Who’s engaging in political discussions on social media? Comparing the effects of self-monitoring and moral certainty

This study explores the role certain personality traits, specifically self-monitoring and moral certainty, play in one’s propensity to post about politics online, including engaging in potentially contentious exchanges. Using data from the ANES 2020 Exploratory Testing Survey, I examine the effects of self-monitoring and moral certainty on posting political comments online and using social media to shame another user for posting something offensive. Results show that high self-monitoring scores are correlated with increased probability of both posting political comments and calling out another user. However, moral certainty scores only produce significant results in the case of shaming someone on social media for offensive comments. These results suggest the following: 1) high self-monitors engage in both types of behaviors on social media to reflect positively on other users who share their views, (2) those high in moral certainty are driven to post on social media to address a perceived moral offense.