The Effect of a Photographed Face on Attitude Polarisation and Self-Awareness

Abstract: Attitude polarisation is a frequently discussed topic in relation to social media. As previous research has found indication that the absence of face-to-face contact increases attitude polarisation tendencies – through changing peoples’ private and public self-awareness. The present study aims at investigating whether a photographed face could produce a similar result. The study sampled 226 participants, collected via an online survey which randomly assigned them to one out of four groups. The groups consisted of different constellations of an article about metoo, a comment section, and small or large photographs of the people partaking in the comment section. Results of the study were non-significant. The main contributor to the non-significant results is believed to be a failed manipulation in collusion with the topic chosen (metoo), and the scale used to measure self-awareness. The results of the study indicate that seeing another person’s photograph does not alter self-awareness when reading a comment section.