How Modifying Third-Party Information Affects Interpersonal Impressions and the Evaluation of Collaborative Online Media

Abstract

Previous research has drawn upon warranting theory to help explain how viewers evaluate people and entities online. Extending previous research, this study assesses how the ability of a target to modify third-party information affects perceptions of warranting value, and in turn, interpersonal impressions and the perceived legitimacy of online media that host evaluations. Additionally, this work explores how the perceived objectivity of a third-party evaluator affects impressions in online settings. The results provide support for warranting theory and help clarify how impressions are formed in online environments when people have the ability to generate and modify content collectively. The theoretical implications this study has for warranting theory and future research directions are discussed.Whether it is an employer evaluating a job candidate or a single person yearning to meet a compatible partner, people assess information in an attempt to form impressions of others. Understanding why information is and is not impactful in the impression formation process has received considerable research attention. Given the apparent mistrust individuals have about the veracity of claims made through newer media (see Walther & Parks, 2002), the emergence of scholarly attention to these processes is understandable. The primary aim of this study is to examine how people evaluate information appearing online when the potential exists for it to be collectively generated and modified by multiple individuals. Using collaborative online media for interpersonal evaluationsMany popular websites, including Facebook, eBay, YouTube, and Wikipedia, invite users to contribute material and to respond to others' contributions. Additional Evaluating collaboratively created informationNew media provide users many opportunities to contribute information online for subsequent viewers to see. Through some communication platforms, people are Journal of Communication 65 (2015) 62-78

Measuring the Construct of Warranting Value and Testing Warranting Theory

“…Replication is an essential research activity for science: It facilitates the creation of objective knowledge by helping to identify Type 1 errors and by allowing for more precise effect size estimates (Cesario, 2014). In Study 1, the research designs of the only published studies that measure perceptions of warranting value were directly replicated (i.e., DeAndrea, Van Der Heide, & Easley, 2015;DeAndrea, Van Der Heide, Vendemia, et al, 2015), and the effects found in the previous studies were further supported with newly developed and validated warranting measures. In addition to replicating past findings, Study 1 also provided new support for warranting theory using a different method from previous studies (i.e., experimental vignettes) and examining relationships across a variety of contexts.…”

How Affiliation Disclosure and Control Over User-Generated Comments Affects Consumer Health Knowledge and Behavior: A Randomized Controlled Experiment of Pharmaceutical Direct-to-Consumer Advertising on Social Media

“…Researchers have applied warranting theory [ 13 , 14 ] to understand how features of new media affect evaluations of people [ 15 ], companies [ 16 , 17 ], products [ 18 ], and websites [ 19 ]. A central premise of warranting theory is that people trust information more or less depending on its warranting value; the warranting value of information is defined as the degree to which information is controlled or manipulated by the target it describes.…”

Source–Target Relationship and Information Specificity

“…Research suggests a range of variables that potentially moderate the relationship between information sources and perceived credibility of the information they generate (DeAndrea & Carpenter, 2016; DeAndrea, Van Der Heide, & Easley, 2015; DeAndrea, Van Der Heide, Vendemia, & Vang, 2015). These studies show that the perceived credibility of other-generated information is lowered when targets can directly modify the content and control the dissemination of this information (DeAndrea, 2014).…”