The Facebook research study

The Facebook research study

The Facebook research study entailed manipulating the news feeds to determine whether emotions through social networks are contagious. The findings revealed that emotions via such platforms are indeed contagious. The information about the study demonstrates causation. When news feeds had positive information, people’s response posts were also positive (Goel, 2014). Likewise, much of the negative content led to users writing negative posts. It indicates that the mood of the news feeds directly shaped the behavior as well as the responses of the viewers. It is what referred to as the emotional contagion where one’s emotions are transferred to another person without their awareness (Kramera, Guillory, & Hancock, 2014). Other variables that could account for the same include sad or happy news in the media. For instance, if there would be good news in the media and the news feeds are manipulated to be positive, these feeds would meet happy users who respond positively.

If the psychologists were to conduct the study, they would address several ethical issues such as informed consent, deception sand debriefing. First, they would inform the participant about the research before conducting it (American Psychological Association, 2016). Facebook assumed that it had obtained consent once the users registered with the platform and accepted the terms and conditions. In addition, the researchers would be honest about how the research will impact the participant, physically or psychologically. Anything dealing with emotions is risky because some people can end up distressed. Finally, the researchers would briefly inform the participants a little about the research, objectives, and conclusions. That would enable the participants to clear any doubt they might have with the study.