Ambivalence Is Better than Indifference: A Behavioral and Neurophysiological Assessment of Ambivalence in Online Environments
通过四项随机对照实验（含脑电图研究），发现在线信息中的矛盾态度（同时存在正负评价）与冷漠态度（无正负评价）对注意力和购买决策有不同影响，并提出双变量干预方法，可将矛盾信息产品的购买决策提升至少50%。
Information representations such as ratings and reviews play an important role in assisting users in making decisions in online environments. Prior information systems (IS) research has mostly focused on the role of extreme valence, i.e., the positivity/negativity of information, portrayed by such representations. Yet this bipolar approach discounts how the coexistence of positivity and negativity (i.e., ambivalence) or their absence (i.e., indifference) is formed and leads to distinct attentional processes and outcomes such as purchase decisions. We theorize how and why the valence of information projected through such representations may elicit mixed feelings and influence decision-making in online environments. We conducted four randomized controlled experiments, including an electroencephalography (EEG) study, to disentangle the influence of ambivalence and indifference on decision-making in an online shopping context. We found that ambivalence and indifference to online information distinctly influenced attention and purchase decisions relative to positivity and negativity. Our findings further suggest the inability of incumbent bipolar representations, such as the widely implemented star rating system, to capture the mixed feelings expressed in online content. We propose a bivariate intervention that overcomes the limitations of bipolar representations by not only discerning ambivalence from indifference but also amplifying purchase decisions for products with ambivalent information by at least 50%, compared to incumbent bipolar representations. Our findings advance ongoing research on the role of information valence in online environments and offer implications for practice.