Beijing Normal University, China.
Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, China.
Public Underst Sci. 2021 May;30(4):369-383. doi: 10.1177/0963662520970782. Epub 2020 Nov 13.
Scientific knowledge contribution to online knowledge-sharing platforms has long been regarded as instrumental behavior based on utilitarian considerations. Employing cognitive evaluation theory, this study examines scientific expert users' behavioral metrics to understand the factors responsible for users continuing to contribute their scientific knowledge for an extended period or a very short span. We found that expert users' intrinsic motivations, which has received little attention in recent studies, constitute an important indicator of sustained online scientific knowledge contribution. Furthermore, although social rewards fail to predict the continuity of scientific knowledge contribution, they prolong the duration of knowledge contribution by enhancing the intrinsic motivations of expert users. In conclusion, a self-reinforcement mechanism underlies the relationship of intrinsic motivation with social rewards, which governs continuous online scientific knowledge contribution behavior.
科学知识对在线知识共享平台的贡献长期以来一直被视为基于功利考虑的工具性行为。本研究运用认知评价理论，考察了科学专家用户的行为指标，以了解导致用户持续贡献科学知识的因素，无论是长期还是短期。我们发现，专家用户的内在动机在最近的研究中很少受到关注，是持续在线科学知识贡献的一个重要指标。此外，尽管社会奖励并不能预测科学知识贡献的连续性，但它们通过增强专家用户的内在动机来延长知识贡献的持续时间。总之，内在动机与社会奖励之间的关系存在自我强化机制，这种机制支配着持续的在线科学知识贡献行为。
