Interesting research this week.
Reviewing solo activities
It’s great when customers post positive reviews of products and services. But sometimes those products or services are consumed alone, whilst sometimes groups engage in consumption together. Holidays, for example, are often a group activity. This interesting research finds that reviews of solo activities seem to be more persuasive than group activities. Readers assume that the experience is more likely to be due to the product or service when there weren’t other people to influence that experience.
https://doi.org/10.1177/00222437251358177
The ‘narrow search’ effect
You’ve probably heard of social media platforms being described as ‘echo chambers’. Essentially, the algorithms are accused of feeding users more information about topics and views they have already expressed an interest in or support for. Across 21 studies (yes, 21!), researchers have discovered that search activity can also produce results that reflect preexisting beliefs. This is due to the search terms chosen, but also search engine algorithms feeding a relatively narrow selection of results.
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2408175122
How to apologise
Sometimes organisations make mistakes. When this does occur, how should they apologise? Well, this paper shows that when apologies use longer words the apologiser is viewed as being more apologetic. The theory behind this is that producing longer words involves greater effort, which recipients of an apology view as a ‘cost’ to the apologiser. The greater the cost = the greater the sincerity of the apology.
https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12790
Photo by Adam Nowakowski on Unsplash
