Now, with the advent of the microblogging era, Weibo has been a group of people and events, often sharing stories, news and other information with the people around them. We send online articles to friends and chat with colleagues in front of the drinking fountains. This social spread lasted for thousands of of years, and the development of modern science and technology has made it an integral part of our lives that SMS, microblogs, nutshell nets and other media have become a reality. At the same time, sharing information with others becomes faster and easier. On the bus can brush Weibo, travel photos can be posted to Renren, even in the remote areas without network can also send MMS. But why does some information share more than others? Why do some posts get wildly forwarded? What motivates people to share information?
Let the emotions spread out
"Awakening", to some extent, has prompted people to share stories and information, according to Jonah Berger, who recently published an article in the journal Psychological Science (psychologicial). Whether for emotional stimulation or other reasons, when people awaken psychologically, autonomic nerves are activated, thus promoting social communication behavior. In short, the awakening of a particular emotion can determine whether a message can be transmitted.
"In previous papers, we found that emotional articles published in the New York Times were the most widely forwarded," he said. Interestingly, we find that the articles that inspire positive emotions are generally widely transmitted, and the stories that inspire negative emotions are more complex. Negative emotions such as anxiety and anger increase the rate of transmission, while others, such as sadness, reduce the rate of transmission. Here, arousal seems to play a crucial role, "says Berger, assistant professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania, Joseph Campbell.
Let the emotions of anxiety and delight spread out
To prove his conjecture, Berger designed two different experiments. Berger believes that panic, anger, or being amused can motivate people to share news and information. Different emotions are divided into two types: high arousal and low arousal. "Annoying things are much easier to share with family and friends than sad things, because your body is physically and psychologically motivated," Berger says. ”
In the first experiment, to eliminate the subjective impact, 93 students were told that the two tests they were about to make were completely independent of each other. In the first test of the first experiment, students from different experimental groups were asked to watch some video clips. These video clips may cause high arousal emotions (such as anxiety, being amused) or low arousal emotions (such as sadness, contentment). In the second test, the researchers sent articles and videos with no feelings to the participants and asked if they wanted to share the information with friends and family members. The results showed that students who were affected by high arousal emotions were more likely to share them.
The second experiment, by contrast, appears more general. Similarly, 40 students were asked to complete two "relatively independent" tests. First, they are asked to stay at rest or shake for a minute. (a minute in a shaking place has been shown to be an act that promotes arousal) next they need to read a story without feeling and send it to anyone. The results showed that students in shaking group were more likely to share information with friends and family than the rest group.
Let information spread through the wings of emotion
Berger is particularly interested in how social communication makes Internet information viral. "In today's society, facebook,twitter and other social networks and social media are too hot," he said. So for companies and organizations to make effective use of these technologies, it's important to understand why people talk about and share something and ignore others. ”
Berger says the study is of a very wide application. "People's behavior is largely influenced by what people around them are saying," he said. Whether you want to broaden the profile of a company or a public health organization that wants to promote a healthy diet, these results provide recommendations for effective information and communication methods. ”
See here are you as disappointed as I am? As a grassroots, our private life is difficult to awaken too many people's emotions, and as science youth, we also have difficulty to tell the extreme words to anger, or spread some rumors to make people anxious. Not easy to tell a joke, but also because too geek, the general people can not understand.
No wonder the roaring body red, strong feelings have wood!!!
noun explanation
Arousal: physical or psychological awakening or renewed reaction to external stimuli. Activates the brainstem, autonomic nervous system and endocrine systems, allowing the body to increase heart rate and blood pressure to prepare for external stimulation, movement and reaction.
Arousal: Including sadness, anger, and being amused.