<p>I believe it has to do with two main factors:</p>

<p>1) <strong>Emotional response to one of the topics</strong></p>

<p>Consider the case where a webpage or paragraph of text contains multiple topics. Each one with different emotional response from the reader:</p>

<ul>
<li>Topic 1: X____|</li>
<li>Topic 2: XX___|</li>
<li>Topic 3: X____|</li>
<li>Topic 4: XXXXXXXXX</li>
<li>Topic 5: XX___|</li>
</ul>

<p>Where the number of X's is how strong the response is. Suppose 5X's are needed to bother responding. Assuming the topics are encountered sequentially, Topic 4 will activate the strongest emotional response. Since it's also above 5X, the person may start responding, leaving topic 5 unread and un-responded to.</p>

<p>2) <strong>Social/technical norms of the online communication system</strong></p>

<p>In many web platforms, the main means of commenting/replying is via typed text boxes, usually with minimum and maximum length limits. That's the technical norm. The lower the limit (i.e. a tweet), the less likely more than one topic will be responded to. Expectation of interruptions could also play a role. For example, in an online chat, many other emotional topics may be mentioned while typing out a long, nuanced response, potentially stopping it from being finished.</p>

<p>The social norms come into play when a reader observes how others have responded to the item and in what format. If others responded with short one-liners, the reader may be inclined to respond with a one-liner. If others wrote up elaborate essays as responses, perhaps the reader may do so as well.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-07-17T02:41:02.787Z
2015-07-17T02:41:02.787Z
Justas
<p>This is a situation more frequent in online conversations, where you can type many things before the other person has a chance to reply.</p>

<p>Perhaps cognitive load, multi-tasking ability, have something to do with it? At any rate, it does seem like the person "ignores" the other unanswered question at times.</p>

<cognitive-psychology><social-psychology><motivation><internet><communication>
Why do people tend to reply to only one topic when multiple topics are brought up simultaneously?
xiankai
# Why do people tend to reply to only one topic when multiple topics are brought up simultaneously?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-08-30)

This is a situation more frequent in online conversations, where you can type many things before the other person has a chance to reply.

Perhaps cognitive load, multi-tasking ability, have something to do with it? At any rate, it does seem like the person "ignores" the other unanswered question at times.

**Tags:** cognitive-psychology, social-psychology, motivation, internet, communication


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2015-07-17. Score: 1

I believe it has to do with two main factors:

1) **Emotional response to one of the topics**

Consider the case where a webpage or paragraph of text contains multiple topics. Each one with different emotional response from the reader:

* Topic 1: X\_\_\_\_|
* Topic 2: XX\_\_\_|
* Topic 3: X\_\_\_\_|
* Topic 4: XXXXXXXXX
* Topic 5: XX\_\_\_|

Where the number of X's is how strong the response is. Suppose 5X's are needed to bother responding. Assuming the topics are encountered sequentially, Topic 4 will activate the strongest emotional response. Since it's also above 5X, the person may start responding, leaving topic 5 unread and un-responded to.

2) **Social/technical norms of the online communication system**

In many web platforms, the main means of commenting/replying is via typed text boxes, usually with minimum and maximum length limits. That's the technical norm. The lower the limit (i.e. a tweet), the less likely more than one topic will be responded to. Expectation of interruptions could also play a role. For example, in an online chat, many other emotional topics may be mentioned while typing out a long, nuanced response, potentially stopping it from being finished.

The social norms come into play when a reader observes how others have responded to the item and in what format. If others responded with short one-liners, the reader may be inclined to respond with a one-liner. If others wrote up elaborate essays as responses, perhaps the reader may do so as well.


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