According to Oxford and MIT researchers, social media users are more likely to follow and engage with like-minded accounts that demonstrate similar political views – but to what extent is this driven by interest in the content itself (informational motives), rather than interest in connecting with those that share similar worldviews (social motives)?
A new study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General explores how social and psychological factors influence partisan bias in forming social media connections, providing new insights into how these platforms can contribute to the reinforcement of political polarisation.
The research, co-led by Associate Professor and Senior Research Fellow, Dr Mohsen Mosleh, Oxford Internet Institute, used Twitter (now X) field experiments to investigate whether users follow accounts based on political alignment to content, or social preference for like-minded individuals.
To do this, they created a created a mix of bot and human-appearing accounts with Democratic, Republican, and neutral characteristics. They found that participants were more likely to reciprocate connections with “copartisans” who shared their beliefs and political values, especially when they perceived the accounts to be humans, rather than bots. This shows that users’ motivations on platforms like Twitter go beyond merely seeking content: they prefer making social connections to those who share their political stance.
“Our research sheds light on how selective connections on social media may reinforce users’ political views, when they choose to surround themselves with like-minded views,” says Mosleh. “This could intensify polarisation, as it limits users’ exposure to diverse perspectives. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for developing strategies that promote balanced interactions in digital spaces, potentially mitigating echo chambers, and fostering more inclusive online communities.”
The study also examined the nuances of how politically active Twitter users accept follow requests and follow users back. Results showed that users are inclined to connect with people who share their political views, and equally reluctant to engage with those on the opposite side of the political spectrum.
This finding was reinforced by a follow-up survey, which saw decreased follow-back rates for neutral or “opposing” accounts, and higher follow-back rates for politically aligned accounts. This illustrates the complex mix of political beliefs and social biases that drive individuals’ online interactions, and illustrates how personal political alignment shapes social media networks.
About the commentary: The research paper, ‘Psychological underpinnings of partisan bias in tie formation on social media,’ by Mohsen Mosleh, Cameron Martel, and David G. Rand, is available to download in Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, published 14 October 2024. The ideas and data presented here were disseminated as a presentation at the Conference on Digital Experimentation at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2023, November) and as a poster at the Polarization Workshop (2023, December). The research was conducted whilst Mosleh was a Senior Lecturer at the University of Exeter.
About the authors: Mohsen Mosleh is an Associate Professor in Social Data Science at Oxford Internet Institute and a Governing Body Fellow at Wolfson College. He is also a research affiliate at MIT Sloan School of Management. Cameron Martel is a PhD candidate in the Marketing Group at MIT Sloan School of Management. David G. Rand is the Erwin H. Schell Professor and Professor of Management Science and Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT, the director of the Applied Cooperation Initiative, and an affiliate of the MIT Institute of Data, Systems, and Society, and the Initiative on the Digital Economy.
