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The Psychology of Online Political Hostility: A Comprehensive, Cross-National Test of the Mismatch Hypothesis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 August 2021

ALEXANDER BOR Open the ORCID record for ALEXANDER BOR [Opens in a new window]  and
MICHAEL BANG PETERSEN Open the ORCID record for MICHAEL BANG PETERSEN [Opens in a new window]
ALEXANDER BOR*
Affiliation:
Aarhus University, Denmark
MICHAEL BANG PETERSEN*
Affiliation:
Aarhus University, Denmark
*
Alexander Bor, Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Political Science, Aarhus University, Denmark, [email protected].
Michael Bang Petersen, Professor, Department of Political Science, Aarhus University, Denmark, [email protected].
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Abstract

Why are online discussions about politics more hostile than offline discussions? A popular answer argues that human psychology is tailored for face-to-face interaction and people’s behavior therefore changes for the worse in impersonal online discussions. We provide a theoretical formalization and empirical test of this explanation: the mismatch hypothesis. We argue that mismatches between human psychology and novel features of online environments could (a) change people’s behavior, (b) create adverse selection effects, and (c) bias people’s perceptions. Across eight studies, leveraging cross-national surveys and behavioral experiments (total N = 8,434), we test the mismatch hypothesis but only find evidence for limited selection effects. Instead, hostile political discussions are the result of status-driven individuals who are drawn to politics and are equally hostile both online and offline. Finally, we offer initial evidence that online discussions feel more hostile, in part, because the behavior of such individuals is more visible online than offline.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 116 , Issue 1 , February 2022 , pp. 1 - 18
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the American Political Science Association

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