01
04
2026
Dear All,
We are pleased to invite you to the next Interdisciplinary Seminar in Empirical Social Science (ISESS), organized by the Centre of Excellence in Social Sciences at the University of Warsaw.
The seminar will be led by Yara Kyrychenko from Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab.
The title of the presentation is: Social Identity Drivers of Social Media Engagement Depend on the Socio-Political Context
Date: Wednesday, April 8
Time: 13:15
Venue: Commission Room [Sala Komisji] in the Kazimierzowski Palace (Krakowskie Przedmieście 26/28). The room is located on the third floor, lift is available in the building.
About the talk:
How do social dynamics shape the spread of content on social media? Prior work highlights the viral potential of divisive language, including negative emotions and outgroup hostility. Yet, empirical investigations are inconsistent across contexts. To address this, we conducted three computational and one experimental study to systematically investigate how expressions of ingroup solidarity and outgroup hostility in posts are associated with engagement (e.g., shares and likes) during intergroup conflict. Analyzing over one million Ukrainian posts around the 2022 Russian invasion, we found that ingroup solidarity became the main driver of engagement after the invasion. Similar patterns appeared in two other preregistered studies in the US after the 2024 presidential election crises and in Israel after the October 7 Hamas attack. Finally, we conducted a preregistered longitudinal field experiment on Ukrainian Telegram, in which participants were randomized to one of three researcher-administered channels that posted factually identical news content with either neutral, ingroup solidarity, or outgroup hostility framing. Surprisingly, posts in both emotional conditions received less engagement than those in the neutral condition, with ingroup solidarity receiving the least. Overall, our results indicate that what drives engagement on social media is context-dependent, opening new avenues for research.
Presentation details and abstract are available here:
The seminar will be conducted in English, held in person only, and no registration is required.
We warmly encourage your participation and look forward to seeing you there!
Yara Kyrychenko (BIO):
Yara Kyrychenko is a Gates PhD Candidate at the Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab. Her work combines psychological theory with computational methods to investigate both the risks and opportunities of social technologies.
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Upcoming ISESS seminars 2025/2026:
8 April – Yara Kyrychenko29 April – Eva Anduiza6 May – Olivier Klein3 June – Lena Adamus
