Social media posts, and memes in particular, offer important opportunities for social media users and organizations to disseminate information about climate change. However, as this topic remains controversial, memes often elicit comments that may oppose (rather than support) the existence of climate change. In three studies, we find that the position of the comments influences users’ engagement with the main post: when the user’s and the meme’s positions on climate change align, comments opposing the claim of the meme decrease users’ readiness to “like” the meme. We also examine social media users’ attitudes toward different comment moderating options, including disabling, deleting, hiding, or responding to comments.

If you are having a hard day, what can someone else do to help you feel better? Maybe they could verbally comfort you or maybe they could give you a small gift. In seven studies, including an in‐person real gifting study, we find that receiving a small material gift, such as a candy bar or flowers, improves receivers' affect more than a supportive conversation with a close other does. We investigate the mechanism for this effect and find that support receivers perceive a gift to be a larger sacrifice than a conversation. This occurs because gifts seem more receiver‐focused (i.e., actions done solely to benefit the receiver) than do conversations. This difference in perceived sacrifice makes gifts (vs. conversations) more effective at promoting emotional recovery.

In this research note, we explore when salespeople should begin conversations with new customers with small talk. During initial meetings with customers, salespeople can choose to begin with small talk about topics not related to the task to break the ice or they can move straight to business and provide task-relevant information. Both approaches have garnered some support from different literature streams, and it remains unclear which approach is best. In two experiments with 399 and 365 respondents respectively, we compare customers’ responses to small talk versus task talk initiated by salespeople during an initial meeting. We consider whether the customer’s previous level of experience with the offering category moderates the effects and explore an explanatory mechanism for why this occurs. Findings indicate that customers’ responses to small talk versus task talk vary depending on their level of experience. When the salesperson starts with small talk, novice customers’ intentions to do business with the salesperson increase because small talk makes them feel more comfortable. We conclude that salespeople should consider a customers’ level of experience and adapt their communication tactics accordingly.