Effects of Social Interface Cues on Blogs and Traditional News Sites

• In Event: ICA Plenary Interactive Paper/Poster Session and Reception
  In Interactive Paper Session: Communication and Technology Interactive Poster Session

Abstract

Previous research has indicated that heuristic cues may be more influential when there is a greater uncertainty about the corresponding content. The current study used a commonly found heuristic cue on news websites, social media sharing applications, to investigate its psychological effects on news websites of varying credibility, namely blogs and traditional news sites. A 2 (Sharing Applications: Present/absent) X 2 (News Platform: Blogs/Traditional News Sites) between-subjects experiment (N=285) found that news platform name is a strong cue that can positively influence perceived news credibility and quality but not newsworthiness and liking. We also found some signs of differential effects of heuristic cues (i.e., sharing applications) on sites of varying credibility (i.e., blogs and traditional news sites). Results are discussed within the framework of Sundar’s MAIN model.

Authors

• Manu Bhandari, University of Missouri

• Maria E. Len-Rios, U of Missouri - Columbia