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How does anonymous online peer communication affect prevention behavior? Evidence from a laboratory experiment
Indrani Saran1, Günther Fink2, Margaret McConnell3
1Boston College School of Social Work, Chestnut Hill, MA, United States of America.
Plos One
|November 22, 2018
Summary
Anonymous online communication significantly influences health decisions. People tend to adopt prevention behaviors reported by others, even with limited outcome information, highlighting social networks
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Economics
- Health Communication
- Social Network Analysis
Background:
- Social networks are recognized for influencing health behaviors.
- The impact of anonymous online communication on health decisions remains under-explored.
- Understanding information accuracy in online health discussions is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how anonymous online communication affects individual health prevention decisions.
- To analyze the role of shared experiences and reported outcomes in shaping behavior within social networks.
Main Methods:
- A laboratory experiment involving 679 participants in Boston, Massachusetts (2012).
- Participants made prevention investment decisions over 45 experimental rounds across three sessions.
- Anonymous online communication was enabled in the third session, with message content analyzed.
Main Results:
- Participants were more likely to communicate about prevention decisions, especially after failures.
- Receiving messages about prevention increased the likelihood of adopting prevention behavior by 32%.
- Behavioral adoption was more influenced by reported actions than by reported outcomes.
Conclusions:
- Anonymous online social networks can significantly influence health behavior adoption.
- Social influence may stem from the mere reporting of behavior, not solely from information on outcomes.
- This suggests social networks impact health decisions through mechanisms beyond pure information dissemination.
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