Rabbow, Johanna (2024) Investigating Human's Need for Cognition in its Relationship to Affective Polarization on Twitter. Bachelor thesis, Psychology.
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Abstract
The rise of social media platforms changed political communication drastically, leading to an increase in affective polarization (AP) worldwide. Posing a threat to liberal democracies and cohesion in society, the underlying mechanisms of AP must be thoroughly understood, especially in the context of social media, which has been found to foster AP significantly. In addition to possibly mitigating the harm that AP poses to society, individual differences in AP tendencies must be investigated comprehensively. Drawing on previous literature emphasizing the importance of humans' Need for Cognition (NFC), this thesis examines the link between NFC and AP on Twitter and is guided by the research question: The importance of individual differences on affective polarization: Is humans' need for cognition associated with their tendency to engage in affective polarization? While examining a sample of left-leaning participants, it is hypothesized that individuals high in NFC report fewer negative feelings towards conservatives when consuming stereotypical conservative content on Twitter. Linear regression analysis is employed to assess the relationship between NFC and AP. The findings do not suggest a strong, significant relationship between the two variables. The insignificant results of this research underscore the importance of further research on NFC to either rule it out as a personality trait associated with affective polarization or find consistent evidence for a significant association.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Bachelor) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Baldina, L. |
| Degree programme: | Psychology |
| Differentiation route: | None [Bachelor Psychology] |
| Date Deposited: | 10 Jul 2024 13:57 |
| Last Modified: | 10 Jul 2024 13:57 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/3819 |
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