Image memorability predicts social media virality and externally-associated commenting

IF 8.9 1区心理学 Q1 PSYCHOLOGY, EXPERIMENTAL

Computers in Human Behavior Pub Date : 2025-09-19 DOI:10.1016/j.chb.2025.108799

Shikang Peng , Wilma A. Bainbridge

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Visual content on social media plays a key role in entertainment and information sharing, yet some images gain more engagement than others. We propose that image memorability – the ability to be remembered – may predict viral potential. Using 1247 Reddit image posts across three timepoints, we assessed memorability with neural network ResMem and correlated the predicted memorability scores with virality metrics. Memorable images were consistently associated with more comments, even after controlling for image categories with ResNet-152. Semantic analysis revealed that memorable images relate to more neutral-affect comments, suggesting a distinct pathway to virality from emotional contents. Additionally, visual consistency analysis showed that memorable posts inspired diverse, externally-associated comments. By analyzing ResMem's layers, we found semantic distinctiveness was key to both memorability and virality. This study highlights memorability as a unique correlate of social media virality, offering insights into how visual features and human cognitive behavioral interactions are associated with online engagement.

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图像记忆性预测了社交媒体的病毒式传播和外部相关评论

社交媒体上的视觉内容在娱乐和信息分享中发挥着关键作用，但有些图片比其他图片更受欢迎。我们提出，图像记忆能力——被记住的能力——可以预测病毒的潜力。我们利用三个时间点的1247个Reddit图片帖子，用神经网络ResMem评估可记忆性，并将预测的可记忆性得分与病毒式传播指标联系起来。即使在用ResNet-152控制了图像类别之后，令人难忘的图像始终与更多的评论相关联。语义分析显示，令人难忘的图片与更中性的评论有关，这表明情感内容有一条独特的病毒式传播途径。此外，视觉一致性分析显示，令人难忘的帖子激发了不同的、外部相关的评论。通过分析ResMem的层次，我们发现语义独特性是记忆性和病毒性的关键。这项研究强调了记忆性是社交媒体病毒式传播的独特关联，为视觉特征和人类认知行为互动如何与在线参与相关提供了见解。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Computers in Human Behavior Multiple-

CiteScore

19.10

自引率

4.00%

发文量

381

审稿时长

40 days

期刊介绍： Computers in Human Behavior is a scholarly journal that explores the psychological aspects of computer use. It covers original theoretical works, research reports, literature reviews, and software and book reviews. The journal examines both the use of computers in psychology, psychiatry, and related fields, and the psychological impact of computer use on individuals, groups, and society. Articles discuss topics such as professional practice, training, research, human development, learning, cognition, personality, and social interactions. It focuses on human interactions with computers, considering the computer as a medium through which human behaviors are shaped and expressed. Professionals interested in the psychological aspects of computer use will find this journal valuable, even with limited knowledge of computers.