The “want for chaos” and motivation to share hostile political rumours
By Michael Bang Petersen, Aarhus College, Mathias Osmundsen, Aarhus College, Kevin Arceneaux, Sciences Po Paris
Why are some folks motivated to flow into hostile political info? Whereas earlier research have centered on partisan motivations, we present that some people flow into hostile rumors as a result of they wish to unleash chaos as a way to “burn down” all the political order within the hope that they achieve standing within the course of. To grasp this psychology, we theorize and measure a brand new psychological state, Want for Chaos, that arises from an interplay between social marginalization and status-oriented personalities. Throughout eight research of individuals dwelling in the US, we present that this want is a robust predictor of motivation to share hostile political rumors, even after accounting for partisan motivations, and can assist illuminate variations and commonalities within the frustrations of each traditionally privileged and marginalized teams. To stem the tide of hostility on social media, the present findings recommend that real-world coverage options are wanted to handle social frustrations in the US.