Communication Theory and Methodology 2013 Abstracts
Agenda-setting in the beginning of the 1979 oil crisis: compelling arguments and public concern • Alberto Ardèvol-Abreu; Magdalena Saldaña, The University of Texas at Austin; Maxwell McCombs • Following the “compelling arguments” hypothesis, this study examines both first and second-level agenda-setting effects in the context of the 1979 oil crisis. Our results show the role of oil pricing, national oil market and nuclear energy as compelling arguments. Besides, our research suggests that arguments are not compelling per se: depending on who uses it, the same argument can be compelling or not. Members of Congress were the most credible sources.
It’s Who You Don’t Know: How Exposure to Online Social Influence on YouTube Affects Political Evaluations and Behavior • Matthew Barnidge, University of Wisconsin-Madison; ByungGu Lee, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Stephanie Jean Tsang, University of Wisconsin-Madison; D. Jasun Carr, Susquehanna University • The Internet exposes us to new and different forms of social influence. While many claims have been made about the “effects” of the Internet on politics and society, one of the most intuitively sensible claims about the Internet is this: The Internet exposes people to more indicators of what other people think. This study presents an experimental investigation into the effects of relatively impersonal indicators of social opinion on YouTube. Drawing from SIDE (Social Identity Depersonalization Effects) theory, as well as theories of information processing and evaluation, we examine the balance of user comments on YouTube and their influence on the persuasive effects of an online news story about a political scandal. Results reveals that exposure to social indicators that are incongruent with the original message can abate the persuasive effects of that message on political evaluations and behavior.
Emotion-provoking personalization of news: Informing citizens and closing the knowledge gap? • Ozen Bas, Indiana University; Maria Elizabeth Grabe, Indiana University • News that personalizes issues and elicits emotion are often dismissed as serious information. This experiment investigated the merits of this view through the knowledge gap hypothesis. Two versions (with/without emotional testimony of ordinary people) of eight television stories were tested. Emotional versions produced smaller knowledge gaps and the size of gaps varied across three memory measures. Unlike the inimical role traditionally assigned to emotion, these findings suggest a facilitative role for emotion in informing citizens.
Thinking about Others Online: The Relationship between Third Person and Hostile Media Perceptions • Pamela Brubaker, Brigham Young University • This study explores the relationship between hostile media and third person perceptions. Partisans (N = 760) who strongly supported and opposed the issue of legalizing same-sex marriage participated in an online experiment, which was made available to blog readers. Third person perceptions, particularly the influence on others with contrasting attitudes, proved a significant predictor of hostile perceptions, validating claims that the media’s perceived influence on others does indeed contribute to hostile perceptions of media coverage.
How do individuals develop attitude extremity in the new media environment? The interplay between the Internet, schemas, and information seeking • Doo-Hun Choi, Department of Life Sciences Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Michael Cacciatore; Michael Xenos; Dietram Scheufele, Department of Life Sciences Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Dominique Brossard; Elizabeth Corley • Analyzing data from a nationally-representative online survey, this study explored the role of the Internet and schemas in seeking out information and forming individuals’ attitude toward nanotechnology. More specifically, we examined the interplay between the Internet, schemas, information seeking and their impact on attitude formation toward the issue. The results in the study showed that individuals rely on their schemas in order to seek out information for nanotechnology, and the Internet played a large role in promoting information seeking. More importantly, individuals who select schema-congruent information are more likely than those who select schema-incongruent information to have more extreme in their attitudes toward nanotechnology. This study also found that greater attitude extremity produced attitude polarization toward nanotechnology. Implications of these findings as they pertain to public understanding of science in democratic society are discussed in greater detail.
Functional Forms of Symbolic Crises in the News: Implications for Quantitative Research • Bryan Denham • With communication scholars relying heavily on linear statistical models such as ordinary least squares regression, the present study examined the possibility that logistic, logarithmic and quadratic functions would capture symbolic crises in the news more effectively, potentially helping to enhance quantitative research. Analyzing cases involving drug abuse, pedophilia, violence, music lyrics, and religious freedom, the study found the strongest support for logarithmic and quadratic representations of cumulative data distributions, consistent with the notion of volatile news events triggering dramatic and widespread coverage for a limited time. The study concludes that while quantitative researchers should not abandon linear regression techniques, situations do arise in which nonlinear tests may be more effective in capturing statistical relationships.
Knowledge Gaps on Social Media: Exploring Knowledge Inequality in Contemporary News Environments • Trevor Diehl, University of Texas, Austin • This study explored how social media for news might affect knowledge gaps. A secondary analysis of the Pew Center for the People and the Press 2012 Media Consumption Survey found evidence for knowledge gaps between education groups on social media. A comparison of multiple news sources found a gap between those that pay attention to news on social media and those that don’t. News sharing was associated with an increase in knowledge in some groups.
Mapping the News Landscape • Stephanie Edgerly, Northwestern University • This study explores how media users make sense of the high-choice news media environment. Using a multi dimensional approach, ten news organizations are mapped by the implicit thoughts a sample of college students uses to differentiate them. Results indicate a specialized news environment where each news organization occupies their own space on the map. The two dimensions of an organization’s political ideology (conservative-to-liberal) and orientation (normative-to-market) are used to interpret the map.
An Exploration of the Roots of the Gatekeeper Concept: What Can Network Theory Tell Us About the Shifting Role of Journalism in a Networked Media Ecology? • Thomas Ernste • The concept of gatekeepers as it has long been understood within journalism studies remains deeply intertwined with its now antiquated metaphorical meaning that sees news organizations as in control of public access to news. This paper describes how a conceptual shift towards understanding the gatekeeper concept instead in a network theory context which sees gatekeepers as central, boundary spanning network actors is useful for conceptualizing news and information gatekeeping in a networked media ecology.
Disuse, Misuse, and Abuse of Intercoder Reliability Indices in Communication • Charles Feng, Jinan University • Although intercoder reliability has been considered crucial to the validity of a content study, the choice among them has been controversial. This study analyzed all the content studies published in the two major communication journals that reported intercoder reliability, aiming to find how communication scholars conduct intercoder reliability test. The results revealed that some intercoder reliability indices were misused persistently concerning the levels of measurement, the number of coders, and the means of reporting reliability over the past 30 years. Implications of misuse, disuse, and abuse were discussed, and suggestions regarding proper choice of indices in various situations were made at last.
Social network ties and discussion attributes as antecedents of political discussion elaboration • Homero Gil de Zúñiga, University of Texas at Austin • Scores of research highlight the key role of political discussion for society’s democratic wellbeing establishing a conduit to a more deliberative democracy. More recently, academics have turned their attention to explore the different roles peoples’ discussion network attributes may have in promoting politically valuable and fruitful discussions. For instance, the strength of discussion ties (weak or strong), heterogeneity of discussion networks, exposure to disagreement, and the level of reasoning in peoples’ discussion have all, to some degree, been associated to different forms of political outcomes such as participation. Other scholars have expanded the notion of citizens’ discussion attributes by integrating discussion elaboration. Thus, the connection between discussion network attributes and political participation, or between discussion elaboration and political participation is not new. Less explored however is the connection of all these discussion attributes as antecedents of political discussion elaboration. Based on U.S. national crossectional data, results indicate strong-ties discussion is the strongest predictor for discussion elaboration. On the other hand, discussing public affairs with weak ties was a stronger predictor for citizens to discussing with people who reasoned their arguments, and also for being exposed to discussion with higher levels of disagreement, and with more heterogeneous networks. Structural equation modeling tests indicate that strong ties is both directly and indirectly related to political discussion elaboration. Conversely, the influence of weak-ties on political discussion elaboration is fully mediated by discussion network heterogeneity and reasoned discussions. Finally, exposure to disagreement seems to preclude individuals’ from cognitively elaborating upon the issues they discuss.
Political Consumption as Civic, Cooperative, and Contrived: Implications for Social Marketing • Melissa R. Gotlieb, Texas Tech University • A series of three studies demonstrate the factor structure and reliability (Study 1), convergent and discriminant validity (Study 2), and predictive validity (Study 3) of a scale measuring value-expressive, social-identification, and social-adjustive attitudes toward political consumption. The third study demonstrates the importance of fit between a strategic message appeal and individuals’ underlying attitude functions in the context of a fictitious student campaign to reduce bottled water consumption on campus. Theoretical and marketing implications are discussed.
Examining Mood, Anxiety, and Knowledge in the Process of Resisting Influence • Michel Haigh, Penn State University; Shelley Wigley, University of Texas at Arlington • This study examines the role mood and anxiety play in inoculation research, and employs a new method of coding concept maps and counterarguments. Results indicate mood impacts how inoculation messages are processed. Those in the inoculation condition feel more anxiety compared to controls. Those who receive inoculation messages use the content from the messages to counterargue as well as form new nodes in their associative networks.
Using the Theory of Reasoned Action to Study the Influence of News Media • Jennifer Hoewe, The Pennsylvania State University • This study attempts to situate the theory of reasoned action (TRA) as a viable method for studying the impact of news media on attitudes and behaviors. Using news stories about the building of an Islamic community center, results show the TRA provides a well-fitting model for examining news stories’ influences in an experimental context. The moderating variable of prior attitudes toward the news story’s subject may prove useful in future use of the TRA.
Consequences of Disagreement in Political Conversation: Iterative vs. Episodic Forms of Political Participatory Behaviors • Yangsun Hong, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Hernando Rojas, University of Wisconsin – Madison • In everyday life, people talk about political issues with others who may share or may not share their views. However, empirical studies in this area have produced a conundrum in terms of the relationship between disagreeable discussion and participation. Some recent studies suggest that distinguishing the types of participation considered would be helpful to shed light on this controversy. These studies argue that the relationship between discussion disagreement and participation is likely contingent on the type of participation in which people are involved. This study aims to contribute to the literature on the relationships between heterogeneous discussion and different types of participation. The focus of this article is to (a) analyze whether disagreeable political talk has different influences on varying types of participation (b) explore these relations in less stable democracy than have typically been considered by previous research.
Risk Communication Factors to Inform Theory: Risk Perception, Special Needs Populations, and Media Usage • Melissa Janoske, University of Maryland, College Park; Benjamin Sheppard, University of Maryland • There is no single conceptual framework that provides “the answer” to effectively communicating risk. There are, however, critical factors that all communicators and managers need to be aware of: publics’ perceptions, message content, unique risk characteristics, an understanding of special needs publics, and communication channels. This paper discusses those factors in detail through a deep discussion of the current literature, and offers best practices for communicators to utilize during each risk phase (preparedness, response, recovery).
Steer Clear or Get Ready: How Coping Styles Moderate the Effect of Informational Utility • Benjamin Johnson, The Ohio State University; Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick, The Ohio State University • An experiment (N = 414) with a 2x3x2 between-subjects design analyzed the effect of informational utility on selective exposure to online news stories. Individual differences in avoidant coping and problem-focused coping were tested as moderators of impacts of informational utility message characteristics on selective exposure. A positive main effect of informational utility intensity was found to result from the dimensions of magnitude, likelihood, and immediacy. The proposed fourth dimension, efficacy, did not yield a main effect or moderate the other message factors. However, coping styles demonstrated the proposed interactions. Individuals low on avoidant coping browsed messages with high informational utility longer, whereas avoidants did not. Those low on problem-focused coping spent more time with high-efficacy messages, and those high on problem-focus spent more time with low-efficacy messages.
Examining Warranting Theory toward use in non-interpersonal Computer-Medicated Communication (CMC) contexts • Eunsin Joo, Michigan State University • The concept of warrant has been used for many years in CMC settings. The principal objective of this paper is to evaluate and expand the scope of the warranting theory. The study examines the theoretical constructs of the warranting theory by using the criteria of theory such as explanatory power, predictive power, testability, parsimony, internal consistency, and heuristic provocativeness as well as its empirical applications in a variety of research realms (Chaffee & Berger, 1987; Heath & Bryan, 1992). The current applied research status and limitations of the theory are also discussed further to contribute future directions of the warranting theory in non-interpersonal CMC contexts.
Three-Stage Spiral of Silence in a Networked Society • Sang Chon Kim, University of Oklahoma • This paper reconsiders spiral of silence theory in the networked society by focusing on (1) changes in the media environment and (2) changes in audience psychology. First, This paper predicts that new media (e.g. the Internet) reduce the power of traditional mass media over audiences’ perceptions about public opinion, based on Jackob’s (2010) relational model between perceived use of alternative sources, media dependency, and trust in mass media. Interactivity theory supports that networked groups would not only reduce the power of mass media, but might also play a role as new opinion leaders. Second, this paper predicts that new media environment would change audiences’ psychology in responding to public opinions. Audiences would feel less fear of isolation when expressing their minority opinions, thanks to inherent natures of computer-mediated communication. In accordance with these potential changes affecting spirals of silence, this paper suggests a revised conceptual model, three-stage spiral of silence.
Linguistic Framing Versus Numeric Framing in Campaign Messages: Revisiting An Application of Prospect Theory in Communication Research • Sunny J. Kim, Cornell University • Prospect theory provides a framework to systematically construct gain- versus loss-framed messages. Communication researchers have utilized the framing postulate of prospect theory to encourage various kinds of behavioral and attitudinal responses. However, empirical findings on gain- versus loss-framing which predict distinct outcomes in accordance with theory have been mixed or undifferentiated. This paper traces the origins of prospect theory and examines how the theory has extended to message framing in a health communication context. We review the successes and limitations of prospect theory application, and propose a new way of incorporating prospect theory into message framing within the communication research field.
Predicting TV Channel Choice and Duration Using an Integrated Model of Media Choice • Su Jung Kim, Northwestern University; Vijay Viswanathan • This study examines how individual and structural factors of media choice impact TV channel choice and viewing time. Using Nielsen Korea’s TV-Internet Convergence data that electronically recorded television and Internet use behavior, we find that television channel choice is influenced by individual factors such as gratifications, age, and gender as well as structural factors like access, and cost. However, duration is largely affected by structural factors such as lead-in, and other media use.
Framing Healthcare: Frame Building and News Coverage of Who Is Responsible for Rising Healthcare Costs in the United States • Sei-Hill Kim; Andrea Tanner; Soo Yun Kim, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Caroline Foster; Oh Sang-Hwa • Analyzing newspaper articles and television news transcripts, this study attempts to understand how the American news media have framed the question of who is responsible for rising healthcare costs in the United States. In particular, we explore the notion of frame building, looking at internal and external factors of news organizations that may influence the way the media frame the question of who is responsible. Findings indicate that frame building factors, such as organizational constraints (e.g., self-censorship), typical professional routines (e.g., episodic presentation of the issues), and political orientations of news organizations (e.g., conservative vs. liberal ideology), can affect the media’s selective use of frames.
Elaborative Processing that Matters: A Study of Factors Influencing Perceived Risks Related to Food and Medicine in South Korea • Hwalbin Kim, University of South Carolina; Sei-Hill Kim; Jeong-Heon JC Chang, Korea University; Jea Chul Shim, Korea University; Sang Hwa Oh, University of South Carolina • This study explores the effects of the media, interpersonal communication, and elaborative processing on perceived risks related to food and medicine safety in South Korea. The findings of the study show that media use such as TV and Internet news, interpersonal discussion, and elaborative processing are positively associated with perceived risks related to food and medicine. More importantly, the effects of newspaper, SNS, and interpersonal discussion on perceived risks were moderated by elaborative processing.
Examining the Intertextuality of Fictional Political Comedy and Real-World Political News • Kristen Landreville; Heather LaMarre • This study examines effects of viewing a fictional, comedic political film on political discussion intent about a related news article. In an experiment, participants watched the political comedy Man of the Year or a control film, and then read a politically-relevant news article on electronic voting. Beyond direct effects, the mediating influence of elaboration about the politically-relevant news article on discussion intent was analyzed. Results revealed no main effect of political comedy viewing on discussion intent, and no mediating effect of elaboration either. However, viewing the comedic political film was associated with higher levels of elaboration about the related news article, which shows evidence of intertextuality among media texts. Moreover, perceived external realism of the fictional, comedic political film was a significant positive predictor of discussion intent about the news article. Results also showed perceived external realism about the fictional, comedic political film to be a nearly significant moderator of the elaboration and discussion intent relationship. A broader discussion regarding the theoretical and practical implications of the findings is included.
Visual Context of Message Content: A Re-evaluation of Component Separation in the Elaboration Likelihood Model • Allison Lazard, The University of Texas at Austin; Lucy Atkinson, The University of Texas at Austin; Michael Mackert, The University of Texas at Austin • Visually rich persuasive messages have a pervasive presence in our society, creating an impetus for increased theoretical research to understand the role of visuals in information processing. The Elaboration Likelihood Model, which highlights critical stages for the decision to elaborate via two different processing routes, provides a theoretical framework that should be adapted to include the prevalent and influential role of visual context, visual deign, and visual processing in the evaluation of persuasive messages.
Does Motivation Make a Difference in Agenda-Setting Effects? • Na Yeon Lee, University of Texas at Austin • By employing laboratory experiment, this study examined the role of the two different motivations on agenda-setting effects: one is the need for orientation (NFO), which is traditionally regarded as the most important factor to explain individual differences in agenda-setting research, and the other is accuracy or directional goals introduced by the theory of motivated reasoning. Confirming previous findings, NFO was found to be the single most positive predictor for agenda-setting effects. Interestingly, the influence of NFO on agenda-setting effects was moderated by the types of motivational goals (accuracy vs. directional) that individuals employ when seeking information. Individuals with accuracy goals plus high levels of NFO demonstrated agenda-setting effects that were higher than for individuals with directional goals. Contrary to predictions of this study, individuals’ types of motivational goals (accuracy vs. directional) alone were not found to be a significant predictor. This study contributes to agenda-setting research by elaborating the role of NFO on agenda- setting effects and by proposing that while the media’s role of consensus building may be constrained, especially in a digital media era, those constraints may not likely apply broadly to entire audiences but, instead, may be limited mostly to individuals who tend to exercise selective exposure relative to their own particular issues: namely, those who generally employ directional goals.
Investigating the relationship between social media use and opinion polarization • Jae Kook Lee, Indiana University School of Journalism; Jihyang Choi, Indiana University School of Journalism; Cheonsoo Kim, Indiana University School of Journalism; Yonghwan Kim, University of Alabama • Conflicting arguments and findings have been reported about whether or not the use of new media would result in an increase in people’s exposure to diverse views and, if so, what the political consequences of encounters with dissimilar people and perspectives would be. This study tackles these issues by investigating the relationship between the social media use, the heterogeneity of social networks and the level of opinion polarization in the context of social network services (SNSs). Employing a national probability survey, this study shows that the use of SNSs is a positive predictor of network heterogeneity on SNSs. The study also found that the frequency of SNSs use does not directly affect the level of network heterogeneity, but that the relationship is mediated by several news-related activities, such as getting news, news posting, and talking about politics on SNSs. To explore the influence of the level of SNSs network heterogeneity on polarization, the study considered three different dimensions of opinion polarization: partisan, ideological, and issue polarization. The findings indicate that political discussion moderates the relationship between SNS network heterogeneity and the level of polarization; a higher level of SNS network heterogeneity results in a higher level of partisanship and ideological polarization for individuals who talk about politics more frequently. The implications of the study are discussed.
Revisiting Opinion Leadership in the Online World: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach • Tien-Tsung Lee, University of Kansas; Peter Bobkowski, University of Kansas • Opinion leadership is an important topic in marketing and communication research. Based on a survey of 7,025 U.S. consumers, this study examines the characteristics of online opinion leaders, and investigates the association between online and offline opinion leadership and activism. Online opinion leadership is predicted by the use of interactive online media, offline opening leadership, and offline activism. Use of online informational media is not directly linked to online opinion leadership.
Motivated Processing of Anger and Disgust In Anti-Tobacco Video Advertisements • Glenn Leshner, University of Missouri; Russell Clayton, University of Missouri; Manu Bhandari, University of Missouri; Paul Bolls • The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of two message attributes of anti-tobacco video ads on cognitive processing. The two message attributes were tobacco industry attacks (anger) and disgusting images. Industry attack ads were adapted from the American Legacy Foundation anti-tobacco campaign, which showed tobacco company executives as deceitful, dishonest, and manipulative. A 2 (anger: high/low) x 2 (disgust: present/absent) x 3 (message replication) x 4 (message order) mixed model repeated measures experiment was conducted. Participants (N=49), viewed 12, 30-s messages. Self-reports of emotional valence and arousal were collected. Heart rate, a physiological indicator of cognitive resources allocated to encoding, was collected for a five second baseline prior to each message and was time-locked during exposure to the messages. Participants also completed an audio recognition test. Results strongly indicate that HR deceleration occurred most for messages featuring anger or disgust related content, but decelerated least for messages that contained both anger and disgust content. Audio recognition data, including signal detection analyses, showed that recognition worsened for messages that contained both anger and disgust on both accuracy and sensitivity. In addition, participants were least confident in their responses to messages that contained both. Self-reports showed that both anger and disgust content showed strong aversive system activation, while anger showed small appetitive activation. These findings indicate that messages high in both anger and disgust showed signs of cognitive withdrawal and descent into a defensive cascade reflective of defensive processing and message responses.
The Mediating Role of Prior Knowledge in Framing Effects: An Experimental Study of Responses to Valenced Frames • Chen Lou, Michigan State University; Carson Wagner, EW Scripps School of Journalism, Ohio University; Eunsin Joo, Michigan State University • An experiment was run to detect whether prior knowledge about a subject mediates framing effects. A considerable number of framing studies have claimed media effects on audiences without examining audience responses and/or disentangling different confounding variables from media frames. Prior knowledge among other factors has been suggested as an entry point for testing if various frames indeed affect audiences, as assumed when effects are claimed but no audience data are taken. This study examines how media frames affect audience attitudes by manipulating prior knowledge in a laboratory experiment.
Toward a Cognitive-affective Process Model of Hostile Media Perceptions: A Multi-Country Structural Equation Modeling Approach • Jorg Matthes, U of Vienna; Audun Beyer, University of Oslo, Norway • This paper develops and tests a theoretical cognitive-affective process model of the hostile media effect (HME). To explain the HME, scholars have mainly focused on cognitive involvement, i.e., the extent to which an issue is of personal importance. By contrast, we introduce the notion of affective involvement and hypothesize three distinct routes responsible for an HMP: a cognitive, an affective, and a cognitive-affective route. Simultaneously collected representative survey data from the U.S., Norway, and France employing country-invariant measures provide clear evidence that the three routes each and independently drive the HMP. Theoretical and methodological implications of these findings are discussed.
Combining the Situational Theory of Publics and Theory of Reasoned Action to Explore Nonprofit Support: A Replication • Brooke W. McKeever, University of South Carolina; Geah Pressgrove, University of South Carolina; Yue Zheng, University of South Carolina • Through replication with a nationally-based respondent pool (N=1,539) and extension of programmatic research aimed at understanding the intersection of the situational theory of publics and theory of reasoned action, this study provides early empirical support for a possible Theory of Situational Support with a new criterion variable. By combining variables from both theories, predictive power of the model is improved when measured in the context of nonprofit fundraising events. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
In the mood to search: A conceptual examination of how emotions influence health information seeking • Jessica Myrick, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • This paper argues that theory development in health information seeking is currently stunted because the field has not fully explored concepts from the literature on emotions. The basics of emotion theory and connections with health information seeking are presented. This paper also encourages scholars to examine emotions in addition to anxiety/fear as search motivators. The argument is made that theory is lacking on the topics of how people search for health information and what happens after those searches.
Fearing a threat but hoping for the best: Revising the Extended Parallel Process Model based on emotion theory • Jessica Myrick, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • For more than two decades, the Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM) has guided research on fear appeals. However, theories of emotions and empirical evidence point to important conceptual modifications that would improve the EPPM’s explanatory power. This paper proposes six revisions to the EPPM and presents initial experimental data to test the propositions. The data largely support the propositions and point to future work to further develop theories of fear appeals.
Modeling a Participatory Campaign Communication: Communication Mediation and Anti-smoking Behavioral Intention • Kang Namkoong, University of Kentucky; Seungahn Nah, University of Kentucky; Rachael Record, University of Kentucky; Stephanie Van Stee, University of Kentucky • Drawing on the theory of planned behavior (TPB; e.g., Ajzen, 1985, 1988, 1991) with a communication mediation model (McLeod et al., 1996; McLeod, Scheufele, & Moy, 1999; Shah, Cho et al., 2007; Shah, McLeod et al., 2007), this study examines direct and indirect effects of a community-based participatory campaign on anti-smoking behavioral intention and how communications mediate the participatory campaign process. Through an experimental design with randomization, the study affirms that the TPB is an effective model to predict anti-smoking behavioral intention. Furthermore, it finds that communication does mediate the effects of the participatory campaign intervention on anti-smoking outcomes, which is well suited to the theory of planned behavior.
Online Advertisements and Conceptual Implicit Memory: Advances in Theory and Methodology • Temple Northup, University of Houston • Three experiments were conducted to further our understanding, both theoretically and methodologically, of conceptual implicit memory within the advertising context. Results suggest that not only is providing specific encoding instructions not necessary to induce conceptual or semantic processing, but also that there were no differences based on whether the experimental procedure was conducted in a laboratory or online. Together, these results have implications for increasing the ecological validity of this type of research.
How does Interactivity persuade? An Experimental Test of Interactivity on Cognitive Absorption, Elaboration, and Attitudes • Jeeyun Oh, Penn State University; S. Shyam Sundar, The Pennsylvania State University • It is generally assumed that interactivity can create higher involvement in interacting with media. However, it is debatable whether this heightened degree of user activity can translate into engagement with content, and further, whether it can influence persuasion outcomes. This paper examines whether two different types of website interactivity can motivate users to cognitively engage with anti-smoking messages. A 3 (Message interactivity: High vs. Medium vs. Low) X 2 (Modality Interactivity: Slider vs. Control) factorial-design lab experiment was performed to test the persuasive effects of interactivity on the stimulus website (N = 167). Results showed that Modality interactivity led to more positive interface assessment and greater cognitive absorption. These two factors, in turn, contributed to more favorable attitudes toward the website and even toward the anti-smoking messages. The presence of slider interaction technique significantly reduced the amount of message-related thoughts after browsing. In contrast, message interactivity enhanced message elaboration for participants, especially those with low involvement in the message topic. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
Aljazeera and The Hostile Media Effect: Credibility and Interactivity • Eisa Al Nashmi, Kuwait University; David Painter, Full Sail University; Jessica Mahone, University of Florida • Based on the hostile media effect theory, this experimental investigation manipulated source attribution to determine how receiver characteristics affected credibility and interactivity. Although the reports’ content was identical, the results indicate Aljazeera was perceived as less credible than CNN, especially among those with unfavorable Arab attitudes and high Arab interest. The results also suggest partisanship, involvement, and source, key elements of the hostile media effect, may trigger increased use of the Internet’s interactive features.
Seeking the Sweet Spot: Optimal combinations of gain-loss and motivational frames to promote vaccination during an epidemic • Eun Park • To investigate ways to maximize the effects of message frames in health campaigns for promoting vaccination in an epidemic, this study tested effects of message combinations of gain- and loss-frames and motivational frames, which include intrinsic and extrinsic goal frames in self-determination theory. The study also attempted to examine the moderating role of level of issue involvement. An experiment using a 2 (frame: gain and loss) x 2 (motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic) x 2 (issue involvement: high and low) x 4 (multiple messages) x 2 (order) mixed subject design was conducted. The results showed that motivation plays more of a leading role in igniting positive attitude and intention toward vaccination than gain-loss frames. To be specific, a message combination of gain frame and intrinsic motivation was superior to other kinds of combinations in terms of promoting vaccination.
Effect of Vocal Similarity on Automatic Attention to Voice Changes: Experimental Results and Industry Implications • Robert F. Potter, Indiana University; Edgar Jamison-Koenig, Indiana University; Teresa Lynch, Indiana University; Matthew Falk, Indiana University; Sharon Mayell, Indiana University; Katherine Krizan, Indiana University • Past research has shown that when one speaker is replaced by another in an auditory message listeners exhibit an orienting response identified by a specific pattern of cardiac deceleration. The orienting response is thought to provide an automatic allocation of processing resources to the encoding of the new voice in the auditory environment. To date, no one has investigated how the tonal similarities of the voices making up the formal feature of the voice change impacts orienting or information processing of the message. A 3 (Vocal Difference) x 2 (Location of Voice Change) x 2 (Repetitions) within subjects experiment was designed to explore this issue. Four non-professional speakers were selected based on their levels of vocal difference and produced twelve radio announcements. These announcements were then edited so that there were Low-, Medium-, and High-Vocal Difference voice changes occurring either in in the first or last 20-seconds of the message. Seventy-four subjects listened to the stimuli individually and had their heart rate data recorded time-locked to the media presentation. After a distraction task, recognition memory measures were taken. Results show that the tonal difference between voices does have an impact on both cardiac orienting and recognition memory for message audio. Furthermore, results suggest a change in processing strategy among listeners over the course of the sixty-second messages. Implications for message producers are provided.
A Historical Test of Media System Dependency: Governor Sir Thomas Brisbane’s Experiment in Press Freedom • Andrew Pritchard • The relatively isolated circumstances of colonial Australia provide a natural laboratory for applying media system dependency theory following the end of government restrictions on the press. Quantitative content analysis of newspapers suggests publishers were more concerned with exploiting the end of their dependence on the government as censor than with minimizing their remaining dependence on the government as advertiser. Additionally, the analysis demonstrates the importance of accounting for unique historical circumstances in MSD theorizing.
Studying Facebook: The ethics of drawing a sample in the networked age • Sue Robinson, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Manisha Shelat, University of Wisconsin-Madison; David Wilcox • This article documents the benefits, limitations and ethics of using Facebook as a sampling frame for research. Drawing a sample from 102 journals and 13 disciplines, this research found the social networking site (SNS) comprises a site of inquiry, sample and methodological technique all in one. Although student surveys dominated as the primary tool for half our sample, this evidence showed nine other approaches, some very innovative. However few (4%) considered the public-versus-private and other ethical conundrums regarding data mining on Facebook sites. None fully capitalized on the networked opportunities innate in the SNS. Creating a working typology from a sampling of projects, this study discusses the ethics around visibility, replicability, traceability, sampling, contiguity of research space and the notion of informed consent in drawing a sample from Facebook and provides recommendations for scholars.
Introducing a Software-Based Method to Assess and Manipulate Visual Attention: Feasibility and Initial Validation • Lelia Samson, Indiana University; Erick Janssen • This article introduces a newly developed, software-based method to assess and manipulate visual attention. The method uses circular, transparent outlines (or ‘bubbles’) that move over the content of visual stimuli (e.g., images, video). To evaluate the feasibility and validity of this new method, a sample of 50 men was presented with same- and opposite-sex erotic stimuli in self-directed and manipulated visual attention conditions while their psychophysiological responses were recorded. Participants were instructed to select a bubble of their choice by using a computer mouse which kept selected content visible while the rest of the screen was dimmed. Only one bubble was made available during conditions in which visual attention was manipulated. Findings revealed that participants could successfully perform the experimental task and that their spontaneous, or self-directed, visual focus was consistent with their sexual orientation, as has been found in previous research. Furthermore, the new method successfully manipulated visual attention, which was reflected in the participants’ psychophysiological response patterns. The benefits of the newly developed application include the ability to measure and direct visual focus in multiple participants at a time. The advantages of using this method in communication, marketing, and other social science research are discussed.
Heuristic-systematic processing and the third-person perception of persuasive messages • Lelia Samson, Indiana University; Robert F. Potter, Indiana University • This study focuses on the cognitive processes underlying third-person perception (TPP), providing a more comprehensive understanding of how this robust media effect occurs. It provides empirical evidence suggesting that individual perception of the likely influence of media messages on self and on others adheres to the conceptualizations suggested by Chaiken’s Heuristic-Systematic Model (HSM; Chaiken, 1980; 1987; Eagly & Chaiken, 1993). The HSM claims that mental shortcuts activated during heuristic processing have the economic advantage of requiring comparatively little cognitive effort and time. We use this claim to guide hypotheses about response latency to questions about perceived influence of the persuasive messages. Participants (N = 151) were randomly assigned to a condition priming systematic processing or to a condition with no such prime. They then watched a series of 10 television ads, providing appraisals of their effect on self and on others after each. Response latency data were also collected for each appraisal. Results support an HSM-like process underlying the third-person perceptions, with subjects in the no-priming condition providing quicker responses overall, and shorter response latency in all participants when estimating the impact of persuasive messages on others than on themselves, indicative of greater heuristic processing.
The Peripheral Elaboration Model: How Incidental News Exposure Predicts Political Participation • Syed Saif Shahin, School of Journalism, University of Texas at Austin; Magdalena Saldaña, The University of Texas at Austin; Homero Gil de Zúñiga, University of Texas at Austin • Using U.S. two-wave-panel-data, this paper proposes a model to explain the mechanism through which incidental news exposure leads to political participation. It shows that heuristic cues in news items can trigger cognitive elaboration among media users, leading them to reflect on the news they stumble upon, even when they were not motivated to use the media for news and learning. Such “peripheral” elaboration mediates the positive link between incidental news exposure and political participation.
Reframing Gatekeeping: Proposing a Theoretical Link between Gatekeeping and Framing • Edson Tandoc, University of Missouri-Columbia • Framing and gatekeeping are common keywords in journalism research, yet their theoretical intersection has not been sufficiently explored. From qualitative interviews with newspaper and online journalists, this study explores influences on framing in the news and locates framing within the gatekeeping process. Frames influence whether or not a message passes a gate as much as they are also outputs of the gatekeeping process themselves.
The Facebook Experience: A phenomenology of Facebook use • Edson Tandoc, University of Missouri-Columbia; Patrick Ferrucci, U of Missouri • Based on the diaries and interviews of five Facebook users, we found that the phenomenology of Facebook use can be divided into three phases: managing intentions, experiencing the consequences of actions, and feeling a range of emotions. We propose that the theoretical framework we found in this study—of understanding the experience of Facebook as an experience of varying degrees of personal control—can be applied to understanding other social experiences as well.
Mapping an Audience Centric World Wide Web: A Departure from Hyperlink Analysis • Harsh Taneja • Studies of the hyperlink structure of the World Wide Web reveal a highly centralized core-periphery structure, with sites from developed nations at the center and those from the developing world at the periphery. This paper argues that hyperlinks merely reflect how the Web is structured by webmasters, and may play little role in structuring navigation pattern of web users, which may be driven by other cultural factors. To test this thesis, two networks of 1000 globally most popular Web Domains are constructed, one where ties are based on hyperlinks and the other using an “audience centric” approach with ties based on duplicated audience traffic between these domains. Analyses of the two networks reveal that unlike the centralized core-periphery structure suggested by hyperlink analysis, cultural factors such as language and geography drive actual audience flows resulting in a highly decentralized clustered network.
Finding Political Opinion Leaders in Both Online and Offline Environments • Stephanie Jean Tsang, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Hernando Rojas, University of Wisconsin – Madison • Most studies on opinion leaders in our field applied the personality strength scale developed by Noelle-Neumann (1983). However, such general scale might not be as helpful in predicting opinion leaders with regard to politics and current issues. Moreover, with the rise of online information seeking and giving, it is essential to examine whether our existing scales are capable of spotting the digital opinion leaders with regard to politics. Utilizing survey data collected in Colombia in 2012 (N = 1031), our findings suggest that the personality strength scale informs us little about political opinion leaders both offline and online, when compared to the issue-specific scale developed by Childer (1986). The theoretical implications of the findings are discussed.
Testing a model of sexual health information seeking via text messaging • Jessica Fitts Willoughby, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill • Text message services are becoming an increasingly popular way to disseminate health information. A theory of information seeking through text messaging is posited based on previous theory and tested with adolescents (n=870). Intentions to use a text message service for sexual health information were influenced by an adolescents’ uncertainty discrepancy, affect, and evaluations related to the service (e.g., attitudes, credibility), although efficacy evaluations did not have a direct effect on intent. Implications are discussed.
Giving and Receiving Emotional Support Online: Communication Competence as a Moderator of Psychosocial Benefits for Women with Breast Cancer • Woohyun Yoo, University of Wisconsin – Madison; Kang Namkoong, University of Kentucky; Mina Choi, University of Wisconsin – Madison; Dhavan Shah; Stephanie Jean Tsang, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Yangsun Hong, University of Wisconsin – Madison; Michael Aguilar; David Gustafson • This study examines the moderating role of emotional communication competence in the relationship between computer-mediated social support (CMSS) group participation, specifically giving and receiving emotional support, and psychological health outcomes. Data were collected as part of randomized clinical trials for women diagnosed with breast cancer within the last 2 months. Expression and reception of emotional support was assessed by tracking and coding the 18,064 messages that 236 patients posted and read in CMSS groups. The final data used in the analysis was created by merging (a) computer-aided content analysis of discussion posts, (b) action log data analysis of system usage, and (c) baseline and six-month surveys collected to assess change. Results of this study demonstrate that emotional communication competence moderates the effects of expression and reception of emotional support on psychological quality of life and breast cancer-related concerns in both desired and undesired ways. Giving and receiving emotional support in CMSS groups has positive effects on emotional well-being for breast cancer patients with higher emotional communication, while the same exchanges have detrimental impacts on emotional well-being for those with lower emotional communication competence. The theoretical and practical implications for future research are discussed.
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