Project description
Bringing to light bystander reactions to online political hostility
Many political discussions take place on social media platforms that are often characterised by political hatred. Witnesses to this kind of behaviour usually remain indifferent and passive, with many not feeling responsible for what is being said to victims. The EU-funded STANDBY project will investigate how people react to political aggressiveness on social media and the consequences hereof. With a focus on cyber-bystanders, the project will create a new interdisciplinary theory of pro-social bystander reactions, shedding light on their decisions in the framework of online political hostility and whether pro-social reactions can be encouraged. The project employs a novel combination of survey and behavioural experiments and will lead to a novel methodology for bystander research: the immersive bystander video environment.
Objective
Online political hostility, such as online hate speech, constitutes a challenge to democracy through negative effects on political participation. The challenge is amplified by widespread apathy among witnesses. While research within political science has focused on the aggressors and explored how politically hostile behavior develops, much less attention is given to bystanders and the potential of pro-social bystander reactions to mitigate the negative impact of online political hostility.
This project advances a new research agenda, shifting focus from explaining the anti-social behavior of online political hostility to explaining pro-social bystander reactions and their consequences. Advancing the social-psychological study of bystanders, the project develops a new inter-disciplinary theory of pro-social bystander reactions, theorizing bystander decision-making in the context of online political hostility, and its short- and long-term consequences.
In addition to theoretical innovation, the project breaks new methodological ground by combining survey and behavioral experiments with a longitudinal design, and developing an innovative methodology for bystander research: The Immersive Bystander Video Environment.
The key empirical contributions of the project are to ground this new research agenda in real-time observations and first-hand experiences of bystander reactions to political hostility; to conduct a series of innovative survey and behavioral experiments, exploring the causes and consequences of pro-social bystander reactions; and to establish proof-of-concept as to which interventions can encourage pro-social bystander reactions.
The project is unique in its scientific ambition: it addresses the challenge to democracy from online political hostility by turning attention to the unexplored role of bystanders in mitigating its immediate negative impact, and in longer-term prevention by strengthening norms of civility in political interactions.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2020-COG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
8000 Aarhus C
Denmark
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.