Cognitive and motivational factors driving sharing of internet memes

As naturally occurring examples of folk culture and creativity, internet memes provide a rich testbed to examine the interrelationships among cognitive motivational factors that influence their impact. In two studies with participants recruited over internet, we measured variety appraisals both apolitical political focus on role metaphorical aptness personal relatability as predictors comprehensibility humor. Structural equation modeling was used analyze interconnections appraisals. A major network path connects aptness, which in turn is linked comprehensibility, humor, propensity share. For memes, congruity meme person’s position (liberal or conservative) has powerful but indirect impact share it. These findings indicate are based processes also underlie metaphor comprehension appreciation