Self-effects of (perceived) public vs. private opinion expression, elaboration, and composition

Self-effects in communication research refer to effects of opinion expressions on the senders themselves. Despite growing empirical support for self-effects, moderators and mediators of these self-effects are barely researched. The article outlines theoretical arguments that individuals elaborate more and put more effort into message composition when expecting a public vs. a private setting. This, in turn, should lead to higher self-effects on the senders’ perceived knowledge, issue interest, and behavioral intentions. In a preregistered between-subjects experiment, we found tentative support for these assumptions

Empirical evidence · Empirical research · Private sector · Public opinion · Communication in Education and Healthcare · Media Influence and Health · Social and Intergroup Psychology