed to explore the individual differences in online comment conformity and the role of self-control in regulating one’s own behavior and attitude.Based on previous studies,we distinguished two types of self-control: trait selfcontrol as a stable personality trait and state self-control as a consumable psychological cognitive resource.We conducted three studies to examine the effects of online comment conformity and self-control on hostility and aggressive comment tendency.In Study 1,we manipulated conformity influence(conforming to aggressive comments vs.conforming to civil comments vs.no conformity influence)by showing subjects consistent comments from others.We found that individuals who experienced aggressive comment conformity had significantly higher hostility and aggressive comment tendency than those who experienced civilized comment conformity or no conformity influence.In Study 2,we examined the interaction between trait self-control and conformity influence on hostility and aggressive comment tendency.We used a 3(conformity influence: conforming to aggressive comments vs.conforming to civil comments vs.no conformity influence)× 2(trait self-control: high vs.low)experimental design.We found that both conformity and trait self-control had significant main effects on hostility and aggressive comment tendency,but only their interaction was significant for aggressive comment tendency.Further analysis showed that individuals with low trait self-control had higher aggressive comment tendency after experiencing both types of conformity influence.In Study 3,we explored the interaction between state self-control and conformity influence on hostility and aggressive comment tendency.We manipulated state selfcontrol level(depletion vs.no depletion)through Stroop experimental paradigm.We found similar results as in Study 2,the interaction between state self-control and conformity influence was significant for aggressive comment tendency.Further analysis showed that individuals with low state self-control had higher aggressive comment tendency after experiencing both types of conformity influence.This study comprehensively explored the effects of online comment conformity and self-control on hostility and aggressive comment tendency.It successfully replicated and extended foreign online comment conformity studies in the Chinese social media environment.It also demonstrated the positive role of self-control in regulating one’s own behavior and attitude when facing online comment conformity influence.It highlighted the importance of self-adjustment and supervision of one’s own behavior and attitude in the virtual cyberspace.