Report – EmoAffect

In April, we conducted our second laboratory study for this project, focusing on emotional responses to social media content expressing societal threats through gain or loss framing. 71 participants took part in the study.

Our primary objective was to investigate how the framing of societal threats influences emotional responses. Recent research indicates that positive frames evoke positive self-reported emotions, and negative frames evoke negative self-reported emotions. Participants were randomly assigned to treatment groups. Each group was exposed to social media posts addressing immigration and climate change, framed either positively to emphasize potential gains or negatively to highlight potential losses.

Our study aims to understand how individuals interpret the same stimulus as either a societal threat or not, and which emotional responses are elicited. Unlike previous research, which has primarily focused on self-reported emotions like anger, fear, and enthusiasm, our approach is methodologically robust. We incorporate a broader spectrum of self-reported emotions, utilize diverse measures of emotional response, including skin conductance responses, and employ eye-tracking technology. Through this comprehensive approach, we seek to gain deeper insights into the emotional nuances elicited by different frames. Additionally, our study explores the impact of opinion congruence on emotional responses.

The images in the posts, along with the threat expressed in the text on the image, were consistent across both positive and negative frames. For example, one image addressed climate change with a flooded field, accompanied by the text: “Climate change increases the risk of storms, floods, and a warmer climate in Ostrobothnia.” Similarly, an image addressing immigration depicted a Middle Eastern refugee with his two children, alongside the text: “Immigration to Ostrobothnia could cost municipalities several million euros.” The captions in the posts expressed the different frames (Table 1).

Table 1. The framing of the captions

Gain frame

Loss frame

Climate
issue

Finland’s Climate Panel has released a new report, which also highlights positive aspects of climate change. “A warmer climate provides opportunities for agriculture and forestry to cultivate new crops like corn and tree species that have not grown well here before.” …

Finland’s Climate Panel has released a new report. For Ostrobothnia, the low-lying landscape and waterways pose a risk of flooding. “Together with rain and snow, this means we must consider where and how to build in the future.”

Immigration issue

However, Ostrobothnia needs labor force to sustain the Finnish welfare society. Population trends show that the population is aging, and fewer children are being born. “We need more people in the workforce, and this is achieved by bringing people from other countries.” …

Immigration to Ostrobothnia is expected to increase in the coming years, and politicians in the welfare area warn of risks. “A failed integration policy can increase the risk of street violence and marginalization and move us closer to the situation in Sweden.” …

To ensure unbiased results, we randomized the presentation of treatments. Each participant was exposed to one gain frame and one loss frame, either A + D or B + C, in a shuffled order.

The text in the posts’ captions was extracted from articles from Yle and Hufvudstadsbladet, with each caption consisting of 40 words in Swedish.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all participants who generously took part in the study, and to Experience Lab for providing us with their workspace and equipment.

Moving forward, our next steps involve analyzing the data and crafting scientific papers to showcase the findings of the laboratory study. Additionally, we are still in the process of writing and finalizing papers from our first laboratory study. Exciting discoveries await, and we can’t wait to share them with you.

The research project “EmoAffect” takes on the task of studying how emotional reactions drive affective polarization and focuses on which emotions that are crucial drivers. The project is funded by the Research Council of Finland and carried out at Åbo Akademi University.

Have you ever wondered why intense dislike and negativity are often expressed between partisan groups on social media? This phenomenon, known as affective polarization, has become increasingly prevalent in today’s digital age. Social media has been identified as a significant contributor to affective polarization, primarily due to its ability to induce selective exposure to information and people, often through the use of emotional imagery. The EmoAffect research project aims to unravel the role of emotions in fueling affective polarization by analyzing emotional reactions to social media messages.

During the month of June 2023, we conducted our first laboratory study for this project. Approximately 50 participants aged 18–35 were invited to participate in the study. The aim of the study was to collect emotional responses to different types of social media content in two stages: first, during the presentation of the stimuli through psychophysiological recording, and second, after the stimuli through self-reported emotional responses. We sought to investigate the emotional responses of participants whose social-political identity (probably) differs from that of the social media content creator and the specific emotional content that these participants tend to focus their attention on. 

Specifically, we were interested in how Swedish-speaking Finns reacted to the social media content of the Finns party leader, Riikka Purra. What piqued our interest was Purra’s distinct use of different platforms. While her Instagram account remained apolitical, her TikTok presence showcased her political leanings.

To unravel the effects of various social media strategies, we randomly assigned participants to explore either Purra’s Instagram account (https://www.instagram.com/sanrines/) or her TikTok account (https://www.tiktok.com/@riikkapurra). Our hypothesis revolved around the idea that participants would experience different emotional reactions depending on the platform used by this well-known (and somewhat controversial) politician.

Riikka Purra Tiktok and Instagram

Figure. Riikka Purras Instagram and TikTok

The participants were also asked pre-survey questions regarding their gender, age, occupation, language identity, political interest, social media usage, and feelings towards Finnish parties. Additionally, after experiencing the stimuli, the participants were asked to provide descriptions of their emotional responses during the stimuli.

We want to thank all participants who were able to come and participate in the study. We would also like to extend our thanks to the Experience Lab for providing us with their workspace and equipment. The next steps involve analyzing the data and writing scientific papers to present the results of the laboratory study. However, before diving into these tasks, we plan to take some time off and enjoy a well-deserved vacation, hopefully experiencing some warm weather in Finland.