Power distance is the degree of acceptance of unequal distribution of power in societies. In a high power distance context, the acceptance of inequality conflicts with the operation of modern organizations, which causes obstacles to workplace communication or even triggers workplace accidents due to ineffective communication. We conducted four studies (N = 1063) to explore the relations between and mechanisms of power distance belief and workplace communication. In Study 1, the participants with high power distance belief had ineffective workplace communication—specifically ineffective communication with superiors—but no difference in communication with subordinates and colleagues. We further focused on the mechanism underlying the relationship between power distance belief and communication with superiors. A questionnaire study (Study 2) was conducted in three stages over a three-month period, and an experimental study (Study 3) indicated that fear of authority mediated the negative effect of high power distance on communication with superiors. A cross-culture study (Study 4) re-tested the hypotheses among Chinese and U.S. participants. This research provides insight into the mechanisms that explain the relationship between power distance belief and workplace communication, indicating that fear of authority is significant. Organizations should pay attention to power distance belief and fear of authority, as they may lead to workplace accidents due to communication disasters.

Emerging social media platforms such as Twitter and its Chinese equivalent Weibo have become important in information-sharing and communication. They are also gradually becoming stronger in guiding public opinion. When compared with traditional media, these platforms have salient characteristics, such as highly efficient dissemination of information and interactive commentary, which can contribute to information overload. In earlier research, only the effect of social media on attitude change has been studied, but the specific mechanism of this effect in the context of information overload has not been found. To answer this question, we measured the attitude change of participants after they read Weibo posts about street vendors. A 2 (post-attitude: positive posts vs. negative posts) × 4 (reading time: 35 vs. 25 vs. 15 vs. 5 min) experiment was set up, and the Single Category Implicit Attitude Test was used to measure the implicit attitudes. The interaction effect revealed that in both positive and negative posts, less reading time (i.e., information overload) had a stronger influence. Users were more easily persuaded by posts under high overload. Furthermore, the changes in the attitudes of users were not simply stronger with more information. We found three stages, namely, obedience, resistance, and acceptance, with different mechanisms. Therefore, in the positive information overload condition, the attitudes of individuals eventually change in a positive way. In the negative information overload condition, individuals tend to be biased against the group being reported.

Online music platforms that include social networking features sometimes become supportive social communities where young people can disclose their emotional distress and receive support. However, few studies have examined young people's disclosure in social music communities or the support they provide or receive. In this study, which focuses on a large online music platform as a research site, we used mixed methods to analyze young users' comments (N = 163) and the associated replies (N = 2,732) related to their psychological distress (e.g., depression, anxiety, stress, and loneliness). We found that the main types of comments involved experience sharing, and these comments often invoked peer support in the form of encouragement, caring, or self-disclosure. We also conducted an interview study with 13 young users of our research site to understand their perceptions of and motives for engaging in disclosure and support. The interviewees stated that music-induced and comment-induced emotional resonance was the main reason for their disclosure and support. Finally, we discussed the implications of our findings for designing a supportive social music community to benefit youth mental health.

In the current research, we aimed to extend the literature on workplace objectification and contribute to employees’ well-being by exploring whether and how workplace objectification increases self-harm as well as the coping strategy that may weaken the effect. Employing archive data analytic, correlational, longitudinal, and experimental designs, we found that workplace objectification was associated with, or led to, self-harm, irrespective of whether such actions provided an escape from work. This effect could not be simply ascribed to the negative nature of workplace objectification. We further found that depressive moods mediated this effect. The detrimental effect of workplace objectification on self-harm was lessened when employees perceived higher alternatives in life. Theoretical and managerial implications were discussed.