Impacts of Authority and Unanimity on Social Conformity in Online Chats about Climate Change

Background The purpose of this study was to examine whether two variables of persuasive communication, authority and unanimity, induce social conformity when people communicate over digital social media without knowing each other. Analysis Data collection was based on a mixed methodology. In all, 26...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCanadian journal of communication Vol. 43; no. 2; pp. 265 - 279
Main Authors Farmer, Yanick, Bissière, Mehlia, Benkirane, Amina
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Toronto University of Toronto Press 01.01.2018
Subjects
Audiences
Climate change
Communication
Computer mediated communication
Computers
Conformity
Consent
Data collection
Digital media
Ethics
Experiments
Groups
Interpersonal communication
Lea, Martin
Milgram, Stanley (1933-1984)
Persuasion
Psychologists
Public relations
Social networks
Social psychology
Studies
Theory
Virtual communities
Web 2.0
United States > US
Online AccessGet full text
ISSN0705-3657
1499-6642
DOI10.22230/cjc.2018v43n2a3206

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Summary:Background The purpose of this study was to examine whether two variables of persuasive communication, authority and unanimity, induce social conformity when people communicate over digital social media without knowing each other. Analysis Data collection was based on a mixed methodology. In all, 26 subjects were tested ( N = 26). Conclusions and implications The research showed that the tendency of conforming to groups is maintained in online communications. However, the level of such conformity is not as high as the level that prevails in face-to-face communication.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
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ISSN:0705-3657
1499-6642
DOI:10.22230/cjc.2018v43n2a3206