Does everyone online agree with me? Highly noted counterargument published in Psychological Science

Echo chambers, the spread of fake news, online polarisation: Many of these phenomena that divide our society are scientifically linked to the so-called congeniality bias. This theory suggests that online users tend to consume information that aligns with their existing beliefs - a thesis that has been confirmed many times.

However, when people are asked not what content they want to read, but what they want to respond to, such as in online forums or on X (formerly Twitter), a different pattern emerges: Users actively choose posts that challenge their own opinions. This is the result of a recent series of studies conducted by PD Dr Jürgen Buder and his team.

The deputy head of the IWM’s Perception and Action lab has an interesting explanation for this phenomenon: "We believe that reading opinions that are contrary to one's own triggers a cognitive conflict in online users. Resolving this conflict motivates individuals to engage with the source of the dissenting opinion and to argue against it".

Published under the title "Online Interaction Turns the Congeniality Bias Into an Uncongeniality Bias" in Psychological Science, one of the top journals in psychology, this series of studies has already attracted considerable attention on social media.