Negativity bias in the diagnosticity of online review content: the effects of consumers’ prior experience and need for cognition

The importance of online review valence is a subject of debate among scholars. Prior studies mostly assumed valence as a “peripheral” cue derived from online review surface features (e.g., star ratings). This assumption has important implications as it restricts the negativity bias effects to a certain group of consumers who lack pertinent prior experience with the product/service domain and the motivation to assess the product/service. Focusing on online service context and drawing on an adaptational view to negative information, we investigate the negativity bias in the effects of the valence of the “content” of online reviews on consumers’ attitudes and show that it can be attributed to the higher perceived diagnosticity of negative reviews. This is determined by consumers’ in-depth elaborations of reviews’ contents, which are contingent on their prior experience with the domain of online service and need for cognition. Our findings provide a new perspective to negativity bias by showing that more experienced and thoughtful consumers are also influenced by negativity bias when the content of online reviews is considered. This is a novel account of negativity bias in the effects of online reviews that underscores the importance of response strategies for reducing their adverse effects.