The Digital Mob: Online Accountability in Virtual Workspaces
In an experimental simulation of online content moderation conducted by researchers at NetSentry, 78% of independent moderators chose to permanently ban a user who had committed a minor, first-time policy infraction after being instructed to do so by an automated "AI senior compliance officer" interface. The participants later stated that they felt compelled to act harshly because the moderating dashboard displayed a real-time "community outrage index" that fluctuated rapidly, creating a stressful sense of digital urgency. Additionally, a live chat feed showed simulated peers posting hostile comments urging immediate bans. Even though moderators initially felt the ban was disproportionate, they attributed their decisions to the "highly charged virtual atmosphere" and the "perceived collective demand" of the online peer network.
Outline one way the article above supports the situational side of the individual/situational debate. Support your answer with evidence from the article.
276 exam-style questions on OCR A Level Psychology Debates, covering Nature/nurture, Freewill/determinism, Reductionism/holism, Individual/situational explanations, Usefulness of research, Ethical considerations, Conducting socially sensitive research, and Psychology as a science. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.