Theoretical Basis
Information Adoption Model (IAM)
The Information Adoption Model (IAM) is derived from the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Elaboration Processing Model (ELM), aiming to reveal the process of information recognition and acceptance. The IAM believes that the core of information adoption is the usefulness of information which is measured by key factors such as information quality and information source reliability16. Specifically, Information quality is the central path, and information recipients will spend their effort thinking deeply about information content based on logic; The reliability of information sources is an edge path, and information recipients often rely on external environmental factors to process information and make decisions. In addition, the IAM suggests that the selection of central and edge paths is not either one or the other, and people can select information based on their own characteristics17.
The IAM is a commonly used theory by scholars in studying the factors influencing the usefulness of online information dissemination and communication contexts, and it is widely applied in fields such as consumer decision-makingand marketing18. There are two tendencies in the early discussions on the IAM. One believed that the clues in the incoming information were significant in eliciting consumer acceptance, while the other viewed that consumers would avoid choosing information that was inconsistent with their life experiences during the information reception process. Based on the above point of view, some scholars proposed that if the recipients are active information processors, they can compare the received information with their own values, process the information with critical thinking, and then identify three information defense mechanisms: First, counter argument, that is, when there is a difference between the incoming information and their own cognition, consumers will repeatedly consider the clues in the information, and trigger refutation and resistance to the information content19; Second, support argument, referring to the fact that the incoming information is consistent with the values of the recipients, and consumers may be persuaded by the information content while providing an explanation for its generation20; Third, source derogation, referring to the questioning of the information source by the information recipient, leading to belief defense21. Meanwhile, some scholars have also confirmed the role of three response mechanisms in information processing in their research on contents such as advertising perception22,23. In the IAM-based research on online information, it is widely believed that the source, quantity, and intensity of information play an important role in influencing the recipients’ attitudes24,25. As for negative online opinion, its anonymity and uncertainty will make the recipients aware of the threat in the environment, which will lead to individual risk perception and subsequent behavior changes18. Therefore, this study suggests that the IAM is suitable for explaining people's processing of negative network opinion information on driverless cars, as well as the impact mechanism of negative opinion on their purchase decisions.
Mindfulness in Cognitive Process
Mindfulness originates from Buddhist meditation training, which refers to the intensity of attention26. It was initially introduced as an intervention method in the field of psychology, defined by Kabat Zinn as a purposeful and non-judgmental way of focusing on the present27. Self-control is a self-regulation behavior based on real-life situations in order to achieve the unity of personal values and social expectations28. Mindfulness, as a concept of physical and mental cultivation, can promote individuals' self-awareness of current cognition, thinking, and emotions, enhance their self-control ability29. Through mindfulness training, people can control their physical and mental activities, improve a series of negative psychological states30, promote positive subjective well-being31, relieve depression32, enhance awareness33, improve communication skills34, stimulate creativity35, and increase productivity36. It is widely believed that mindfulness can help individuals reduce various unhealthy behaviors caused by uncontrolled emotions and impulses37. With the deepening of research, scholars have paid attention to its social value gradually, explored interdisciplinary fields actively, and interpreted its connotation from multiple dimensions, presenting four research orientations of mindfulness: state orientation, trait orientation, ability orientation, and cognitive process orientation. Among them, the cognitive process orientation of mindfulness, as an information processing method, can better explain the essence of mindfulness from a dynamic perspective38,39.
In recent years, with the rapid development of communication technology, the network opinion ecosystem based on the Internet has been formed, affecting people's production and lifestyle deeply, triggering academic exploration about the richness of media and its social impact. As a psychological concept reflecting cognitive quality, mindfulness has gradually become prominent in the study of individual information processing processes. Based on the perspective of information processing, mindfulness can be seen as a psychological state in which people can process and analyze actively and effectively, and classify and create differences in information40, thereby enhancing self-control and engaging in subsequent positive behaviors41. There are studies using mindfulness as an intervention mechanism in information processing to explain individuals' adoption of information systems (IS), confirming that mindfulness can have a significant impact on people's cognition and behavior, helping users break automatic behavior42, increasing personal sensitivity to the environment, reducing cognitive laziness, and enhancing information processing ability43. Furthermore, mindfulness represents the openness of personal experience and it is considered the key to accept new technologies44. In the state of mindfulness, individuals collect information about new technologies actively, judge how they meet their own needs, and study the uniqueness and substitutability of the technologies45. Therefore, this study combines mindfulness in the cognitive process with the IAM framework in a bid to better analyze consumers' handling of negative network opinion related to the emerging technical product of driverless cars from a psychological state perspective, and grasp their consumption decision-making process in negative situations.
Research Model and Hypotheses
In the era of social media, the internet has become an important way for the public to vent their emotions, which leads to a more diverse source of negative information and richer information content, and forms a stronger public opinion orientation. The IAM holds that in the process of measuring the usefulness of information, the recipient’s evaluation of the information quality is mainly based on the consideration of the information texts, and the evaluation of the reliability of information sources should consider the information releasers. The information adoption behavior under the mindfulness framework is essentially a purposeful process of analyzing, evaluating, selecting, accepting, and utilizing information, and this process ultimately affects the individual's subsequent behavior. Considering the complexity of the adoption process mechanism of negative online opinion, this study takes the number and intensity of negative opinion as antecedent variables, perceived risk and defense mechanism as mediating variables, purchase intention as outcome variable, and mindfulness intervention as moderating variable. As shown in Fig. 1, the research model is established to deeply investigate the impacts of negative network opinion on the recipient’s psychological mechanism and consumption behavior, and measure the intervention level of mindfulness on individual’s information processing behavior.
Number of Negative Opinion, Intensity of Negative Opinion, and Perceived Risk
The asymmetry of online information makes consumers search for product related information actively to make optimal decisions due to risk aversion. Research on negative online information suggests that the more negative information there is, the greater its impact on consumers46. The intensity of negative network opinion refers to the negative intensity of information perceived by information recipients upon receiving negative opinion. Research has shown that the stronger the negative information, the more serious the attitude of the sender and the stronger the negative emotions expressed, the stronger the impact on the information recipient. The theory of perceived risk suggests that consumers may produce unpredictable results in their consumption behavior, leading to risk taking, and under the influence of negative information, the most prominent response variable for consumers is perceived risk47. Therefore, the following hypotheses are proposed:
H1: The more negative network opinion on driverless cars, the greater the perceived risk by consumers.
H2: The higher the intensity of negative network opinion on driverless cars, the greater the perceived risk by consumers.
Perceived Risk and Defense Mechanisms
Perceived risk emphasizes the subjective perception of individuals. Consumers typically go through three stages before making decisions based on perception of risks: First, evaluate the types of risks; Second, classify and filter information to reduce related risk perception; Finally, make a decision on whether to take risks48. Defense mechanism is a psychological operation that operates unconsciously and automatically to protect oneself from internal conflicts or pressures, and it is a unique tool for handling perceived risks49. Research has shown that consumers activate defense mechanisms to respond to information with uncertainty or potential threats50,51. Based on this, the following hypotheses are proposed:
H3a: The stronger the perceived risk by consumers, the stronger their defense through counter argument;
H3b: The stronger the perceived risk by consumers, the stronger their defense through support argument;
H3c: The stronger the perceived risk by consumers, the stronger their defense through source derogation.
Mediating Effects of Defense Mechanisms
The three defense mechanisms of information make consumers generate different purchase decisions. Counter argument and support argument are both cognitive responses to the substantive content of information, but they represent two completely different attitudes52. Countering is an effective resistance strategy, and using “counter argument” to defend will form an attitude of “immunity” to negative opinion, making consumers more committed to their original ideas; The “support argument” is convinced by negative opinion, which in turn triggers a change in consumers' original attitudes. Source derogation resists negative opinion by questioning the professional level of information releasers53. Therefore, the following hypotheses are proposed:
H4a: Adopting counter argument for defense has a negative impact on consumers' purchase intention;
H4b: Adopting support argument for defense has a positive impact on consumers' purchase intention;
H4c: Adopting source derogation for defense has a negative impact on consumers' purchase intention.
Moderating Effects of Mindfulness Intervention
Mindfulness in the cognitive process, as a psychological state and personality trait, includes two main characteristics, self-awareness and non-judgmental evaluation of stimuli54. The self-awareness means that despite the intervention of internal and external information, individuals can continue to be aware of their own thoughts and feelings, and process information with critical thinking; The non-judgmental evaluation of stimuli refers to that individuals can obtain ideas and feelings from the stimulus, but not judge whether they are beneficial from their own perspective. The above two characteristics of mindfulness correspond to the discussion of defense mechanisms in information processing by scholars such as Wright mentioned earlier. According to the principles of main effects and compensation effects of the Risk Tolerance Model, the impact of perceived risk on individuals can be buffered through self-control, making individuals exhibit resilience55. Mindfulness can promote self-control by consciously guiding attention56 and alleviate pressure from the information system57. Based on this, the following hypotheses are proposed:
H5a: Mindfulness intervention has a positive moderating effect between perceived risk and defense mechanism of counter argument;
H5b: Mindfulness intervention has a negative moderating effect between perceived risk and defense mechanism of support argument;
H5c: Mindfulness intervention has a positive moderating effect between perceived risk and defense mechanism of source derogation.