Social influence bias | Solutional Webdesign Antwerpen

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Social influence^[1] bias refers to the phenomenon where people’s decisions or actions are swayed by the opinions or behaviors of others, particularly in an online setting. This bias is often seen in online reviews or ratings, where the initial opinions can significantly shape subsequent reviews. This herd behavior can impact the credibility and accuracy of online reviews, leading to a skewed distribution of ratings. A study by Muchnik, Aral, and Taylor found that positive manipulation increased the likelihood of up-voting and higher mean ratings. On the other hand, negative manipulation didn’t significantly alter the final ratings. This bias can also extend to social media^[2] platforms, influencing user perceptions and reinforcing ideologies. Understanding and addressing social influence bias is essential for accurate interpretation of online reviews and for mitigating its impact on public opinion.

Terms definitions

1. ↑ Social influence ( Social influence ) Social influence refers to the way individuals' thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are shaped by others. This concept encompasses a variety of types, such as Kelman's compliance, identification, and internalization, which refer to different levels of individual acceptance of social influence. It also includes phenomena like conformity, minority influence, self-fulfilling prophecy, and social contagion, each with its unique dynamics and implications.However, social influence can also take on negative forms, such as psychological manipulation, abusive power, propaganda, and hard power. These forms often involve the exploitation or coercion of individuals.Various factors can impact the extent and nature of social influence, including antecedents like social impact theory and Cialdini's Weapons of Influence, as well as social structures like unanimity and status. Cultural and emotional influences also play a significant role, shaping conformity and behavior within social structures.Research in this field explores topics such as the influence of social networks, cognitive limits on information transmission, challenges in social media analysis, and the pursuit of a causal understanding in social influence.

2. ↑ social media. Social media is a broad term encompassing a variety of digital tools and platforms that facilitate the sharing of information and the creation of virtual communities. Emerging from early systems like PLATO and ARPANET, it has evolved into modern platforms like Facebook and Twitter. These platforms offer unique features that differentiate them from traditional media, including the ability for users to generate content and engage in dialogic communication. They cater to over 100 million users globally and offer different forms of services, such as messaging apps and collaborative content creation platforms. The use of social media has far-reaching impacts on individuals, society, and businesses, influencing everything from marketing practices to political processes. However, it's also associated with ethical concerns, such as the spread of misinformation and potential addiction.

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Glossary

Social influence bias (Wikipedia)

The social influence bias is an asymmetric herding effect on online social media platforms which makes users overcompensate for negative ratings but amplify positive ones. Positive social influence can accumulate and result in a rating bubble, while negative social influence is neutralized by crowd correction. This phenomenon was first described in a paper written by Lev Muchnik, Sinan Aral and Sean J. Taylor in 2014, then the question was revisited by Cicognani et al., whose experiment reinforced Munchnik's and his co-authors' results.

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