Communication Theory and Methodology 2011 Abstracts
Loss Aversion and Regulatory Focus Effects in the Absence of Numbers: Qualitatively Framing Equivalent Messages on Food Labels • Katie Abrams, University of Illinois • To frame messages as equivalent gains or nonlosses, studies have used quantitative descriptors, but are cognitive biases explained by loss aversion or regulatory focus still powerful using qualitative descriptors? The purpose of this study was to compare effects of qualitatively framed gain and nonloss messages on people’s attitude. Each subject was randomly assigned to view either gain- or nonloss-framed messages about environmental impact and animal welfare on chicken packaging. Results showed no difference between frames.
The Salience-Setting Function • Mohammed Al-Azdee, Indiana University School of Journalism • Agenda Setting Effect and Political Predisposition Effect are two latent constructs in a structural model. While Affect Salience conceptualizes their covariance, saliences in both of them compete to predict a third latent variable, Voting for President Obama. The analysis shows that in voting behavior, an individual significantly relies on Salience-Setting Function that primarily composes of political predisposition salience and affect salience. Need for Orientation explains condition when the function becomes consequences of media agenda setting.
Eye to (Un)Biased Eye? Effects of Visual and Source Attributes on the Perceived Credibility of Identical Information • Andrew Binder, North Carolina State University; Michael Dahlstrom, Iowa State University; Dominique Brossard, LSC, University of Wisconsin-Madison • This study reports an empirical test of the effects of both visual aspects of messages and the labels of a source on judgments of credibility of the exact same information. In addition, we revisit the notion of credibility—and the distinct dimensions that were introduced initially by Meyer and have become standard use in empirical communication research since that introduction—and if they remain equally relevant in the current media environment. We address these questions by systematically varying the type of source and the modality of an informative, visual stimulus about the dangers of global warming in an experimental setting. Our findings suggest that the dimensions of credibility may not always tap the same underlying construct. In addition, we found evidence for a causal influence of apparent reach of a media message—as opposed to perceived reach—in determining higher versus lower evaluations of the biasedness of the experimental stimulus. Implications for communication theory and methodology are discussed.
The Relationship Between Motivation Activation and Social Media • Paul Bolls, Missouri School of Journalism; Heather Shoenberger; Dawn Schillenger, Missouri School of Journalism; Anthony Almond, Missouri School of Jounralism; Jaime Williams, Missouri School of Journalism • This study explores relationships between biologically based motivational drives, perceived functions of social media use, and potentially problematic orientations towards social media among college students. A convenience sample of 90 college students was obtained. Respondents completed the motivation activation measure and scales perceived functions of social media use potentially problematic orientations towards social media adapted from previous research. Results indicated that biologically-based motivation predicted two important perceived functions of social media use and that these functions were significantly related to problematic orientations towards social media use among college students. Theoretical and practical implications of this pattern of results is discussed.
Beyond Uses and Gratifications: Towards A “Multiple Influences” Model of Media Use • Bryan Carr, The University of Oklahoma • This paper proposes a new user-focused theoretical model of media use motivation under the rationale that current theories are inadequate for researching contemporary digital media and communication. The model uses the theories of uses and gratifications, media systems dependency, and play theory as a starting point. The core assumptions and concepts of each of these theories, as well as their strengths and weaknesses, are explored. From the elements of these theories, concepts and structure for a “”multiple influences”” model of media use and motivation are developed. The end result of the paper is a theoretical model that proposes three spheres of influence – internal needs, external demands, and medium/source characteristics – which act upon the individual and could predict their likelihood of media or source usage. The paper concludes with a hypothetical application of the model to explore how it could be used to study a media selection situation.
With Me or Against Me: Hostile Media and Third Person Effect in Partisan Media • David Carr, UW-Madison; Matthew Barnidge, University of Wisconsin – Madison; Alexandra Rogers, University of Wisconsin-Madison; David Wise, University of Wisconsin Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication; Emily Vraga, University of Wisconsin-Madison • Scholars have noted that as the menu of available programming choices on cable television increases, so does selectivity of content along partisan or ideological lines. This study begins to explore the interaction between partisanship, program bias, and the distribution of opposing viewpoints in a political talk show. Our results indicate that host partisanship and guest argument distribution both influence ratings of media hostility and perceived impact, and that individuals distinguish the source of said bias.
Support for Emerging Technologies: Disentangling the Predispositional, Affective and Cognitive Pathways • Michael Cacciatore, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Doo-Hun Choi, University of Wisconsin – Madison; Dietram Scheufele, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Elizabeth Corley, Arizona St. University • Numerous studies have demonstrated the importance of value predispositions in influencing public attitudes toward science topics ranging from stem cell research to agricultural biotechnology. While this research has been helpful in explaining the relationships between particular values and overall evaluations of science topics, the exact process by which these predispositions work to impact larger attitudes remains less well understood. In this study we employ a structural equation modeling approach to garner a better understanding of how religiosity and deference to scientific authority operate to influence evaluations of nanotechnology. The results suggest that while religiosity and deference to scientific authority each influence support directly, these values also operate through risk perceptions and trust, respectively, in their impacts on support. The implications of these findings are discussed.
Connecting Interpersonal Discussion and the Internet: How Interpersonal Discussion Moderates the Effect of the Internet on Being Informed about Nanotechnology • Doo-Hun Choi, University of Wisconsin – Madison; Michael Cacciatore, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Dietram Scheufele, University of Wisconsin – Madison; Elizabeth Corley, Arizona St. University • The idea that interpersonal discussion moderates the effect of media use on one’s knowledge of political and/or social issues has been gaining considerable momentum in recent years. For example, the “”differential gains model”” suggests that interpersonal discussion among citizens facilitates an individual’s ability or willingness to acquire information from mass media. With the differential gains model in mind, this study examines the relationship between science media use and science-related interpersonal talk on public understanding of nanotechnology, using a nationally representative telephone survey. Our findings show that the relationships between Internet use and informed learning about nanotechnology are enhanced among those who talk about science with other people more frequently. Moreover, our findings suggest that Internet use enables people to search and process science information more carefully for subsequent interpersonal science discussions with others. Implications of these findings as they pertain to opinion formation and public understanding of science are discussed.
The Effects of Questionnaire Frames on Indicators of Data Quality • Jihyang Choi, Indiana University (Bloomington) • This study aims to empirically test how different kinds of frames of survey questions -“”informative”” and “”accepting consequences”” frames- affect the quality of the collected data. The study reveals “”informative”” frames did not increase the data quality significantly. “”Accepting consequences”” frames yielded contradictory results. When the questions contain frames that facilitate respondents to evaluate about personal-level consequences, the data quality significantly improved. However, the quality did not increase in the frames of national-level consequences.
Support for Message Control: A Multi-level Meta-Analysis of the Third-Person Effect • Charles Feng • However robust the perceptual component of the third-person effect is, the behavioral component of the third-person effect hypothesis, i.e., TPP will lead to support for restrictions on undesirable messages, got mixed support in empirical studies. Are there any methodological artifacts, which caused the variations of results? This paper found that TPE effect size was weak, and the locations where the studies were conducted as well as message types play the important role in moderating the TPE through a meta-analytical review. The implication for theory development was discussed.
Stages of Mobilization: An Influence and Rational Choice Model for Consensus, Action and Sustainability • Laleah Fernandez, Michigan State University • This paper proposes a series of network analysis terms to illustrate the stages of mobilization model. The stages of mobilization examined here are (1) consensus (2) action and (3) sustainability. The proposed model merges rational choice theory with a network model of influence recognizing mobilization as a process. As such, terms used in the stages of mobilization model are modified based on conceptual differences at the three stages of mobilization. First, this paper introduces a set of terms for the three stages of mobilization. Second, this paper offers a framework for model building to be used for empirical testing of the stages of mobilization.
Political Consumption and Needs of the Self: A Functional Attitudes Approach to Citizen Engagement • Melissa R. Gotlieb, University of Wisconsin-Madison • This paper applies functional attitudes theory to explore motivations for citizen engagement. Using data from the 2007-2008 Cooperative Campaign Analysis Project, this paper examines the factors (predispositions, news use, political information sharing) that predict outcome expectancies for political consumption that relate to needs of the private and collective self, as well as how these outcome expectancies, in turn, predict frequency of engagement in political consumption. Implications for civic and political modes of engagement are discussed.
Toward the Third Level of Agenda Setting Theory: A Network Agenda Setting Model • Lei Guo, University of Texas at Austin; Maxwell McCombs, University of Texas at Austin • This paper presents a Network Agenda Setting Model, which proposes that the network relationships among objects and/or attributes can be transferred from the news media to the public’s mind. The empirically grounded model is based on a network analysis that compared the media and public network agendas regarding the political candidate attributes in the 2010 Texas gubernatorial election. In support of the Model, this analysis found a significant correlation between the two networks.
The Effect of Psychological Reactance and Framing on Attribution of Solution Responsibility for Health Problems • Lesa Hatley Major, Indiana University • This study applies the theory of psychological reactance to news stories presented in health coverage of obesity, depression, and lung cancer. It seems reasonable that individuals who demonstrate high levels of reactance and respond negatively to persuasive communication about health issues might have the same response to frames used in health new stories. It also combines news frames to determine the effects of those frames on how attribute responsibility for solving health problems. The findings suggest that high levels of trait reactance lead to decreased support of societal solutions to health problems. Findings also indicate that thematic and loss-framed stories increase support for health policies.
Examining How Social Norms Mediate Presumed Media Influence on Thai Adolescents’ Drinking Behavior • Shirley S. Ho, Nanyang Technological University; Thanomwong Poorisat, Nanyang Technological University; Rachel Neo, Nanyang Technological University; Benjamin H. Detenber, Nanyang Technological University • This study uses the influence of presumed media influence (IPMI) model as the theoretical framework to examine how perceived social norms (i.e., descriptive, subjective, and injunctive norms) will mediate the influence of pro- and anti-drinking media messages on adolescents’ intention to consume alcohol in Thailand. Using census data collected from 1,029 high school students in Thailand, our results suggest that the three types of perceived social norms could be integrated into the IPMI model.
Peer Influence in Adolescent Political Socialization: Deliberative Democracy Inside and Outside the Classroom • Mi Jahng, University of Missouri-Columbia; Mitchell McKinney, University of Missouri; Esther Thorson, University of Missouri • This study explores the role of peer interaction in adolescent political socialization by examining political conversation behaviors. The investigation incorporated different conceptual definitions of deliberative discourse, including more structured political talk as part of in-class political discussions and also informal political conversations found in one’s peer group interactions. Results showed that adolescents’ informal peer political conversations influenced their level of political tolerance, and likelihood to try out opinions in different settings, whereas political talk in school activity had a positive influence on various types of political participation. Political knowledge was not predicted by either peer group conversation or structured civic learning, but was mostly explained by political conversations with family members and parental political participation.
Modeling the Use of Medical Journals as News Sources in The New York Times • Vincent Kiernan, Georgetown University • This paper conceptualizes journalists’ reliance on scientific and medical journals as news sources as an example of diffusion of innovation. The paper applies a quantitative model of the diffusion process to the New York Times’ citations of five medical journals from 1851 through 2010. Data for references to the journals as a whole and to the New England Journal of Medicine fit the model well.
Who Are Others in The Third-Person Effect? : A Selective Downward Comparison of Non-smokers and Smokers Toward Smoking Issues • Keun Yeong Kim, Pennsylvania State University; Hyun Seung Jin, University of Missouri-Kansas City • Concerning the third-person effect, the purpose of this paper is to answer the fundamental question ‘who are others?’ when assessing the perceived effects of cigarette and anti-tobacco advertising. The particular interest of this study is to investigate the underlying mechanism of the third-person effect between non-smokers and smokers by applying the social comparison theory and downward comparison theory. Findings indicated that, when downward comparison is not available, people are inclined to compare themselves with similar others in order to defend their self-esteem when assessing the effects of cigarette messages and anti-tobacco messages on themselves as well as on others. Conversely, once downward comparison is applicable, people prefer to compare themselves with dissimilar others for self-enhancement. Consequently, the different choices in reference group between non-smokers and smokers result in the changes in the sign or magnitude of the perceived effects toward both cigarette and anti-tobacco advertising.
Partisan Selective Exposure and Its Political Implications • Su Jung Kim, Northwestern University • The proliferation of information sources made a significant impact on the ways in which people consume news and information. One of the daunting pictures about a high-choice media environment is the deepening division of news media users into liberal and conservative news media outlets. The current media landscape enables people to selectively choose news media outlet that voice opinions consistent with their political beliefs and prevents them from sharing a common social and political agenda, which could be a serious obstacle to the welfare of the democratic system. This study examines whether selective exposure to partisan news media outlets takes place and whether partisan selective exposure promotes or dampens political participation in a South Korean media context. By using a single-source data set which combines peoplemeter data and a telephone survey from the same respondents, this study attempted to see whether selective exposure mechanisms found in previous research in Western contexts are also found in a non-Western national context. The results suggest that partisan selective exposure occurs especially when the political spectrum of the media outlets are pronounced. The relationship between partisan selective exposure and political participation is not found.
Selective Exposure and Reinforcement of Attitudes and of the Political Self Before a Presidential Election • Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick, The Ohio State University; Steven Kleinman, The Ohio State University • A preference for attitude-consistent media messages has long been suggested, yet how such exposure actually reinforces political leanings has only rarely been studied. Right before the 2008 presidential election, this two-session online quasi-experiment examined consequences of selective exposure to political messages on accessibility of attitudes and political self. In the first session, participants (n = 205) responded to a computerized questionnaire about 12 political issues attitudes and their partisanship, which allowed to measure accessibility of attitudes and political self. In the second session, participants browsed online articles. Four policy issues (target issues) chosen from the 12 issues were covered by eight articles, with two articles featuring opposing topic perspectives. Selective exposure to specific news reports was unobtrusively logged. After the browsing, participants completed measures for attitudes and political self again. Results show that attitude-consistent exposure increased accessibility of attitudes and subsequently accessibility of political self while counter-attitudinal exposure decreased them.
Read, Watch, Learn: The Effects of Media Multitasking on the Processing of Cognitively Demanding Information • Anastasia Kononova, American University of Kuwait • This study explored outcomes of media multitasking as cognitive process and media use habit. Two experiments indicated that when individuals processed online messages combining a textual element and an ad, the ad form (static banner/video) affected memory for textual information. Cognitive resources required to process text also affected memory for new information. The habit of media multitasking, which was linked to individuals’ cognitive control abilities, influenced the process of learning new, cognitively demanding information.
A Conceptualization and Operationalization of Receiver-Based Uncertainty Generated from Mass Media • Kristen Landreville, University of Wyoming • The goal of this study is to propose a framework for analyzing uncertainty that is aroused by mass-mediated messages. Uncertainty reduction theory (Berger & Calabrese, 1975), an interpersonal communication theory, is applied as a theoretical foundation from which to develop a conceptualization of uncertainty generated from mass media. After current research on receiver-based uncertainty is reviewed, a conceptualization of receiver-based uncertainty is offered. Moreover, an operationalization of receiver-based uncertainty is proposed after a critical examination of interpersonal-based uncertainty and prior operationalizations of receiver-based uncertainty. Finally, a future research agenda using receiver-based uncertainty generated from mass media is outlined.
Communication Mediation Model of Late-Night Comedy • Hoon Lee, University of Michigan • This study advances a communication mediation model of late-night comedy in an effort to understand the process through which consuming satirical humor works in concert with interpersonal discussion to stimulate political engagement. The theoretical model was tested across two different research designs and findings from both survey and experiment provide a considerable support for the indirect effects of late-night comedy viewing on political participation via a conduit of interpersonal discussion. In particular, results demonstrate that various structural features of interpersonal communication (e.g., casual conversation, formal discussion, online interaction, and network size) positively mediate the participatory influence of late-night comedy. On the other hand, the investigation of the mediating role of heterogeneous discussion illustrates that late-night comedy programs can disproportionately mobilize a certain subset of the electorate in that consuming satirical humor tends to invite more liberals into the deliberation of discrepant views and that well-educated individuals are more likely to benefit from debates of heterogeneous opinions. The present study urges to extend the scope of the communication mediation model to incorporate a wider range of media sources and diverse structural dimensions of interpersonal communication in the theoretical and empirical framework.
Nearly a Decade After September 11: Navigating Current and Future Counterterrorism Communication Research • Brooke Liu, University of Maryland; Abbey Levenshus, University of Maryland • Nearly a decade after September 11, 2001, much remains to be learned about the role of communication in countering violent extremism. Through an analysis of the extant research this paper maps the post-9/11 counterterrorism communication research landscape. The study identifies four groupings of paradigmatic research, which sometimes blurred and overlapped: constructivism, postpositivist, critical, and postmodern. The study concludes with proposing the Counterterrorism Communication Research Compass to understand the current landscape and the uncharted research needs.
The Affective Underpinning of Hostile Media Perceptions: Exploring the Distinct Effects of Affective and Cognitive Involvement • Joerg Matthes, University of Zurich • The hostile media effect (HME) refers to a process by which highly involved audiences tend to perceive media coverage as biased against their own views. In this process, issue involvement is usually treated as a cognitive construct, that is, the extent to which the attitudinal issue under consideration is of personal importance. Although Vallone, Ross, and Lepper (1985) raised the issue of affective involvement in their seminal study, hardly any research has tried to disentangle the effects of cognitive and affective involvement. Thus, the aim of this paper is to clarify whether the HME is triggered by cognitive and/or affective involvement. Data from three independent survey studies demonstrate that affective involvement—measured as emotional arousal or as the experience of concrete emotions—can explain the HME over and beyond cognitive involvement. Implications of these findings for future HME research are discussed.
News Exposure, Political Knowledge, Partisanship, and (Mis)Perceptions of Change in Conditions Under George W. Bush • Patrick Meirick, University of Oklahoma • This research uses 2008 ANES panel data to examine how partisanship, political knowledge, and news exposure contributed to citizens’ perceptions of how the economy, the federal deficit, poverty, and crime rates changed between 2001 and 2008 — and to how those judgments changed as economic conditions worsened throughout the year. Partisanship was a robust predictor of perceptions: Democrats tended to see trends more negatively than did Republicans, regardless of the direction of the actual trends. Political knowledge and education tended to promote perceptions that were in the same direction as actual trends, but political knowledge interacted with party identification to promote partisan polarization in perceptions. Television news exposure unexpectedly emerged as the most important media variable, although its relationships with trend perceptions were not always in line with the facts. This was especially the case with crime, as cultivation research has suggested. As the year went on, partisans’ perceptions of economic trends appeared to be converging on a consensus that reflected reality. But this convergence may have been more the result of a floor effect among Democrats than anything else.
An Analytic Method for Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC): Distinguishing the Message Expression and Reception Effects in Online Social Networks • Kang Namkoong, University of Wisconsin – Madison; Dhavan Shah; Bryan McLaughlin, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Jeong Yeob Han, University of Georgia; Ming-Yuan Chih, University of Wisconsin – Madison; Rich Cleland; Shawnika Hull, University of Wisconsin; Eunkyung Kim; Sojung (Claire) Kim, University of Wisconsin-Madison • This paper describes how computer-mediated communication (CMC) data collected from an eHealth system can be used for online social network analysis, which allows for complex understanding of the relationships between message expression and reception effects. The proposed methodology allows us to examine the multi-layered effects of online expression and reception, combining the following three data sets: 1) a more flexible and precise computer-aided content analysis; 2) action log data; and 3) longitudinal survey data.
Hostile Media or Hostile Source?: Bias Perception of Weblog-embedded News • Sung-Yeon Park, Bowling Green State University; Gi Woong Yun, Bowling Green State University; Sooyoung Lee, Sogang University; Mark Flynn, Bowling Green State University • The effects of source and user comments on perceptions of Weblog-embedded news reports were examined in the framework of hostile media effect. Source, one perceived by participants as agreeable and the other perceived as disagreeable, affected perceived biasedness of the news story and its perceived influence on others, but not perceived reach of the news. User comments attached to the embedded news story, one set agreeable and the other disagreeable to the issue position of participants, generated no effect on perceived biasedness, perceived influence on others, and perceived reach of the news. There was no interaction between source and user comments. A regression analysis revealed that source and perceived influence on others, but not perceived reach, were predictors of the bias perception. Social and theoretical implications of these findings were discussed and suggestions were made for future research.
I Just Bought this Thing! The Diffusion of Iterations – A Modification of DOI to Explain Incremental Changes in Existing Technology. • Severin Poirot, University of Oklahoma • Devices such as Apple’s iPad and the recently released iPad 2, while new to the marketplace, may not exhibit enough new qualities to be considered an innovation. The existing model of diffusion of innovations (DOI) may not be adequate to explain devices that exhibit incremental and undetectable upgrades over existing versions. This paper will use Apple’s line of products as an example of concepts that may not be considered innovative, yet differ from existing concepts. It will explore existing research concerning DOI and its application toward technology such as the iPad or its predecessors such as the iPod. This paper will also introduce the concept of iterations as a way of explaining the diffusion of these upgraded products.
Cultural Pluralism, Ethnic Identity and Media Language Choice • Thomas E Ruggiero, University of Texas El Paso; Kenneth C. C. Yang, University of Texas • This study argues that cultural pluralism theory is more robust than ethnic identity theory, specifically in predicting media language choice. Study results indicate that despite strong Mexican-American identity, respondents showed strikingly inconsistent patterns of media language choice, which fail to be fully accounted for in ethnic identity theory. While those who identified as Mexican overwhelmingly preferred Spanish language media content, respondents who strongly identified as Mexican Americans often chose English language content over Spanish language media content.
Exploring the Effects of Mood and Culture on Cognitive Thinking Styles • Sela Sar, Iowa State University; Brittany Duff, University of Illinois- Urbana Champaign • Two experiments were conducted to explore the effects of mood and culture on analytic and holistic thinking style on memory, product evaluation and purchase intention. Results of both experiments indicated that people in a negative mood predominantly utilize analytic thinking style, whereas people in a positive mood predominantly utilize holistic thinking style. The findings also showed that Westerners were more likely to use the analytic thinking style whereas Easterners were more likely to use the holistic thinking style. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Media Effects on Group-Related Stereotypes. Evidence from a Three-Wave Panel Survey in a Political Campaign • Christian Schemer, University of Zurich • The present study investigates media effects on the activation of group-related stereotypes in a political campaign. By combining a content analysis of the coverage of the asylum law restriction with a three-wave panel survey the study found that negative portrayals of asylum seekers in the news increase stereotypical beliefs in the public while positive portrayals decreased them. The findings also indicate that the effects are partially time-variant. Specifically, the impact of negative portrayals of asylum seekers on stereotypes was stronger at the beginning than at the end of campaign. A similar effect was obtained for positive portrayals of asylum seekers in the campaign news. However, at the end of the campaign the impact of positive portrayals of asylum seekers on stereotypical beliefs about that social group was indistinguishable from zero.
Appropriate Uses of Single-Item Measures • Vivian Sheer, Hong Kong Baptist University • Multi-item scales, due to their ability to produce robust reliability, often are preferred over single-item measures in empirical research. The reality of research practices, particularly in applied research, demands valid, efficient short measures that are more feasible, cost-effective, and adaptable for various populations. This article reviews advantages and disadvantages associated with multi-item and single item measures. Situations in which single items can be used appropriately are identified. Methods for constructing valid single-item measures are illustrated. The importance of measurement efficiency is underscored.
Five Antecedents of Media Effects: A Model for Comprehensive Conceptualization of Individual-level Media Effects • Mark Shevy, Northern Michigan University • This paper presents a model that organizes the antecedents of individual-level media effects into five categories based on the variables implicitly or explicitly considered in effects research: 1) Context and time, 2) audience attributes and processes, 3) interactivity, 4) content, and 5) form. The model facilitates scholars’ and students’ overall conceptualization of an effect by explicitly representing all of these variables and their relationships in a single place (rather than scattered across various studies).
Media Capabilities as a Comprehensive Construct for Research on Media Choice: Assessment of a Measurement Model • Kristy Shi, Bowling Green State University; Louisa Ha, Bowling Green State University; Gi Woong Yun, Bowling Green State University • This study proposed a new comprehensive construct for understanding media choices in terms of news consumption in a multiplatform context for leisure use. Media capabilities is the new construct with three dimensions: 1) technology capabilities, 2) gratification capabilities, and 3) source capabilities. The proposed new model was tested and confirmed with a survey of general population and college students through structural equation modeling. Limitations and suggestions for further study were discussed.
Explication of Selective Credibility: Is Credibility Perceived or Manipulated? • KyuJin Shim, Syracuse University • Selective credibility is the persuasive communication framework that exhaustively includes the message selection and source selection process under the opinion-reinforcement motivation. With this framework the term de facto credibility is coined, which refers to specific attributes consisting of source credibility by which people, either intentionally or unintentionally, accredit a favorable message. This study also attempts the concrete and systematic modeling of source credibility to build an applicable theory that conceptualizes source credibility as an appendant to reinforcing-opinion selectivity. Situational factors affecting perceived propagandistic motivation were explored under the cognitive dissonance framework that affects selective credibility.
Social Network Analysis: A Mixed-Methodological Approach • Cindy Vincent, University of Oklahoma • This paper proposes a mixed-methodological approach to social network analysis. Based on Wasserman and Faust’s (1999) network analysis concept, Castells’ (2009) network society concept, and Wellman’s (2001) communities as networks concept, this paper outlines the theoretical foundations for the basis of a mixed-methodological social network analysis. The paper contributes an alternative network analysis approach by combining new quantitative methods with traditional qualitative methods. This paper provides implications for mixed-methodological social network analysis in future research.
A Case for Survey Based Case Studies: Considerations of Generalizability and Theory • Justin Walden, Penn State University • As a methodological approach, the case study remains a divisive topic. While some scholars tout the ability for cases to provide depth and richness to examinations of particular phenomena and populations, questions persist in the literature about the approach’s ability to provide highly generalizable findings and to test theory. This paper responds to both of these criticisms by highlighting examples of well-conducted cases and arguing for more use of survey-based case studies in communications research.
How Much is Enough?: Sample Size Guidelines for Content Analysis of Political Blogs • Brendan Watson, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Journalism & Mass Communication; Xiaopeng Wang, University of South Florida, St Petersburg • This study based on comparing random samples to known population means derived from a year of posts on 12 “”A-List”” political blogs is the first to produce empirically-derived guidelines for sampling blogs for content analysis. The results suggest one draw”
Examining the Relationship between the Third-person Effect and the Hostile Media Effect of Polls in the 2010 U.S. Midterm Elections • Ran Wei, University of South Carolina; Ven-hwei Lo, Chinese University of Hong Kong • The third-person effect and the hostile media effect are two robust phenomena that interest scholars researching media perceptions. To ascertain the relationship between the two theories, this study focused on polls in the 2010 midterm elections. Using survey data of 562 respondents, a path model was built to test how the third-person effect was related to hostile media perception. Results show strong evidence of the hostile media effect in viewing the slant of the polls and the third-person effect in assessing the impact of the polls on others and oneself. Both Republican and Democratic supporters believed the polls favor candidates of the other party. They also perceived the polls to have a greater impact on others than on themselves. More importantly, results indicate that the relationship between the third-person effect and the hostile media effect was mediated by exposure. Perception of hostile polls was found to be negatively related to exposure to polls, which affects perceived effects of polls on oneself and others, which in turn influence support for restrictions of election polls.
Experimental Methodology in Journalism and Mass Communication Research • Rob Wicks, University of Arkansas; Esther Thorson, University of Missouri; Glenn Leshner, University of Missouri • Experiments are a powerful method for understanding causal relationships in journalism and mass communication research. In this essay, we examine seven indicators of experimental quality that reviewers should include as criteria in their evaluations. We note that there are complex interrelationships among these indicators. Because some of the standards are controversial, we attempt to summarize the conflicting arguments. Where different conclusions can be rationalized as appropriate, our bottom line suggestion is that the researcher make clear what standards were followed and why, so that readers can evaluate those decisions.
Crystallization Theory: Construction of Reality in the Age of Social Media • Donghee Yvette Wohn, Michigan State University; Brian J. Bowe, Michigan State University • Distribution of media has drastically shifted with the introduction of the Internet. Although personal relations, or networks, have always been influential in shaping what people perceive as being important, social media such as Facebook and Twitter are making these networks more accessible. In this media environment, we suggest crystallization theory as a new framework for understanding the social construction of reality in the age of social media. Crystallization theory builds on social influence theory, which purports that people have a fundamental desire to tune their attitudes towards groups that they want to affiliate themselves with. Amidst the sea of information, social media facilitates information produced by the members of our social networks, who become neo agenda setters. These neo agenda setters filter information from major media outlets and introduce information that one would otherwise not be familiar with. Since people are influenced by members of their social network, we will see patterns arise where people’s perception of reality will crystallize through their social networks and everyone will perceive that the information their social network produces reflects mainstream news, but there will be no true mainstream.
News and Multi-tasking Audiences: Reading Text While Listening to an Audio Newscast • Ronald Yaros, University of Maryland; Jing Guo, University of Maryland • A within-subjects experiment (n = 56) tested participants’ ability to simultaneously comprehend news text on a screen while listening to an audio newscast. Fifteen news stories were used in three conditions including: (1) audio unrelated to text, (2) audio related to text, and (3) audio narrating the text. Post exposure tests, including thought listing from both audio and text suggest significant differences. Comprehension of both audio and text was best when the audio was identical to the news on screen. Surprisingly, however, comprehension was higher when news on screen was unrelated to the audio compared to related content.
When to Use Scott’s Pi; or Krippendorff’s Alpha;, If Ever? • XinShu Zhao, School of Communication, Hong Kong Baptist University • Scott’s Pi; (1955) and Krippendorff’s alpha; (1980) have been among the most-often used or recommended general indicators of reliability. This article presents paradoxes showing that neither can be a general indicator. We show that Pi; or Alpha; should be used only when (a) coders enforce a predetermined quota as the first priority and (b) coders maximize chance coding as the second priority. Because the two conditions rarely hold, Pi; or Alpha; should rarely be used.
Does c’ Test Help, Anytime? — On Communication Fallacy of “”Effect to Mediate”” • XinShu Zhao, School of Communication, Hong Kong Baptist University; Qimei Chen, Department of Marketing, Shidler College of Business, University of Hawaii at Manoa; Bing Tong, Journalism School, Fudan University • Baron and Kenny’s (1986) classic procedure for establishing mediation requires a “”c’ test,”” namely the simple correlation between independent variable and dependent must be significant. Many authors, including Kenny, later recommended suspending c’ test under some conditions. A couple recent articles recommended to completely repeal the test. Most of the advocates and critics of the test focused on suppression, also known as competitive mediation. This article takes a more comprehensive view. Expanding a typology recently developed by others, we laid out all possible scenarios of three-variable non-recursive models. We grouped the 51 scenarios into three types of mediations and two types of non-mediations. We then examined each type to see if c’ test helps or hinders. We found that c’ test hinders for establishing two types of mediations; it does not help for establishing the third type; it also does not help for rejecting the two types of non-medications. Further, we show that the goal of c’ test, namely “”to establish an effect to be mediated,”” is a communication fallacy resulted from an equivocation and a pseudo concept. We concluded by supporting the emerging view led by Hayes (2009) that c’ test should be completely repealed for establishing any type of mediations.
Print friendly
