Start Date
10-12-2017 12:00 AM
Description
Social media are important tools for expressing ideas. However, in social media, users expressing socially unacceptable ideas may suffer from various degree of sanction, including cyberbullying. When transgression occurs, users activate a regulation process to modify their subsequent behaviors to prevent future sanctions. Here we use electroencephalogram, a neuroscientific tool, to investigate this regulation process. We applied a pattern of brain activity called error-related negativity (ERN), which is evident when people commit an erroneous response, to indicate this regulation process. This study showed that ERN was evident when participants ‘liked’ pornography Apps, indicating that a regulation process was activated. Furthermore, ERN was larger in public condition (exposed in Facebook) than in private condition. Finally, people’s privacy concern was correlated with ERN. Taken together, the results imply that the fear of being watched in social media and abuse of personal information can regulate online users’ from freely expressing their ideas.
Recommended Citation
Huang, Yu-feng; Kuo, Feng-Yang Bob; and Lin, Cathy s., "Behavior Regulation in Social Media: A Neuroscientific Investigation" (2017). ICIS 2017 Proceedings. 8.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2017/Security/Presentations/8
Behavior Regulation in Social Media: A Neuroscientific Investigation
Social media are important tools for expressing ideas. However, in social media, users expressing socially unacceptable ideas may suffer from various degree of sanction, including cyberbullying. When transgression occurs, users activate a regulation process to modify their subsequent behaviors to prevent future sanctions. Here we use electroencephalogram, a neuroscientific tool, to investigate this regulation process. We applied a pattern of brain activity called error-related negativity (ERN), which is evident when people commit an erroneous response, to indicate this regulation process. This study showed that ERN was evident when participants ‘liked’ pornography Apps, indicating that a regulation process was activated. Furthermore, ERN was larger in public condition (exposed in Facebook) than in private condition. Finally, people’s privacy concern was correlated with ERN. Taken together, the results imply that the fear of being watched in social media and abuse of personal information can regulate online users’ from freely expressing their ideas.