Surprise, was definitely how I felt when I read how little user behaviour was affected by the experimental manipulations:
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- 1On average, people used less than one fewer emotional word in every 1000 words in Facebook posts over the following week
- That means the difference made by the experimental manipulations was tiny
Significant results?
Yes, say the researchers1 owing to the huge number of 689,003 Facebook users involved. Their data showed that emotional states can become virus like, therefore, easily transferred to others. Consequently, people experienced the same emotions as one another without realising it, and without directly interacting. Exposure to emotions in a friend’s Facebook post was enough. For more information see the British Psychological Society summary article here: http://ow.ly/yEjRy
Important results?
The researchers thought so. They pointed out with the massive scale of social networks such as Facebook; even small effects can have large overall impacts. Also, they thought that their findings might also be useful for relaying public health messages. However, I suspect that the manipulative aspect of their study may mean people feel nervous about how such recommendations are used. See my blog article about the ‘creepy or justifiable’ implications here: http://mwrconsulting.co.uk/?page_id=117
For an excellent summary of the research findings and the resulting ethical debate read a British Psychological Society article here: http://ow.ly/yEjRy
1 Kramer, A. D. I., Guillory, J. E., Hancock J. T. (2014), Experimental evidence of massive-scale emotional contagion through social networks, PNAS, 111 (24), 8788-8790
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T: 07779 345 499 E: m.raymond@mwrconsulting.co.uk We have experience in developing senior managers and their team members – both on an individual and team level – so they can develop practical approaches that encourage positive, constructive behaviour. This, in turn, leads to the development of positive beliefs and values. We are ready work with you, to help you get the best out of your people. Here are some examples of approaches that can be used and tailored to your individual needs:
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