APS
2024 APS Annual Convention
Responding with Kindness to Toxicity Online: Does It Happen and Is It Worth It?
Online toxicity is pervasive and harmful. Can witnesses help? Three researchers discuss six studies (preregistered experiments, Reddit corpus analysis, interviews; N=4,423) finding that benevolently correcting (with empathy/understanding/politeness) boosts conversation health and the replier’s reputation, suggesting it might be a worthwhile strategy for improving toxic conversations.
Chairs & Discussants
- Alison Young ReusserChair
Houghton University
Presentations
- Qualitative Research in the Study of Online Conflict: Findings and Functions.Elizabeth Gassin
- People Are Nice to Trolls on Reddit More Often Than You Might Think. Does It Help? It Depends.Alison Young Reusser
- Responding to Toxicity with Kindness: Does It Affect How Others View You? Does It Relate to Personality?Kristian Veit