University of Twente Student Theses
Exploring the Mental Model of Reputation of Reddit Users: A replication with extension
Lang Friedrichsmeier, R. (2023) Exploring the Mental Model of Reputation of Reddit Users: A replication with extension.
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| Abstract: | This paper investigates the mental model of Reddit users concerning the construct of reputation. Reputation is vital in social online communities, especially in times of misinformation and fake news. We are not aware of any available digital system on the market that enables users to judge other users’ reputations. To develop such a reputation system, the first step is to identify the users’ mental model of reputation. This paper conceptually replicates Landwehr (2020), to broaden scientific knowledge by applying her methodology to a more specific scope. More specifically, this paper will investigate a specific social online community, namely Reddit. The methodology of Landwehr (2020) consists of first conducting a word association study to find words connected to the construct of reputation, and then using a card sorting study to create the mental model. This paper furthermore compares the found mental model to the one found by Landwehr (2020) to see how the mental model of a specific community differs from a mental model derived from multiple social online communities. We identified a Reddit users’ mental model of reputation, and we compared it with the one previously identified by Landwehr. The comparison of the two suggests that different social online communities have similar concepts in their mental model, but how these concepts are connected is still unclear. One interpretation of the results is that the reputation constructs of different social online communities have a common core of concepts but are detailed in different manners in line with community-specific elements. Another possible interpretation is that the reputation constructs of different social online communities draw upon a common set of concepts, but each community connects these concepts in a unique framework. More research into the validity of these interpretation and reputation in specific social online communities, in general, is needed. The study functions as a steppingstone for future research in the field. It provides a mental model of reputation of Reddit users, as well as a basic structure for future research into mental models of social online community users to build upon. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Bachelor) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Programme: | Psychology BSc (56604) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/95629 |
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