Are online reviews more honest if they are rewarded? A study reveals surprising things

Giving rewards for online reviews can greatly improve the accuracy of customer reviews on platforms like Amazon or Yelp. This is the conclusion reached by the present StadyIt was conducted by an interdisciplinary team including researchers from the University of California, Davis, Hunter College, New York College, and the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Aesthetics.

explained Seth Fry, assistant professor of communications at UC Davis and co-author of the study Phys Scope of results.

He says that implementing a reward system for writing reviews not only increases the volume of product reviews submitted, but also increases their accuracy. This would benefit consumers and businesses alike.

In their study, the researchers simulated the classification system in a 3D virtual environment designed as a tropical island world. In this world, players had a certain amount of time to collect coins and enjoy island life.

The main element of this virtual world was the ferries that transported players between different islands, with each ferry traveling at different speeds.

Players had the opportunity to rate phrases and provide feedback to other participants on which phrase was the best or fastest. These ratings were then shared with all players in the virtual world.

The study began by enabling players to leave reviews on ferry services, but without receiving any reward for doing so. In this first phase, about 30 percent of players left feedback.

When researchers later began offering coins as an incentive to rate ferries, participation skyrocketed; About 70 percent of players then provided feedback.

The researchers found that incentive-based reviews tend to be more honest and true to reality. In contrast, players who rated without consideration tended to provide overly positive reviews that often overrepresented the quality of the statement.

From these observations, the researchers concluded that rewards in rating systems could improve the overall quality and usefulness of assessments provided.