When You Are Wrong on Facebook, Just Admit It

Abstract. Intellectually humble behavior, like admitting when you are wrong, leads to better impression formation. However, online social networks (OSNs) have changed the impression formation process. We investigated the impact of wrongness admission on impression formation during an OSN argument. In four experiments ( N = 679), participants witnessed a user engage in wrongness admission, refuse to admit, or not respond, in an argument on a Facebook wall. Participants reported their impressions of whether they would be willing to interact with the (non)admitting user. User reputation ratings and interaction intentions were higher in the admission (vs. nonadmission) condition. The latter effect was mediated by user reputation ratings. Wrongness admission appears to have a positive impact on impression formation on OSNs.