2026-09-23T09:07:36Z https://opus4.kobv.de/opus4-uni-passau/oai

oai:kobv.de-opus4-uni-passau:741 2025-08-22 bibliography:false doc-type:PhDThesis open_access ddc ddc:150 ddc:303 ddc:384

A Psychological and Empirical Investigation of the Online Echo Chamber Phenomenon Robert Luzsa 150 303 384 Falscher Konsensus-Effekt Psychologie False Consensus Echo Chamber Psychology In the public debate it is often assumed that communication in so-called “Echo Chambers” - online structures in which like-minded people share mostly messages that confirm their mutual, shared attitudes - can lead to negative outcomes such as increased societal polarization between groups holding opposing beliefs. This thesis aimed to examine this assumption from a psychological perspective and substantiate it empirically. First, based on existing research and psychological theories, a working definition of Echo Chambers was formulated, that highlights two key factors: Selective Exposure to attitudinally congruent messages and communication in homogeneous networks. Then, three studies were conducted to test links between these factors and two individual-level outcomes that are associated to subjects’ actual behavior: Their False Consensus, that is, how strongly subjects perceive the public in agreement with their own attitudes, and their Intergroup Bias, which reflects to which degree subjects’ identify as members of an in-group that is in conflict with negatively perceived out-groups. The studies employed questionnaire-based, experimental, as well as real-word data driven approaches. Overall, they confirm that exposure to Echo Chamber-like online structures can indeed lead to a more favorably distorted perception of public opinions and to more signs of Intergroup Bias in subjects’ communicational style. Thus, the thesis provides first psychologically founded empirical evidence for effects of online Echo Chamber exposure on behavior-related individual-level outcomes. The results can serve as a basis for further research as well as for the discussion of possible strategies to counter negative effects of online Echo Chambers. Universität Passau Passau Innstrasse 29, 94032 Passau Susanne Mayr Detlef Urhahne 2019-09-13 2019-09-26 PhDThesis Text urn:nbn:de:bvb:739-opus4-7419 application/pdf eng Standardbedingung laut Einverständniserklärung thesis.doctoral Universität Passau Passau Philosophische Fakultät 1 https://opus4.kobv.de/opus4-uni-passau/oai/container/index/docId/741 https://opus4.kobv.de/opus4-uni-passau/frontdoor/index/index/docId/741