Du Bangde, Ye Ziyi, Jankowska Monika, Wu Zhijing, Ai Qingyao, Zhou Yujia, Liu Yiqun
Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University, Zhongguancun Laboratory, Haidian District, 100084, Beijing, China.
Department of Anthropology, Rice University, 6100 Main St, 77005, Houston, TX, USA.
Sci Rep. 2025 May 25;15(1):18277. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-02423-y.
Short video browsing is a dominant medium today, significantly influencing public opinion and social dynamics. We investigate the effects of video platform Content Polarization (CP) on user perceptions and behaviors by bringing together measurements such as responses to self-report questionnaires, behavior signals, and noninvasive Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. Our study demonstrated that just one week of exposure to polarized content can result in distinct patterns of behavior and brain activity during the perception of videos. Further, we revealed that exposure to content with diverging polarization directions, i.e. positive or negative, has extremely different effects on participants' emotional states, sentiment judgments, and brain responses. Specifically, participants' sentiment scores showed a significant decrease ([Formula: see text]=[Formula: see text], p=[Formula: see text], r=0.484) after exposure to negative content, whereas positive content led to an average sentiment score increase ([Formula: see text]=0.171, p=0.046, r=0.308). Finally, we show that analyzing participants' brain responses is even more effective at detecting exposure to polarized content than self-report judgments or behavioral signals, achieving superior predictive accuracy ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]).
短视频浏览如今是一种占主导地位的媒介，对公众舆论和社会动态有着重大影响。我们通过整合诸如对自我报告问卷的回答、行为信号和非侵入性脑电图（EEG）信号等测量方法，来研究视频平台内容极化（CP）对用户认知和行为的影响。我们的研究表明，仅一周接触极化内容就会在视频感知过程中导致不同的行为模式和大脑活动。此外，我们发现接触具有不同极化方向（即正面或负面）的内容对参与者的情绪状态、情感判断和大脑反应有着截然不同的影响。具体而言，接触负面内容后，参与者的情感得分显著下降（[公式：见正文]=[公式：见正文]，p=[公式：见正文]，r = 0.484），而正面内容则导致情感得分平均上升（[公式：见正文]=0.171，p = 0.046，r = 0.308）。最后，我们表明，分析参与者的大脑反应在检测接触极化内容方面比自我报告判断或行为信号更有效，具有更高的预测准确性（[公式：见正文]，[公式：见正文]，[公式：见正文]）。
