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How do Online Comments Affect Perceived Descriptive Norms of E-Cigarette Use? The Role of Quasi-Statistical Sense, Valence Perceptions, and Exposure Dosage

Jiaying Liu,Rui Shi

Published 2018 in J. Comput. Mediat. Commun.

ABSTRACT

By facilitating user participatory features such as online comments, digital media expand the means through which individuals can get access to others ’ behavior choices. This opens new research avenues in the pursuit of understanding how social in fl uence operates in the virtual space. The current study examined whether anonymous others ’ behavior choices within the online comment board may a ff ect viewers ’ descriptive norm perceptions in the real world. Results show that, given su ffi cient total exposure, viewers ’ “ quasi-statistical sense ” allowed them to correctly identify the numerical majority through subtle individual behavior cues embedded in the online comments, which e ff ectively in fl uenced their estimation of the actual e-cigarette use prevalence among the U.S. population. Perceived behavior choice dominance and valence stance dominance toward e-cigarette use on the online comment board were found to mediate the relationship. Implications for the underlying mechanism of descriptive norm perception formation and future directions are discussed.

PUBLICATION RECORD

  • Publication year

    2018

  • Venue

    J. Comput. Mediat. Commun.

  • Publication date

    2018-12-17

  • Fields of study

    Computer Science, Psychology

  • Identifiers
    DOI 10.1093/JCMC/ZMY021
  • External record

    Open on Semantic Scholar

  • Source metadata

    Semantic Scholar

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