Message self and social relevance increases intentions to share content: Correlational and causal evidence from six studies.

Cosme, Danielle; Scholz, Christin; Chan, Hang‐Yee; Doré, Bruce; Pandey, Prateekshit; Carreras-Tartak, José; Cooper, Nicole; Paúl, Alexandra; Burns, Shannon

doi:10.1037/xge0001270

Cited by 8 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…In two functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies, Scholz et al (5) showed that domaingeneral value signals in the brain -within the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and ventral striatumtracked population sharing of information. Furthermore, activity in brain regions associated with selfand social relevance correlated with the value signal, supporting the idea that the value of sharing depends on whether the content serves self-related motives such as expressing one's viewpoint; and social motives such as transmitting useful information to others or bonding (6,8,9). In short, neural signals from small groups of study participants (neural sample) hold information about population behavior (10,11) The scientific and practical utility of this discovery depends on (a) the replicability of findings supporting the value-based sharing model, (b) the predictive validity of brain-based models in novel contexts, and (c) the generalizability of these effects across populations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 60%

“…The value-based model of sharing (5)(6)(7)(8) posits that sharing is more likely if it is perceived to be valuable to the would-be sharer, and that self-and social relevance are two key sources of value. In two functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies, Scholz et al (5) showed that domaingeneral value signals in the brain -within the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and ventral striatumtracked population sharing of information.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Neural signals predict information sharing across cultures

Chan,

Scholz,

Cosme

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Information sharing influences which messages spread and shape beliefs, behavior and culture. In a pre-registered neuroimaging study conducted in the US and the Netherlands we demonstrate replicability, generalizability, and predictive validity of a brain-based prediction model of information sharing. Replicating findings in Scholz et al (2017), Proc Natl Acad Sci 114, 2881–2886, self-, social- and value-related neural signals in a sample of individuals tracked the population sharing of US news articles. Pre-registered brain-based prediction models trained on Scholz et al (2017) data proved generalizable in the new data, explaining more variance in population sharing than self-report ratings alone. Neural signals (versus self-reports) more reliably predicted sharing cross-culturally, suggesting that they capture more universal psychological mechanisms underlying sharing behavior. These findings highlight key neurocognitive foundations of sharing, suggest potential target mechanisms to increase message effectiveness, and advance brain-as-predictor research.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 60%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neural signals predict information sharing across cultures

Chan,

Scholz,

Cosme

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…Evidence for this hypothesis comes from neuroimaging studies showing that decisions to share and population-level metrics of large-scale information sharing are associated with increased activity in brain regions associated with self-referential processing, social cognition, and valuation (Baek et al, 2017a;Chan et al, 2023;Scholz et al, 2017;Scholz, Jovanova, et al, 2020). Behavioral studies also show positive correlations between sharing intentions and self-reported perceptions of content self and social relevance (Cosme et al, 2022b).…”

Section: Why Do People Share Content?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived self and social relevance of content motivates news sharing across cultures and topics

Cosme,

Chan,

Sinclair

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Information transmission can shift social norms and catalyze social change. What motivates people to share content and information and how might these motives be leveraged to promote sharing? Neural and behavioral research suggests self-related and social motives drive sharing behavior, but have rarely tested causal links, cross-cultural generalizability, or considered translational methods to promote sharing through these mechanisms. We address these gaps by experimentally manipulating self-related and social motives during content exposure to increase sharing. Instead of tailoring content to increase shareability, we applied a framing intervention that prompts individuals to identify why content is relevant to themselves (self-relevance) or people they know (social relevance). Across a preregistered, cross-cultural fMRI study and two behavioral studies, we observed positive correlations among self-reported self and social relevance, activity in self-referential and mentalizing brain regions, and sharing intentions. The framing intervention increased activity in hypothesized brain regions, but was only effective when participants engaged more deeply with the prompts through writing. These relationships were consistent in Dutch and American samples, and across different content domains (news abstracts about health and climate), highlighting generalizability across contexts. We replicated the behavioral relationships in an online field experiment with a more naturalistic content exposure environment, and found preliminary evidence that they extend beyond intentions to actual sharing behavior. These findings provide important causal evidence that self-related and social motives drive people to share content, and demonstrate that these motives can be activated efficiently through framing interventions targeting self and social relevance, without tailoring the content itself.

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Highlighting Discrepancies in Brand Messaging Increases Social Media Engagement

Pezzuti

2023

J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci.

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Message self and social relevance increases intentions to share content: Correlational and causal evidence from six studies.

Cited by 8 publications

References 66 publications

Neural signals predict information sharing across cultures

Neural signals predict information sharing across cultures

Perceived self and social relevance of content motivates news sharing across cultures and topics

Highlighting Discrepancies in Brand Messaging Increases Social Media Engagement

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