Engagement in Online Cancellation: Development and Psychometric Evidence of a Behavioral Scale

Abstract

Online cancellation has emerged as a relevant form of engagement on social media, involving practices of public punishment and withdrawal of support from targets perceived as morally reprehensible. Despite the growing interest in this phenomenon, there is still a lack of instruments with adequate psychometric evidence to assess individuals' engagement in such practices. This study aimed to develop and gather validity evidence for a measure of behavioral engagement in virtual canceling. To this end, two studies were conducted. In Study 1 (N = 20), semi-structured interviews were analyzed using Descending Hierarchical Classification, allowing the identification of different forms of engagement in the phenomenon and supporting item development. In Study 2 (N = 212), principal component analysis and parallel analysis indicated a two-component structure, composed of retaliation (active forms of exposure and punishment) and boycott (strategies of support withdrawal), both showing adequate internal consistency. The findings suggest that online cancellation can be understood as a set of distinct behaviors organized into active and passive forms of engagement, which aim to reinforce, through different pathways, a social norm perceived as violated by the target of the cancellation. The developed scale provides initial evidence of validity and reliability, contributing to the advancement of empirical research on the phenomenon.