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The effects of perceived anonymity and anonymity states on conformity and groupthink in online communities: A Wikipedia study

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  • Michail Tsikerdekis
Abstract
Groupthink behavior is always a risk in online groups and group decision support systems (GDSS), especially when not all potential alternatives for problem resolution are considered. It becomes a reality when individuals simply conform to the majority opinion and hesitate to suggest their own solutions to a problem. Anonymity has long been established to have an effect on conformity, but no previous research has explored the effects of different anonymity states in relation to an individual's likelihood to conform. Through a survey of randomly chosen participants from the English‐language Wikipedia community, I explored the effects of anonymity on the likelihood of conforming to group opinion. In addition, I differentiated between actual states of anonymity and individuals' perceptions of anonymity. His findings indicate that although people perceive anonymity differently depending on their anonymity state, different states of anonymity do not have a strong effect on the likelihood of conforming to group opinion. Based on this evidence, I make recommendations for software engineers who have a direct hand in the design of online community platforms.

Suggested Citation

  • Michail Tsikerdekis, 2013. "The effects of perceived anonymity and anonymity states on conformity and groupthink in online communities: A Wikipedia study," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 64(5), pages 1001-1015, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jamist:v:64:y:2013:i:5:p:1001-1015
    DOI: 10.1002/asi.22795
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    Cited by:

    1. Danielle Caled & Mário J. Silva, 2022. "Digital media and misinformation: An outlook on multidisciplinary strategies against manipulation," Journal of Computational Social Science, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 123-159, May.
    2. Adam Worrall & Alicia Cappello & Rachel Osolen, 2021. "The importance of socio‐emotional considerations in online communities, social informatics, and information science," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 72(10), pages 1247-1260, October.
    3. Merfeld, Katrin & Wilhelms, Mark-Philipp & Henkel, Sven & Kreutzer, Karin, 2019. "Carsharing with shared autonomous vehicles: Uncovering drivers, barriers and future developments – A four-stage Delphi study," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 66-81.
    4. Folco Panizza & Piero Ronzani & Tiffany Morisseau & Simone Mattavelli & Carlo Martini, 2023. "How do online users respond to crowdsourced fact-checking?," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-11, December.
    5. Winkler, Jens & Moser, Roger, 2016. "Biases in future-oriented Delphi studies: A cognitive perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 63-76.

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