Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Incivility and Speaking Out

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Online Incivility and Public Debate

  • 880 Accesses

Abstract

The “defensive effect” predicts that when people are confronted with uncivil disagreement—marred by name-calling, insults, or profanity—this ignites a negative emotional response that makes them more likely to speak out or get involved politically in an effort to “set the record straight” about the topic. In essence, the incivility mutes a natural drive to remain silent when confronted with views that oppose one’s own. This chapter theorizes this effect by proposing four underlying mechanisms that are necessary for it to occur. It also outlines specific hypotheses to test the effect. The defensive effect explains why people will sometimes speak out when confronted with nasty counter arguments, even though this may make them unpopular.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Albertson, Bethany, and Shauna Kushner Gadarian. 2015. Anxious Politics: Democratic Citizenship in a Threatening World. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Azjen, Icek, and Martin E. Fishbein. 1980. Understanding Attitudes and Predicting Social Behavior. Englewood Cliff, NJ: Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baumeister, Roy F., and Mark R. Leary. 1995. The Need to Belong: Desire for Interpersonal Attachments as a Fundamental Human Need. Psychological Bulletin 117 (3): 497–529.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bolls, Paul D. 2010. Understanding Emotion From a Superordinate Dimensional Perspective: A Productive Way Forward for Communication Processes and Effects. Communication Monographs 77 (2): 146–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borah, Porismita. 2014. Does it Matter Where You Read The News Story? Interaction of Incivility and News Frames in the Political Blogosphere. Communication Research 41 (6): 809–827.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brett, Jeanne M., Mara Olekains, Ray Friedman, Nathan Goates, Cameron Anderson, and Cara Cherry Lisco. 2007. Sticks and Stones: Language, Face, and Online Dispute Resolution. Academy of Management Journal 50 (1): 85–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, Penelope, and Stephen C. Levinson. 1987. Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cacioppo, John T., Louis G. Tassinary, and Gary G. Berntson. 2007. Handbook of Psychophysiology. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, Gina Masullo. 2015. Losing Face on Social Media: Threats to Positive Face Lead to an Indirect Effect on Retaliatory Aggression Through Negative Affect. Communication Research 42 (6): 819–838.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, Gina Masullo. 2016. Nasty News Story Comments Indirectly Increase Intention to Participate Politically for Women, Mediated Through Negative Affect. Presented to the Mass Communication Division of the Southern States Communication Association at its Annual Conference in Austin, TX, April.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, Gina Masullo, and Shuning Lu. 2017. Online Political Discourse: Exploring Differences in Effects of Civil and Uncivil Disagreement in News Website Comments. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media 61 (1). doi:10.1080/08838151/2016/1273922.

  • Chen, Gina Masullo, and Pei Zheng. 2016. The “Defensive Effect”: Uncivil Comments Indirectly Increase Intention to Participate Politically, Through Negative Affect. Presented to the Mass Communication Division of the International Communication Association Annual Conference in Fukuoka, Japan, June 2016.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coleman, Renita, and H. Denis Wu. 2015. Image & Emotion in Voter Decisions: The Affect Agenda. New York: Lexington Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dawson, Michael E., Anne M. Schell, and Diane L. Filion. 2007. The Electrodermal System. In Handbook of Psychophysiology, ed. John T. Cacioppo, Louis G. Tassinary, and Gary G. Berntson, 159–191. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dominus, S. 2016. Donald Trump: King of the Old Boys’ Club, and Perhaps Its Destroyer. The New York Times, October 7. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/08/magazine/donald-trump-tape.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0. Accessed 4 Nov 2016.

  • Festinger, Leon. 1957. A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gervais, Bryan T. 2015. Incivility Online: Affective and Behavioral Reactions to Uncivil Political Posts in a Web-Based Experiment. Journal of Information Technology and Politics 12: 167–185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gil de Zúñiga, Homero, Nakwon Jung‚ and Sebastián Valenzuela. 2012. Social Media Use for News and Individuals’ Social Capital, Civic Engagement, and Political Participation. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 17: 319–336.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goffman, Erving. 1959. Presentation of the Self in Everyday Life. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gutmann, Amy, and Dennis Thompson. 1996. Democracy and Disagreement. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, Andrew F. 2007. Exploring Forms of Self-Censorship: On the Spiral of Silence and the Use of Opinion Expression Avoidance Strategies. Journal of Communication 57: 785–802.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klofstad, Casey A., Anand Edward Sokhey, and Scott D. McClurg. 2013. Disagreeing About Disagreement: How Conflict in Social Networks Affects Political Behavior. American Journal of Political Science 57: 120–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lang, Annie. 2000. The Limited Capacity Model of Mediated Message Processing. Journal of Communication 50 (1): 46–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lang, Annie. 2006. Using the Limited Capacity Model of Mediated Message Processing to Design Effective Cancer Communication Messages. Journal of Communication 53 (S1): S57–S80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lang, Annie. 2009. The Limited Capacity Model of Motivated Mediated Message Processing. In The SAGE Handbook of Mass Media Processes and Effects, eds. Robin L. Nabi and Mary Beth Oliver, 193–204. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacDonald, Geoff, and Mark R. Leary. 2005. Why Does Social Exclusion Hurt? The Relationship Between Social and Physical Pain. Psychological Bulletin 131 (2): 202–223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marcus, George E., W. Russell Neuman, and Michael MacKuen. 2000. Affective Intelligence and Political Judgment. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • McClurg, Scott D. 2006. Political Disagreement in Context: The Conditional Effect of Neighborhood Context, Disagreement and Political Talk on Electoral Participation. Political Behavior 28: 349–366.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mutz, Diana C. 2002. The Consequences of Cross-Cutting Networks for Political Participation. American Journal of Political Science 46 (4): 838–855.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nabi, Robin L. 2010. The Case for Emphasizing Discrete Emotions in Communication Research. Communication Monograph 77 (2): 153–159. doi:10.1080/03637751003790444.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nir, Lilach. 2005. Ambivalent Social Networks and Their Consequences for Participation. International Journal of Public Opinion Research 17: 422–442.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nir, Lilach. 2011. Disagreement and Opposition in Social Networks: Does Disagreement Discourage Turnout? Political Studies 59: 674–692.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noelle-Neumann, Elisabeth. 1974. The Spiral of Silence: A Theory of Public Opinion. Journal of Communication 24 (2): 43–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noelle-Neumann, Elisabeth. 2008. Spiral of Silence. In A First Look at Communication Theory, ed. Em Griffin, 272–286. New York: McGraw Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nyhan, Brendan, and Jason Reifler. 2010. When Corrections Fail: The Persistence of Political Misperceptions. Political Behavior 30 (2): 303–330.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oetzel, John G., and Stella Ting-Toomey. 2003. Face Concerns in Interpersonal Conflict: A Cross-Cultural Empirical Test of Face Negotiation Theory. Communication Research 30 (6): 599–624.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Papacharissi, Zizi. 2004. Democracy Online: Civility, Politeness, and the Democratic Potential of Online Political Discussion. New Media and Society 6 (2): 259–283.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pattie, C.J., and R.J. Johnson. 2009. Conversation, Disagreement and Political Participation. Political Behavior 31: 261–285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodriguez, Tori. 2013. Negative Emotions are Key to Well-Being. Scientific American, May 1. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/negative-emotions-key-well-being/?WT.mc_id=SA_FB_MB_EG. Accessed 21 June 2016.

  • Rösner, Leonie, Stephan Winter, and Nicole C. Krämer. 2016. Dangerous Minds? Effects of Online Comments on Aggressive Cognitions, Emotions, and Behavior. Computers in Human Behavior 58: 461–470.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schudson, Michael. 1997. Why Conversation is Not the Soul of Democracy. Critical Studies in Mass Communication 14: 297–309.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stroud, Natalie J., Joshua M. Scacco, Ashley Muddiman, and Alexander L. Curry. 2015. Changing Deliberative Norms on News Organizations’ Facebook Sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 20: 188–203.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tsfati, Yariv, Natalie Jomini Stroud, and Adi Chotiner. 2014. Exposure to Ideological News and Perceived Opinion Climate: Testing the Media Effects Component of Spiral-of-Silence in a Fragmented Media Landscape. The International Journal of Press/Politics 19 (1): 3–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watson, David, Lee A. Clark, and Auke Tellegen. 1988. Development and Validation of the Brief Measures of Positive and Negative Affect: The PANAS Scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 54 (6): 1063–1070.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, Kipling D., Joseph P. Forgas, and William von Hippel. 2005. The Social Outcast. New York: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Journalism, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA

    Gina Masullo Chen

Authors
  1. Gina Masullo Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gina Masullo Chen .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Chen, G.M. (2017). Incivility and Speaking Out. In: Online Incivility and Public Debate. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56273-5_6

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation