Qian Xu, an assistant professor in the School of Communications, published a co-authored article exploring the bandwagon effect in the context of an activist group on social networking websites in the peer-reviewed journal of Mass Communication and Society.
Xu is the first author of the article, titled “The effects of ‘friend’ characteristics on evaluations of an activist group in a social networking context,” which she wrote with the colleagues from the Pennsylvania State University.
The study employed an experiment to explore the effect of the number of online group affiliates and affiliate race and age on individuals’ feelings toward the group, its page and intended support. Results showed that similarities in the race of the followers affects the likelihood that a bandwagon effect would ensue.