Negativity Spreads Socially: Negativity Bias in Cpinion Change is Associated With Brain’s Mentalizing System

• In Event: New Measures, New Methods, and New Theories I

Abstract

Humans constantly share and receive recommendations with one another, yet little is known about how the valence (i.e., positivity or negativity) of recommendations influence the neurocognitive processes involved in the propagation of opinions. We used neuroimaging and natural language classifiers to test how valence of online recommendations can propagate, leading to opinion change. Recommendations higher in negativity were more influential in engaging processes in the brain associated with taking the perspective of others (i.e., ‘mentalizing’), but not within limbic regions implicated in processing lower level affect. Further, increased neural activity in both amygdala and mentalizing systems were significant predictors of opinion change in the recipient. Broadly, these results highlight the importance of both lower level brain systems as well as higher level cognitive systems in opinion change. These results further provide new insight into how negative information spreads and the underlying psychological and neurocognitive processes involved.

Authors

• Elisa C Baek, U of Pennsylvania

• Christin Scholz, U of Pennsylvania

• Matthew O'Donnell, U of Pennsylvania

• Emily Falk, U of Pennsylvania