BibTex format
@article{Bhargave:2026,
author = {Bhargave, R and Menezes, M and Usrey, B},
journal = {Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied},
title = {Beyond visual information: how user-generated photos shape persuasion},
year = {2026}
}
RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)
TY - JOUR
AB - In online word-of-mouth settings, individuals are frequently exposed to others’ evaluations and claims whose basis is difficult to verify directly. As a result, people often rely on cues embedded in online communication when assessing how much confidence to place in others’ evaluations. This work examines one cue that commonly appears in these settings: the inclusion of photos alongside text. Existing research has largely focused on the visual information photos provide or their correspondence with accompanying evaluations. This work studies a different possibility, that photos also influence how confidently individuals rely on others’ evaluations, even when the visual information itself is limited, weakly related to the evaluation, or not directly viewed. Across five experiments, a survey, and a large-scale analysis of Yelp data, this research finds photos increase the persuasive value of evaluations by heightening certainty in the source’s evaluation. These effects persist even when photos are not viewed or provide weak support for certainty. the accompanying evaluation. These findings suggest photos can shape confidence in others’ evaluations beyond the information they directly convey. The results also raise welfare implications for online communication environments, as photos may lead individuals to place undue confidence in evaluative claims regardless of their informational value. Keywords: user-generated photos, online word-of-mouth, social influence, persuasiveness, Public significance statement: This study suggests that adding a photo to an evaluation makes the evaluation more persuasive, even when the photo provides little information, or is never viewed. As a result, readers may place undue confidence in these evaluations, amplifying those evaluations’ influence regardless of the information the photos provide.
AU - Bhargave,R
AU - Menezes,M
AU - Usrey,B
PY - 2026///
SN - 1076-898X
TI - Beyond visual information: how user-generated photos shape persuasion
T2 - Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied
ER -