Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 21, 2025
06:48
The HoneyComb Paradigm for Research on Collective Human Behavior
Published on: January 19, 2019
9.3K
In-party love spreads more efficiently than out-party hate in online communities
Samuel Martin-Gutierrez1,2, José Manuel Robles Morales3, Mariano Torcal4
1Complexity Science Hub Vienna, Josefstaedter Str. 39, 1080, Vienna, Austria. martin.gutierrez@csh.ac.at.
Scientific Reports
|July 8, 2024
Summary
Social media users show increasing political and ideological alignment online. While most create efficient "epistemic bubbles," a radical right-wing party
Area of Science:
- Computational Social Science
- Political Communication
- Social Network Analysis
Background:
- Political polarization and ideological segregation are growing concerns in digital public spheres.
- Social media platforms like Twitter facilitate the formation of online communities and information dissemination.
- Understanding network dynamics is crucial for analyzing political discourse and its societal impact.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze longitudinal trends in partisan and ideological homogeneity on Twitter during Spanish election campaigns (2015-2019).
- To investigate how party competition influences network homophily and the formation of 'epistemic bubbles' and 'partisan echo-chambers'.
- To assess the impact of the rise of a radical right-wing party (Vox) on Twitter's network structure and user behavior.
Main Methods:
- Conducted a comprehensive longitudinal social network analysis of Twitter data.
- Examined user interactions, retweeting patterns, and content sharing across four Spanish election campaigns.
- Quantified networking efficiency and ideological/partisan homophily within user networks.
Main Results:
- Observed a clear trend of increasing partisan and ideological homogeneity in user exchanges on Twitter.
- Identified high networking efficiency (average retweeting) contributing to 'epistemic bubbles' among mainstream party users.
- The emergence of Vox correlated with heightened ideological homogeneity and fostered distinct, low-efficiency 'partisan echo-chambers' characterized by out-partisan hostility.
Conclusions:
- Twitter network dynamics during Spanish elections show increasing ideological segregation and efficient 'epistemic bubbles'.
- While mainstream parties foster in-group reinforcement, the radical right-wing party's emergence created more hostile 'partisan echo-chambers'.
- Party competition dynamics can exacerbate homophily, but resistance to full transformation into echo-chambers persists for some user groups.
Keywords:
Epistemic bubblesIn-party affinityOut-party hostilityPartisan echo-chambersParty supplyPolarizationRetweetingTwitterMore Related Videos
08:53Integrating Computerized Linguistic and Social Network Analyses to Capture Addiction Recovery Capital in an Online Community
Published on: May 31, 2019
5.1K
06:18The Collective Trust Game: An Online Group Adaptation of the Trust Game Based on the HoneyComb Paradigm
Published on: October 20, 2022
2.0K
Related Concept Videos
01:31In- and Out-Groups
39.0K
People all belong to a gender, race, age, and social economic group. These groups provide a powerful source of our identity and self-esteem (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) and serve as our in-groups. An in-group is a group that we identify with or see ourselves as belonging to.
39.0K
01:01Group Polarization
34.3K
Group polarization is the strengthening of an original group attitude following the discussion of views within a group (Teger & Pruitt, 1967). That is, if a group initially favors a viewpoint, after discussion the group consensus is likely a stronger endorsement of the viewpoint. Conversely, if the group was initially opposed to a viewpoint, group discussion would likely lead to stronger opposition.
34.3K
02:12Relationship Formation
40.0K
What do you think is the single most influential factor in determining with whom you become friends and whom you form romantic relationships? You might be surprised to learn that the answer is simple: the people with whom you have the most contact. This most important factor is proximity. You are more likely to be friends with people you have regular contact with. For example, there are decades of research that shows that you are more likely to become friends with people who live in your dorm,...
40.0K
04:49Robbers Cave
14.3K
During the 1950s, the landmark Robbers Cave experiment demonstrated that when groups must compete with one another, intergroup conflict, hostility, and even violence may result. At the Oklahoman summer camp, two troops of boys—termed the Rattlers and the Eagles—took part in a week-long tournament. During this time, their negativity culminated in derogatory name-calling, fistfights, and even vandalism and destruction of property. However, this work also revealed that such tension...
14.3K
02:06Social Exchange Theory
34.5K
We have discussed why we form relationships, what attracts us to others, and different types of love. But what determines whether we are satisfied with and stay in a relationship? One theory that provides an explanation is social exchange theory. According to social exchange theory, we act as naïve economists in keeping a tally of the ratio of costs and benefits of forming and maintaining a relationship with others (Rusbult & Van Lange, 2003).
34.5K
01:34Groupthink
44.3K
When in group settings, we are often influenced by the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors around us. Groupthink is another phenomenon of conformity where modification of the opinions of members in a group aligns with what they believe is the group consensus (Janis, 1972). In such situations, the group often takes action that individuals would not perform outside the group setting because groups make more extreme decisions than individuals do. Moreover, groupthink can hinder opposing trains of...
44.3K