Communication Theory and Methodology 2016 Abstracts

Open Call Competition
What is a shared interest?: How ex parte can be used to reveal the overlap of public and corporate interests in FCC policy making • Amy Sindik, Central Michigan University; Brian Creech, Temple University • Additional theoretical and methodological development is needed to consider the FCC’s role overseeing public and corporate interests. This study uses ex parte contacts to examine the FCC policy process in order to discern the interests it considers when crafting policy. This article introduces a term to be used when neither a discussion of public or private interests is sufficient: the shared interest. The shared interest is used to define the areas where the public good may overlap with industry profit motive and gives a scholar a particular concept to search for when parsing the complications of communication policy.

Attention Ecology of the Web • Anegla Xiao Wu, Chinese University of Hong Kong; Harsh Taneja, University of Missouri • Taking an ecological approach, our study conceptualizes and empirically demonstrates the associations between website-level media structures and global patterns of online attention. We develop (1) a typology of website formats along the curatorial and the productive dimensions, and (2) two measures to capture distinct aspects of attention that complement the typical aspect of popularity. We implement these methodological innovations on world’s 850 most popular sites and their shared usage data at three recent time points.

Affect, Risk and Online Political Criticism in Restricted Information Environments Aysenur Dal Although political outcomes of using information and communication technologies in restricted information settings have attracted scholarly attention from various disciplines, some important questions remain unanswered. Why do the measures taken against citizens’ online political activities in authoritarian settings often fail for great enough crowds? What is the explanation for the psychological processes of those who engage in “risky” political expression in settings where there may be direct consequences of anti-government online behavior? In this study, we suggest a model that explains how individuals living in restricted information environments perceive and react to risks of online political expression. The main theoretical contribution is to draw links between literatures of perceiving risk and political communication so that our knowledge on government responses to expanding political role of ICTs incorporates citizen behaviors’ underlying judgment and decision making mechanisms as well. Using an original web survey, we study the underlying processes that individuals go through in evaluating and responding to the risk of engaging in expressive behaviors in an increasingly restricted information environment, Turkey.

New Directions in Selective Exposure: Measurement and Mitigation • Benjamin Lyons, Southern Illinois University Carbondale • Individuals often seek out agreeable information, increasing polarization and impairing knowledge. This study contributes new ways to measure and potentially mitigate this bias. First, contextually-activated discussion networks are examined alongside traditional media choice as dependent variables. Next, self-affirmation and social identity complexity primes are investigated as interventions. Results (N = 600) show social identity complexity marginally reduced selective exposure to media, and significantly reduced activated network density. Neither intervention impacted network homogeneity.

The Effect of Collaborative Filtering on Online News Processing • Christina DeVoss, University of Connecticut; Anne Oeldorf-Hirsch, University of Connecticut • “Online news consumption is increasing, which can produce different effects on agenda setting and learning compared to offline news consumption. Using an experimental design (N=178), this study tests how collaborative filtering of online news affects information processing, based on the cognitive mediation model. Results indicate that bandwagon cues indicated by collaborative filtering positively influence cognitive elaboration about the news, and that both surveillance and interpersonal utility motivations are related to news attention and elaboration.

How Can Media Users Feel Presence by Fictional Media Content? • Euijin Ahn, Yeungnam University; Hwiman Chung, New Mexico State University • Few studies have explained why media users experience presence by fictitious media objects or events. The most challenging problem is that media users implicitly know they are just visual fabrications. Here, we try to solve this paradoxical phenomenon of presence. We propose cognitive models of presence that are independent from a belief system. The proposed models are based on a perceptual experience of stereopsis which is related to the perception of egocentric distance.

Data Analysis with Topic Models for Communications Researchers • Frederick Boehm • We present a non-technical introduction to data analysis with topic models for communications researchers. We motivate the discussion with a research question from social media communications research. We then discuss statistical aspects of topic models as we illustrate these methods with data from Twitter and from The New York Times. We complement our discussion with computer code (in the R computing language) that implements our methods. We close with ideas about the future value of topic modeling to communications researchers.

Perusing Pages and Skimming Screens: Selective Exposure to News Articles in Online vs Offline Contexts • George Pearson, The Ohio State University; Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick • The rise of soft and user-generated news cause fundamental changes for recipients’ news selections. A carefully designed 2x2x2 experiment had participants (n = 197) sample from the same soft and hard news in an online or offline context, while presenting amateur or professional source cues. Soft news was generally preferred, unexpectedly more so in the offline setting and more so among habitual print news consumers. Amateur vs. professional sources did not affect selections.

Defying censorship: A framework for reactance and learning in the face of media controls • Golnoosh Behrouzian; Emma Fete; Aysenur Dal • Media censorship is a significant issue plaguing over 80 percent of the world’s population. This suppression of information can have damaging consequences for the public’s knowledge base and negatively impact the capability of citizens to make well-informed decisions, by withholding information or creating misperceptions, amongst other things. While most research addresses the implications of censorship from a more normative institutional level, we propose a novel theoretical framework looking at the individual-level effects of perceived censorship on political knowledge. Through the integration of psychological reactance as a mediating variable, we use data from a two-wave longitudinal survey, taken by Turkish citizens before the June 2015 general election, to conduct an exploratory study of the underlying psychological and communication processes that may motivate increased political learning. We find that those citizens who perceive a threat to their media freedom are more likely to experience psychological reactance, which heightens their level of political learning. Our results both challenge and expand on previous findings that suggest censorship broadly dampens political knowledge, since the boundary condition provided by psychological reactance suggests that higher levels of perceived censorship may, in fact, motivate higher achievement in knowledge. We discuss the implication of these findings as it relates to information-seeking strategies that may further clarify how individuals in repressed media environments manage their media freedom.

Evaluating Sampling Methods for Content Analysis of Social Media Data • Hwalbin Kim, University of South Carolina; Seung Mo Jang, University of South Carolina; Sei-Hill Kim; Anan Wan, University of South Carolina • Despite the existing evaluation of the sampling options for periodical media content, little is known about whether the traditional sampling methods are applicable to social media content. This paper tests the efficiency of simple random sampling and constructed week sampling, varying the sample size of media content in the context of the 2014 South Carolina gubernatorial election. This study also provides initial evidence that each day can be better used as a unit of analysis.

Agreement between Humans and Machines? — A Reliability Check among Computational Content Analysis Programs • Jacob Rohde, Boston University; Denis Wu • As data generated from social networking sites become larger, so does the need for computer aids in content analysis research. This paper outlines the growing methodology of supervised machine learning in respect to document topics classification and sentiment analysis. A series of tweets were collected, coded by humans, and subsequently fed into a selection of six different popular computer applications: Aylien, DiscoverText, MeaningCloud, Semantria, Sentiment 140, and SentiStrength. Reliability results between the human and machine coders are presented in a matrix in terms of Krippendorff’s Alpha and percentage agreement. Ultimately, this paper illuminates that, while computer-aided coding may lessen the burden and accelerate for researchers in coding social media content, the results of utilizing these programs indicate low reliability for analyzing political content.

Establishing an EMA-style Collection Method for Intervention Message Testing • Jared Brickman; Jessica Willoughby • Evaluating messages is important for message creation. Previous research has often used long-form surveys to test messaging. This study asks whether real-time sampling on a mobile phone could serve as a message-testing alternative. Participants evaluated messages over a week using mobile phones. More than 90 percent of messages were evaluated, and a majority of participants preferred this methodology. This approach, while not without limitations, is a viable and important tool for diversifying message testing.

The social media mourning model: Examining tie strength and “acceptable loss” in Facebook mourning posts • Jensen Moore, University of Oklahoma; Sara Magee, Loyola University Maryland; Jennifer Kowalewski, Georgia Southern University; Ellada Gamreklidze, Louisiana State University • Social media allows people to grieve. However, not all deaths are equal. In a 2 (death type: acceptable vs. non-acceptable) x 2 (Tie strength: strong vs. weak) experiment, we found individuals felt more positive toward those who died in an acceptable manner, and who had a stronger relationship with the deceased. However, the strength of relationship appears to be more influential in its effect on the views toward grieving than how a person died.

Explicating the Meaning of Social Media Literacy • Jeremy Ong; Edson Tandoc, Nanyang Technological University • This paper explicates the concept of social media literacy, arguing that the increasing digitization of social life on social media confronts users with novel problems, such as misinformation, identity theft, privacy concerns, and matters of taste and decency. By engaging in the process of meaning analysis, this paper identifies four domains of social media literacy: technical, privacy, credibility, and social domains. The paper also argues for the theoretical and practical utility of this proposed typology.

Evaluating a sexual health text message service using short message service (SMS) surveys with adolescents • Jessica Willoughby; Kelly L’Engle, University of San Francisco; Kennon Jackson; Jared Brickman • Two-way mHealth interventions allow for feedback solicitation from participants. This study explores the use of a text-message survey to assess demographics and program feedback from users of an adolescent sexual health text message question-and-answer service. The text message survey achieved a 43.9% response rate. When compared to respondents who used the service and completed an online in-school questionnaire, text survey respondents were more likely to be female and older. They also reported higher service satisfaction.

“The First Decision for My Child”: Mechanisms through which Parents of Children with and without Autism Decide on Their Children’s Vaccination • Juwon Hwang, University of Wisconsin – Madison • Based on O1-S-O2-R model, this study explores the mechanisms through which parents decide on their children’s vaccination. Analyzing nationally representative survey data, this study assumes that the evaluation of health information sources plays a critical role in parents’ benefit perception and decisions on their children’s vaccination. This study finds that print and interpersonal communication as stimuli are positively associated with parents’ benefit perception of their children’s vaccination whereas social media is negatively associated with it. In turn, benefit perception is significantly related to parents’ decisions on their children’s vaccination. However, there is no interaction effect of parents of children with autism (PCA) and the evaluation of health information sources on parents’ benefit perception and decisions on their children’s vaccination. The results seem to suggest that targeted messages addressing PCA’s concerns and to mitigate mistrust are needed.

Global Network Agenda Setting: Visualizing the South China Sea Dispute • Lei Guo, Boston University; Kate Mays, Boston University; Jianing Wang, Boston University • This study theoretically and methodologically advances the Network Agenda Setting Model, a third level of agenda setting, through a media analysis of the South China Sea dispute. Combining a sophisticated semantic network analysis approach and the Granger causality test, the study examined the interplay between three involved countries’ media coverage and the global public opinion as reflected on the Twittersphere. Network visualization techniques were also used to graphically represent the media network agendas.

Sampling Strategy for Conducting Content Analysis of Digital Native Sites • Lu Wu, UNC-Chapel Hill; Joe Bob Hester • This study investigates sampling strategies for efficiently creating representative samples of digital native sites. Using 90,117 stories from BuzzFeed, the authors compare simple random, consecutive day, and constructed week samples. Similar to previous research, the study concludes that constructed week sampling is the most efficient technique. For variables with low variability (coefficient of variation < 0.30), 3 to 5 constructed weeks may be sufficient. For situations with a greater degree of variability, 6 to 12 constructed weeks may be required in order to create a representative sample.

When gaps become huuuuge: Donald Trump and beliefs about immigration • Magdalena Saldana; Lourdes Miri Cueva Chacon, University of Texas at Austin; Victor Garcia-Perdomo, University of Texas at Austin/Universidad de La Sabana, Colombia • The belief gap argues that ideology and partisanship—instead of education—explain people’s beliefs about politically contested issues. Relying on nationally representative panel data, this study explores how ideology and education work together to predict belief gaps about immigration. In addition, we test if support for Donald Trump increases negative beliefs about immigrants. Findings suggest that ideology and education interact to predict attitudes (but not beliefs), and Trump’s supporters exhibit significantly negative beliefs about immigration.

Perceived Hostile Media Agenda in the 2016 Democratic Primary • Mallory Perryman, University of Wisconsin – Madison • This survey of young voters (n=187) explored perceived bias in news coverage of the 2016 Democratic presidential primary race. We introduce the idea of the hostile media agenda, where, in addition to sensing hostile bias in the valence of a candidate’s news coverage, the audience also senses a hostile bias in the volume of a candidate’s coverage. Indeed, voters felt media had slighted their candidate in both valence and volume of coverage.

Communication Activities as a Source of Perceived Collective Efficacy • Masahiro Yamamoto, University at Albany – SUNY • This study examines two communication-based sources of neighborhood collective efficacy, communication ties with neighbors and local media use. Data from a Web survey of Chicago residents show that communicative relationships characterized by weak ties are associated with increases in perceived collective efficacy. Data also indicate a positive link between attention to neighborhood social news and perceived collective efficacy. Both weak communication ties and attention to neighborhood social news also have indirect associations with perceived violence in the neighborhood through perceived collective efficacy. Implications are discussed for the role of interpersonal and mediated communication in neighborhood safety.

Understanding information encountering: A case of newspaper reporting behavior at Midwestern metropolitan-area newspapers • Matt Bird-Meyer, University of Missouri • This study considers how journalists embrace the unexpected as part of their reporting routine using Erdelez’ framework of information encountering. Five journalists from metropolitan-area newspapers participated in the study. The study began with a semi-structured interview. The participants were asked to keep a diary to record their reporting behavior. The researcher followed up with a debriefing. By embracing the unexpected, it was clear that these journalists routinize encountering and make themselves open to encountering.

Party or Peers: Where is the loyalty? Corrective action effects on opinion and expression in the context of intergroup political conflict • Megan Duncan, University of Wisconsin-Madison; David Coppini • This study extends the corrective action hypothesis, addressing three important gaps in the literature. First, we directly test corrective action hypothesis in controlled opinion climates within the American partisan context and we pit this hypothesis against a competing hypothesis, support-based engagement. While most research on corrective action used cross-sectional data, this study attempts a causal explanation by manipulating comments about a fictitious candidate. Second, we measure the change in opinion caused by peer comments while accounting for the effect of party identification. Third, we pit party loyalty and peer influence against each other to find which has the larger effect on predicting the change in opinion about a candidate and the likelihood of expressing that opinion. Specifically, this study uses a 2 (political party) X 3 (comment opinion climate) experiment embedded in a survey of the adult American population (N=350). The study purported to be a beta-test for an election mobile application to test the effects of party cues and opinion climate on support for a candidate and individuals’ expression. Our design built three distinct political climates, allowing us to test directly how partisans and non-partisans act in each environment. The results show a corrective action effect in opinion change about the candidate.

Comment is free, but biased: Spiral of silence and corrective action in news comment sections • Megan Duncan, University of Wisconsin-Madison; David Wise, UW-Madison; Ayellet Pelled, University of Wisconsin; Shreenita Ghosh, University of Wisconsin Madison; Yuanliang Shan, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Mengdian (Mandy) Zheng; Douglas McLeod, University of Wisconsin–Madison • Our online experiment provides evidence that the opinion climate of news comments have an effect on the formation of news audience opinions about news issues. Through the lens of spiral of silence theory, corrective action hypothesis, and peer influence research, we see differences in the reactions to varying opinion climates on the news audience. The study adds to the literature by manipulating the perception of opinion climate on an issue by using a fictitious current event, it measures changes in opinion instead of merely resulting opinion, and it adds nuance to the discussion of opinion climate by reflecting five conditions. The experiment allowed participants to reply, comment, do both, or do nothing and so comes closer to measuring real-world expression behavior. Results suggest the interaction between opinion climate and personal opinion can predict who will engage with a news comment section through the mechanism of spiral of silence, and the expressed opinions in a news comment section influence the direction of opinion change about the issue.

Reluctance to talk face-to-face and post on Facebook about politics: Examining the roles of fear of isolation, willingness to self-censor, and network structure • Michael Chan • Based on concepts from spiral of silence theory, this study examines Hong Kong citizen’s willingness to publically express support for a political party or candidate face-to-face and on Facebook during the 2015 District Council elections. Findings from a national survey showed that fear of social isolation (FSI) exhibited an indirect effect on public expression of support through willingness to self-censor (WTSC) for both offline and Facebook contexts. Moreover, there was evidence of moderated mediation for the Facebook condition, such that the indirect effect was stronger for those with more homogeneous Facebook networks. This particular finding is framed in terms of the technological affordances of Facebook (e.g. persistence and scalability of posted messages vis-à-vis spoken communications) as well as increased identifiability and decreased anonymity of Facebook interactions, which accentuate the publicness of political expression and individuals’ fear of social isolation and sensitivity to the opinion climate.

Testing Intergenerational Transmission of News Content Preference: A South Korean Case • Minchul Kim, Indiana University • Understanding of how adolescents develop news preference is closely associated with understanding of how a democratic society works. This study tested the intergenerational transmission of news content preference between parents and adolescents. Specifically, our findings suggest that mothers’ news content preference, but not that of fathers’, had independent and lasting influences on adolescents’ news content preference. This implies that mothers may play a more direct role in the intergenerational transmission of news content preference than do fathers.

Racial Diversity in News: How Journalist, Officeholder, and Audience Intersect to Affect Racialized Issue Coverage • Mingxiao Sui; Newly Paul; Paru Shah, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Political Science Department; Johanna Dunaway, Department of Communication, Texas A&M University; Brook Spurlock • This study examines whether and how the presence of minority journalists affects media coverage of racialized issues. We focus our analysis on data from more than 1,500 state legislative elections in 2012 and content analysis data from local news coverage of 3,400 candidates in these elections. Our finding indicates that minority journalists in newsrooms may not help increase the coverage of racialized issues. However, in states with a larger minority population, minority journalists are more likely to cover race-related issues.

Does News Still Serve as a Public Forum? Broadcast News and the Public Agenda, 1968-2010 • Patrick Meirick, University of Oklahoma; Jill Edy • An analysis of quarterly public opinion and broadcast news coverage from 1968 through 2010 shows the news agenda is as strongly related with the public agenda as ever. However, it does not function as has been assumed. The agenda-setting relationship appears to diversify the public agenda rather than winnowing it to a narrow list of action items. That is, broadcast news may foster consensus by making us aware of each other’s concerns.

Who Sets the News Agenda on “Chinese Twitter”? The Interaction between the Media and Opinion Leaders on Weibo • Qian Wang • Within the theoretical framework of agenda setting, this study applied granger causality analysis to examine the relationships between the news agendas of the media outlets and opinion leaders on one Chinese social network platform—Weibo. The study not only applied agenda setting to Chinese social media, but it also approached the agenda-setting effects of social media from a completely different perspective, recognizing and differentiating the segmented agendas on social media platforms. It examined more nuanced agenda-setting effects among the most influential groups on social media platforms, determining and comparing the news agendas of these groups. The results showed agenda-setting effects exist only between the opinion leaders and commercial media outlets rather than the official media in China. Although journalists and celebrities tended to the most influential ones on Twitter, business elites were the most influential opinion leader on Weibo.

Cultural Cognition, Psychological Sense of Community, and Offshore Oil Risk Perceptions in Ghana: A Scale Development and Adaptation Study • S. Senyo Ofori-Parku, The University of Alabama • The cultural cognition thesis observes that individuals’ worldviews or cultural biases orient how they think about environmental health issues, messages, and policy prescriptions. However, the cultural cognition worldview scale, which has been extensively validated in the United States, has not been validated in African contexts. Since environmental hazards have asymmetric impacts on developing countries and the poor in general, this study uses Ghana’s burgeoning offshore oil production industry as a context, to test and systematically develop a cultural cognition worldview measure that is sensitive to the local Ghanaian context. The psychological sense of community and Schwartz’ universal values scale were also tested. Initial assessments of the ability of these scales to predict offshore oil risk perceptions are reported.

I Am In A Relationship With Harry Potter: Evaluation of Parasocial Interactions and Textual Poaching in Harry Potter Fandom Forums • Sara Erlichman • Author J.K. Rowling is notorious for producing fandom content in order to keep the Harry Potter alive. The objective of this study seeks to identify parasocial interaction and textual poaching themes such as interpretations, constructed fan content, and identification with the community in online Harry Potter fandom forums. This pilot study analyzed 100 posts from MuggleNet.com’s discussion forums to measure the prevalence and relationship of textual poaching and parasocial processes within these posts.

The link between crime news and guilty verdicts: An examination of the largest jury summons in US history • Sarah Staggs, University of Arizona; Kristen Landreville • The trial for Colorado theater shooter James Holmes summoned a record 9,000 potential jurors to serve. As media continue to publicize and sensationalize high-profile crime stories, it becomes more difficult to find individuals and potential jurors with little to no exposure to pretrial publicity. This study explores the association between interest and exposure in a case, as well as subsequent knowledge of the case and judgments of a criminal offender’s guilt. Agenda setting, framing, and predecisional distortion are the theoretical foundations used to explore this relationship between media and cognition. A national survey (N = 236) was distributed to measure exposure to pretrial publicity to the Colorado theater shooter case, recalled knowledge about the crime, and views of the offender’s guilt. Results show that perceptions of the criminal offender’s guilt were influenced by increased exposure to pretrial publicity, interest in the case, media credibility beliefs, and knowledge of the crime event. Evidence was found supporting the link between exposure to pretrial publicity and predecisional distortion favoring the offender’s guilt.

Rethinking Communication Infrastructure and Civic Participation: Interaction Effects between Integrated Connection to a Storytelling Network (ICSN) and Internet and Mobile Uses on Civic Participation • Seungahn Nah; Masahiro Yamamoto, University at Albany – SUNY • This study draws on communication infrastructure theory (CIT) to examine the extent to which Internet and mobile devices may drive integrated connection to a storytelling network (ICSN) on civic participation. Data were collected through a nationwide online panel (N=1201) to test conditional effects of ICSN on civic participation in physical and virtual settings by Internet and mobile uses. Results indicate that the relationships between ICSN and civic participation in offline and online contexts were moderated by expressive uses of Internet and mobile media concerning local politics or community issues. In other words, these relationships were stronger for those who more frequently engaged in locality-oriented expressive activities such as expressing opinions and passing along information encountered online on local politics or community issues. This study reveals locality-based expressive uses of Internet and mobile media as driving and mobilizing mechanisms that may help citizens to engage in place-based civic and community life. This study also discusses theoretical insight, policy implication, and practical application to advance the communication infrastructure theory (CIT).

Selecting Serious or Satirical, Supporting or Stirring News? Selective Exposure to Traditional versus Mockery News Online Videos • Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick; Simon Lavis, The Ohio State University • Selective exposure to satirical and traditional news was examined with online clips to test cognitive dissonance and entertainment-education hypotheses. An experiment (n = 146) presented news choices, varied in stance (conservative, liberal) and format (traditional vs. satirical news). Results show political interest fosters traditional news selection. Clips with partisan alignment were more frequently selected. Selecting satire news affected internal political efficacy, and selecting online news clips induced attitude shifts according to message stance.

Millennials vs. Boomers: Using Behavioral Data to Compare the Digital News Networks of Two Cohorts • Stephanie Edgerly; Harsh Taneja, University of Missouri; Anegla Xiao Wu, Chinese University of Hong Kong • This study takes a macro “audience-centric” approach to studying the online news habits of two age cohorts. While surveys suggest that millennials and boomers differ in online news exposure, we use metered data from comScore to analyze shared usage between the 789 most popular news (and social networking) websites for both cohorts. We compare the resulting two “digital news usage networks” to determine how prominent both social media and legacy media are for each cohort.

Examining the Interaction Effect between Media Favorability and Media Visibility of Business News on Corporate Reputation • XIAOQUN ZHANG, University of North Texas • This study showed the significant interaction effect between media favorability and media visibility of business news on corporate reputation, indicating that the first-level agenda-setting effect and the affective dimension of the second-level agenda setting effect take place simultaneously when the public use media messages to form corporate reputation. It also suggested that the composite measure of media favorability and media visibility is superior to the measure of favorability, and a threshold of media visibility is a necessity to create a valid measure of media coverage to predict corporate reputation. This study was based on the content analysis of 2,817 news articles from both elite newspapers and local newspapers.

Social media, political disagreement, political participation, and self-censorship • Yangsun Hong, University of Wisconsin-Madison • The purpose of this study is to examine the specific mechanisms of the relationship between social media use for politics and engagement in participatory activities. This study argues that exposure to political disagreement will be an important mechanism explaining the association between the social media use and engagement in participatory activities, especially for expressive type of participatory activities. In this regard, this study expects a moderating role of self-censorship in the proposed mediation pathway. The result confirms political disagreement as a mediator of the relationship between social media use and expressive type of political activities. It also shows while self-censorship has a suppressing effect on individuals’ willingness to speak out which is a strong antecedent of expressive activities, the greater experience of political disagreement cancels out the suppressing effect of self-censorship on expressive activities.

A Meta-Analysis of News Media’s Agenda-Setting Effects, 1972-2015 • Yunjuan Luo; Hansel Burley, Texas Tech University; Alexander Moe, Texas Tech University; Mingxiao Sui • This project involved exploring the agenda-setting hypothesis across a range of studies using rigorous meta-analytic approaches. The researchers drew upon empirical agenda-setting studies published from 1972 to 2015, and 67 studies that met the inclusion criteria for analysis produced a moderate grand mean effect size of .487. A multiple regression analysis revealed significant predictors, most notably was the predictor that classified the basis for the study correlation as either the number of content categories or the number of participants. A multiple regression of a subgroup using text analysis produced homogeneity (non-significance). The mean for these studies was .51. This is an indication of consistency in findings across agenda setting studies. Study limitations and suggestions for future research are also discussed in the article.

The Communication Research Matrix: An Alternative Approach to Kuhn’s Conception of Paradigms • Zachary Sapienza; Aaron Veenstra, Southern Illinois University Carbondale • Utilizing an implicit general semantics framework, this article explicates Thomas Kuhn’s conceptions of paradigms with specific attention paid to their context and application within the field of mass communication. In doing so, this paper will highlight three potential problems with the concept of paradigms ranging from multiple and diverse definitions to Kuhn’s insistence that it was not applicable to the social sciences. Building off the work of Rosengren (1983) and Renckstorf & McQuail (1996), this paper will examine the potential of research quandrants as an alternative to paradigms and make a case for their use in the field of mass communication.

2016 Abstracts

Communicating Science, Health, Environment, and Risk 2016 Abstracts

Using Visual Metaphors in Health Messages: A Strategy to Increase Effectiveness for Mental Illness Communication • Allison Lazard, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Benita Bamgbade; Jennah Sontag, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill; Carolyn Brown • Depression is highly prevalent among college students. Although treatment is often available on university campuses, many stigma-based barriers prevent students from seeking help. Communication strategies, such as the use of metaphors, are needed to reduce barriers. Using a two-phase approach, this study identified how college students conceptualize mental illness, designed messages with conceptual and visual metaphors commonly used, and tested these message to determine their potential as an effective communication strategy to reduce stigma.

How Journalists Characterize Health Inequalities and Redefine Solutions for Native American Audiences • Amanda Hinnant, University of Missouri, School of Journalism; Roma Subramanian; Rokeshia Ashley, University of Missouri-Columbia; Mildred Perreault, University of Missouri/ Appalachian State University; Rachel Young; Ryan Thomas, University of Missouri-Columbia • This research investigates how journalists for Native American communities characterize health inequalities and the issues with covering determinants of health. In-depth interviews (n = 24) revealed a tension between “medical” and “cultural” models of health, contributing to the oversaturation of certain issues. Interviews also amplified the contexts that shape health inequalities, illuminating the roles of historical trauma and the destruction of indigenous health beliefs and behaviors. Failure to recognize the issues can stymie communication efforts.

Poison or Prevention? Unraveling the Linkages between Vaccine-Negative Individuals’ Knowledge Deficiency, Motivations, and Communication Behaviors • Arunima Krishna • The last few decades have seen growing concerns among parents regarding the safety of childhood vaccines, arguably leading to the rise of the anti-vaccine movement. This study is an effort to understand situational and cross-situational factors that influence individuals’ negative attitudes toward vaccines, referred to as vaccine negativity. In doing so, this study identified two categories of reasons for which individuals display vaccine negativity – liberty-related, and safety-related concerns – and elucidated how situational and cross-situational factors influenced each type of vaccine negativity differently. Specifically, this study tested how knowledge deficiency, or acceptance of scientifically inaccurate data about vaccines, and institutional trust influenced negative attitudes toward vaccines. Using the situational theory of problem solving as the theoretical framework, this also identified and tested a knowledge-attitude-motivation-behavior framework of vaccine negative individuals’ cognitions and behaviors about the issue.

Chronic pain: Sources’ framing of post-traumatic stress disorder in The New York Times • Barbara Barnett, University of Kansas; Tien-Tsung Lee, University of Kansas • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common reaction after witnessing a violent event. While nearly eight million Americans, including combat veterans, have PTSD, few studies have explored how the condition is represented in mass media. This content analysis examined sources’ characterization of PTSD in New York Times articles. Results show that news stories framed PTSD as a long-term problem, with little chance for recovery, a frame that could negatively affect public policy decisions.

This Is Not A Test: Investigating The Effects Of Cueing And Cognitive Load On Severe Weather Alerts • Carie Cunningham • Climate change is increasing and causing more severe weather events around the globe. Severe weather events require effective communication of incoming dangers and threats to different populations. The current study focuses on investigating ways in which severe weather alerts are attended to and remembered better by audience members. To this end, this study used a 2 (primary task cognitive load: low vs. high) x 2 (weather alert cueing technique: cued vs. non-cued) within-subject experiment to understand how television weather alerts evoke attention and memory from viewers. Participants were exposed to TV films that varied in cognitive load, through which they were exposed to both cued and non-cued weather alerts. The findings show that cognitive load changes viewers’ recognition and memory of the weather alerts, but not of the main content. Furthermore, the interaction of cueing and cognitive load influenced fixation and gaze in attention measures, but not the recall measures for the weather alerts. Results are discussed in the context of dependent variables: visual recognition, information recognition, cued recall, free recall, fixation, and gaze. The findings support some nuances to television viewing under different conditions.

A State-Level Analysis of the Social Media Climate of GMOs in the U.S. • Christopher Wirz, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Xuan Liang, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Michael Xenos; Dominique Brossard, UW-Madison; Dietram Scheufele • This study is a state-level analysis of the relationship between the social media, news, and policy climates related to GMOs. We performed a systematic and exhaustive analysis of geographically-identified tweets related to GMOs from August 1, 2012 through November 30, 2014. We then created a model using a variety of state-level factors to predict pessimistic tweets about GMOs using states as the unit of analysis.

Psychological determinants of college students’ adoption of mobile health applications for personal health management • Chuqing Dong; Lauren Gray; Hao Xu, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities • “Mobile health has been studied for patient care and disease management in the clinical context, but less is known about factors contribute to consumers’ acceptance of mobile health apps for personal health and fitness management.

This study serves as one of the first attempts to understand the psychological determinants of mobile health acceptance among millenials – those most likely to use mobile apps. Built on an extended model combining the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Reasoned Action approach, this multimethod study aimed to identify which proximal determinants and their underlying salient beliefs were most associated with intention to use mobile health apps in the next twelve months.

Results from the qualitative belief elicitation data analysis indicated 14 different positive and negative consequences (behavioral beliefs) of using mobile health apps, 11 social references (normative beliefs) important to the use of mobile health apps, and 9 behavioral circumstances (behavioral control beliefs) that would enable or make it more difficult to use mobile health apps. Results from the quantitative Reasoned action data indicated perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of the app were positively correlated with attitude towards mobile health app use and perceived usefulness was also positively correlated with intention to use it in the next twelve months. Instrumental attitudes and perceived behavioral control (capacity), as well as several of their underlying beliefs, were the strongest predictors of intention to use mobile health apps in the next twelve months.”

Talkin’ smack: An analysis of news coverage of the heroin epidemic • Erin Willis; David Morris II, University of Oregon • The number of heroin users continues to rise in the United States, creating a public health epidemic that is cause for great concern. Recent heroin use has been linked to opiate abuse and national organizations have identified this issue as a serious public health challenge. The Obama administration recently directed more than $1 billion in funding to expand access to treatment and boost efforts to help those who seek treatment. Newspapers are seen as reliable and credible sources of information, and newspapers’ portrayals of public health problems influence readers’ perceptions about the severity of the problem and solutions to the problem. The current study examined national and city newspapers coverage of heroin. The results of this study inform health communication and public health education efforts and offer practical implications for combatting the heroin epidemic.

Exchanging social support online: A big-data analysis of IBS patients’ interactions on an online health forum from 2008 to 2012 • Fan Yang, Pennsylvania State University; Bu Zhong, Pennsylvania State University • This research conducts a big-data analysis to examine why IBS patients offered social support to peer patients on an online health forum. Social network analysis of 90,965 messages shared among 9,369 patients from 2008-2012 suggests that although having received support from others encourages individuals to offer support in the online community, being able to help others previously also emerges as a significant and long-lasting impetus for social support provision online. Reciprocating support with one another, however, prevents one from keeping offering support on the forum over time. Furthermore, based on sentiment analysis, it is indicated that the extent to which one could freely express emotions for support seeking also serves as a significant predictor for the amount of social support he/she could obtain from others. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

To entertain or to scare? A meta-analytic review on the persuasiveness of emotional appeals in health messages • Fan Yang, Pennsylvania State University; Jinyoung Kim, The Pennsylvania State University • This research conducts a meta-analytic review on the how appealing to positive vs. negative emotions in health messages could persuade. Emotional appeals significantly enhance the persuasiveness of health messages on cognition, attitude, and intention, but not on actual behavior. Appealing to negative rather than positive emotions appears to be more persuasive. Furthermore, richer formats of presentations of health messages are significantly more effective than plain texts. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

A Disagreement on Consensus: A Measured Critique of the Gateway Belief Model and Consensus Messaging Research • Graham Dixon, Washington State University • The newly developed Gateway Belief Model suggests the key to scientific beliefs is one’s perception of a scientific consensus. However, inconsistent findings question the explanatory power of the model and its application. This paper provides further depth to the explanatory power of the model, suggesting consensus messages affect audience segments in different ways. This nuanced perspective of the model can usher in future research seeking to close belief gaps between the lay public and experts.

Communicating inaction-framed risk: Reducing the omission bias via internal causal attribution • Graham Dixon, Washington State University • Despite identical outcomes derived from actions or inactions, people often experience more intense affective reactions toward action-framed outcomes. This “omission bias” presents challenges to communicating various risks. Reporting on two experiments, findings suggest that the omission bias occurs across various risk topics and message stimuli. Importantly, dimensions of causal attribution, such as locus of causality and stability, play a mediating role on the omission bias. Recommendations are made for more effective risk communication practices.

You Win or We Lose: A Conditional Indirect Effect Model of Message Framing in Communicating the Risks of Hydraulic Fracturing • Guanxiong Huang, Michigan State University; Kang Li; Hairong Li • This study explores the effects of message framing and reference frame on risk perception and associated behavior intent. Using an environmental hazard of hydraulic fracturing as an example, a 2 (message framing: gain vs. loss) × 2 (reference frame: self vs. group) between-subject experiment shows significant interaction effects between message framing and reference frame, in that gain-framed message paired with self-referencing frame is most effective in enhancing risk perception whereas the loss-framed message paired with group-referencing frame is most effective in increasing willingness to sign a petition to ban hydraulic fracturing. More theoretical and practical implications for environmental risk communication and persuasive message design are discussed.

Messages Promoting Genetically Modified Crops in the Context of Climate Change: Evidence for Psychological Reactance • Hang Lu, Cornell University; Katherine McComas; John Besley, Michigan State University • Genetic modification (GM) of crops and climate change are arguably two of today’s most challenging science communication issues. Increasingly, these two issues are connected in messages proposing GM as a viable option for ensuring global food security threatened by climate change. This study examines the effects of messages promoting the benefits of GM in the context of climate change. Further, it examines whether attributing the context to “climate change” vs. “global warming” vs. “no cue” leads to different effects. An online sample of U.S. participants (N=1,050) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: “climate change” cue, “global warming” cue, no cue, or control (no message). Compared to the control, all other conditions increased positive attitudes toward GM. However, the “no cue” condition led to liberals having more positive attitudes and behavioral intentions toward GM than the “climate change” cue condition, an effect mediated by message evaluations.

An Enhanced Theory of Planned Behaviour Perspective: Health Information Seeking on Smartphones Among Domestic Workers • Hattie Liew; Hiu Ying Christine Choy • This exploratory study investigates the antecedents of health information seeking via mobile smartphone (HISM) among migrant domestic workers. 320 Filipina workers in Hong Kong were surveyed. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) was extended with health literacy and external factors like needs of workers’ family as predictors of HISM intention. Findings support the TPB as a predictor of HISM and suggest the importance facilitating health information literacy and technical know-how among migrant domestic workers.

Need for Autonomy as a Motive for Valuing Fairness in Risk Communication • Hwanseok Song, Cornell University • Research shows that people strive to restore autonomy after experiencing its deprivation. An experiment was used to test whether people’s need for autonomy explains why they value non-outcome fairness (i.e., procedural, interpersonal, informational) in risk management contexts. Partial support was found for this effect, moderated by attitudes toward the risk itself. After experiencing autonomy-deprivation, participants who were more negative about the risk valued non-outcome fairness more and technical competence of the risk manager less.

Humor Effects in Advertising on Human Papillomavirus (HPV): The Role of Information Salience, Humor Level, and Objective Knowledge • Hye Jin Yoon; Eunjin (Anna) Kim, Southern Methodist University • As human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States, it is imperative that health communicators seek message strategies that educate the public on prevention and treatment. Guided by the elaboration likelihood model (ELM), an experimental study tested the effects of sexually transmitted disease (STD) information salience, humor level, and objective knowledge in HPV public service advertisements (PSAs). The findings show objective knowledge moderating responses to advertisements varying in STD information salience and humor levels. Theoretical implications for humor and knowledge effects in health communication and practical implications regarding the design and targeting of HPV campaigns are provided.

Media Use and Antimicrobial Resistance Misinformation and Misuse: Survey Evidence of Information Channels and Fatalism in Augmenting a Global Health Threat • Jacob Groshek, Boston University; James Katz; Chelsea Cutino; Qiankun Zhong • Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is giving rise to a global public health threat that is not reflected in public opinion of AMR. This study thus proceeds to examine which individuals among the general public are more likely to be misinformed about AMR and report misusing AMR-related products. Specifically, traditional media (newspaper, radio, television) consumption and social media use are modeled as factors which may not only reinforce but perpetuate AMR misinformation and misuse.

Who is Scared of the Ebola Outbreak? The Influence of Discrete Emotions on Risk Perception • Janet Yang; Haoran Chu • Utilizing the appraisal tendency framework, this study analyzed discrete emotion’s influence on the U.S. public’s risk perception and support for risk mitigation measures. An experimental survey based on a nationally representative sample showed that discrete emotions were significantly related to public risk perception. Further, fear exhibited an inhibitive effect on the relationship between systematic processing of risk information and institutional mitigation support. Systematic processing, in contrast, had the most consistent impact on mitigation support.

Sexual Health Intervention Messaging: Proof Positive that Sex Negative Messages are Less Persuasive • Jared Brickman • As comprehensive sexual health education programs are adopted by universities, there is a need to evaluate what messaging approaches might connect best with students. This study measured reactions to sex positive or negative messages, framed as a gain or loss. Participants evaluated 24 messages on their mobile phones. Gain framing was preferred over loss framing, and sex positive messages were rated as more believable and persuasive. An interaction between the two concepts was also found.

Examining the Differential Effects of Emotions: Anxiety, Despair, and Informed Futility   • Jay Hmielowski, Washington State University; Rebecca Donaway, Washington State University; Yiran Wang, Washington State University • Using survey data collected during the fall of 2015, we examine the role of different emotions in increasing and decreasing active information seeking and processing behaviors. We replicate results from the Risk Information Seeking and Processing (RISP) model focusing on anxiety as a key variable that triggers these active information seeking behaviors. We also test the informed futility hypothesis, which proposes that learning about an issue leads people to become disengaged with solving the problem.

Public Support for Energy Portfolios in Canada: How Cost and National Energy Portfolios Affect Public Perception of Energy Technologies • Jens Larson; Jiawei Liu, Washington State University; Zena Zena Edwards; Kayla Wakulich; Amanda Boyd, Washington State University • In this study, we examine current energy perceptions in Canada, exploring how regional differences of current electricity-producing energy portfolios and evaluable information affect support for energy sources. Our results show that individuals support electricity-producing energy portfolios that vary significantly by region. We demonstrate through the use of a portfolio approach that evaluable information could significantly change support for electricity-producing energy technologies.

The effects of gain vs. loss framed medical and religious breast cancer survivor testimonies on attitudes and behaviors of African-American female viewers • Jensen Moore, University of Oklahoma • African-American women are at elevated risk for the most advanced form of breast cancer due to late detection. This 2 (Message Type: Religious/Medical) X 2 (Message Frame: Loss/Gain) X 4 (Message Replication) experiment examined breast cancer narratives aimed at African-American women ages 35-55 who had not had breast cancer. Narratives contained medical/religious messages and gain/loss frames. Effects of the narratives on attitude, credibility, behavioral intent, arousal and emotions were examined. Results suggest medical, gain framed narratives were the most effective. Specifically, gain framed narratives increased attitudes, mammogram behavioral intentions, arousal, and positive emotions while medical narratives increased credibility, mammogram behavioral intentions, and arousal.

Gap in Scientific Knowledge and the Role of Science Communication in South Korea • Jeong-Heon Chang; Sei-Hill Kim; Myung-Hyun Kang; Jae Chul Shim; Dong Hoon Ma • Using data from a national survey of South Koreans, this study explores the role of science communication in enhancing three different forms of scientific knowledge (factual, procedural, and subjective). We first assess learning effects, looking at the extent to which citizens learn science from different channels of communication (interpersonal discussions, traditional newspapers, television, online newspapers, and social media). We then look closely into the knowledge gap hypothesis, investigating how different channels of communication can either widen or narrow the gap in scientific knowledge between social classes. Our data indicated that among the four mass media channels examined, television was the most heavily-used source for science information in South Korea. Also, television was found to function as a “knowledge leveler,” narrowing the gap between highly and less educated individuals. The role of online newspapers in science learning is pronounced in our research. Reading newspapers online indicated a positive relationship to all three measures of scientific knowledge. Contrary to the knowledge-leveling effect of television viewing, reading online newspapers was found to increase, rather than decrease, the gap in knowledge. Implications of our findings are discussed in detail.

Beyond the worried well: Emotional states and education levels predict online health information seeking • Jessica Myrick, Indiana University; Jessica Willoughby • This study combined conceptual frameworks from health and risk information seeking, appraisal theory of emotions, and social determinants of health literatures to examine how emotional states and socioeconomic status individually and jointly predict online health information seeking. Using nationally representative data from the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS 4, Cycle 3), we found that different discrete emotions predicted information seeking in different ways. Moreover, education levels interacted with anxiety to predict online information seeking.

The Effect on Young Women of Public Figure Health Narratives regarding HPV: An Application of the Elaboration Likelihood Model • Jo-Yun Queenie Li • “The Genital Human Papillomavirus (also called HPV), the most common STD which causes virtually all cases of cervical cancer in the U.S, has been overlooked by society due to a lack of knowledge and stigma surrounding STDs. This study explores the effectiveness of public figure health narratives and different media platforms on young women’s awareness of HPV and their behavioral intentions to receive vaccination. An online between-groups experiment with 275 participants based on the Elaboration Likelihood Model revealed that the effectiveness of public figure health narratives on individuals’ awareness and behavioral intentions are maximized when the messages appear in newspapers rather than in social media, and when the message recipients are in high involvement conditions. The interaction among the three variables is discussed, along with implications for health communication and HPV promotion campaigns.”

“I believe what I see:” Students’ use of media, issue engagement, and the perceived responsibility regarding campus sexual assault • Jo-Yun Queenie Li; Jane O’Boyle, University of South Carolina; Sei-Hill Kim • The topic of campus sexual assault has received much news media attention recently, prompting scholars to examine media effects on students’ attitudes and behaviors regarding the issue. Our survey with 567 college students examines how students’ media use have influenced their engagement with the issue of campus sexual assault and their perceived responsibility regarding the issue, looking particularly at the question of who is responsible and the perceptions of rape myths. Results revealed that newspapers’ coverage regarding campus sexual assault may contribute to college students’ victim-blaming and enduring victim myths. However, these may be minimized by raising students’ perceived importance about the issue. And the most effective media channel in which to increase students’ perceived importance is social media. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Cultural Representations of Gender and Science: Portrayals of Female STEM Professionals in Popular Films 2002-2014 • Jocelyn Steinke, Western Michigan University; Paola Paniagua Tavarez, Western Michigan University • This study focused on a textual analysis that examined representations of female STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) characters in speaking roles and portrayals of female STEM characters in lead, co-lead, and secondary roles in popular films that featured STEM characters from 2002 to 2014. Findings indicated that female were outnumbered by male STEM characters in speaking roles by 2 to 1. Portrayals of female STEM characters were varied. Some portrayals revealed gender stereotypes although scientist stereotypes were rare. Most female STEM character were portrayed as equal members of research teams, almost all portrayals focused on their attractiveness, and about half of the portrayals highlighted their romantic relationships. The findings from this study were compared with those from previous research in order to trace changes in cinematic representation and portrayals of female STEM characters over time. A discussion of the implications for future research in this area and implications for broadening participation in STEM will be addressed.

“You Made Me Want to Smoke”: Adaptive and Maladaptive Responses to Tweets from an Anti-Smoking Campaign using Protection Motivation Theory • Jordan Alpert, Virginia Commonwealth University; Linda Desens • The F.D.A. developed the Real Cost campaign to prevent and reduce the number of teens who experiment with smoking and become lifelong tobacco users. The $115 multimedia campaign utilizes channels such as television, radio, print and online, including social media. Since social media allows for interaction and immediate feedback, this study analyzed how Twitter users responded to anti-smoking messages containing fear-appeals created by the Real Cost. Over 300 tweets exchanged between a Twitter user and @KnowtheRealCost were gathered between 2015 and 2016. Through the lens of Protection Motivation Theory, content analysis discovered that 67% (220) of responses were maladaptive and 33% (111) of tweets were adaptive (intercoder reliability, κ = .818). Iterative analysis was also performed to identify and categorize themes occuring within threat and coping appraisals. For threat appraisals, it was found that perceived vulnerability was lessened due to incidence of the boomerang effect, perceived severity was reduced by comparison to other dangerous activities, and rewards included relaxation and reduced anxiety. Coping appraisals included evidence of self-efficacy and social support. Results of the study indicated that although users reacted in a maladaptive manner, Twitter can be a powerful platform to test messages, interact with users and reinforce efficacious behavior.

“Pass the Ban!” An Examination of the Denton, Texas, Fracking Ban • Judson Meeks, Texas Tech University • This paper examines how groups on both sides of the fracking debate presented their cases to the public by conducting a visual and textual analysis to examine campaign materials. The study found that anti-fracking advocates presented the issue as one about local control and unity, whereas the pro-fracking advocates presented the issue as an economic threat the local community and the financial well-being of future generations.

Promoting Healthy Behavior through Social Support in Mobile Health Applications • Jung Won Chun, University of Florida; Jieun Cho; Sylvia Chan-Olmsted, University of Florida • Mobile health applications serve as a venue for promoting personal well-being by allowing users to engage in health-promoting behavior, such as sharing health information and health status/activities with each other. Through social interactions enabled by mobile health apps, people are likely to engage in healthy behavior and well-being with support from others. The current study explored which factors of smartphone use and motives for using health applications influence the perceived social support from mobile health applications. It also investigated the effect of perceived control as a mediating variable on the relationship between perceived social support in the applications and healthy behavior and well-being. The results showed that perceived social interaction and technological convenience were the main predictors of perceived social support in mobile health apps, which have indirect effects on exercise and perception of well-being. Perceived control positively mediated the relationship between perceived social support in the applications of both exercise and well-being.

Are you talking to me? Testing the value of Asian-specific messages as benefits to donating healthy breast tissue • Kelly Kaufhold, Texas State University; Yunjuan Luo; Autumn Shafer, University of Oregon • The Komen Tissue Bank at the Indiana University collects breast tissue samples from volunteers but suffers from a dearth of donations from Asian women. This two-part study was devised to test messages targeting Asian women. Applying Health Belief Model to a survey and five focus groups, low perceived susceptibility and severity yielded increased barriers and lower benefits among Asian women. Asian-specific messages showed significantly higher benefits for Asian women who suggested even more Asian-specific messaging.

Sources of Information About Emergency Contraception: Associations with Women’s Knowledge and Intentions to Use • Kyla Garrett, University of North Carolina; Laura Widman; Jacqueline Nesi; Seth Noar • Emergency contraception (EC) is a highly effective form of birth control that may lower rates of unintended pregnancy among young women. Currently, lack of adequate information and misunderstandings about EC hamper efforts to disseminate EC to women who need it. The purpose of this study was to determine the sources from which women had learned about EC (including health care providers, friends or interpersonal sources, media sources, or no information sources), and to examine whether source credibility was associated with accuracy of knowledge about EC and intentions to use EC. Participants were 339 college women (M age = 18.4) who reported where they had received information about EC, if anywhere, along with their EC knowledge and behavioral intentions. In total, 97% of women had heard of EC from at least one source and 49% indicated they were highly likely to use EC in the future, if needed. Results demonstrated significant positive relationships among higher credibility of EC information sources, more accurate EC knowledge, and greater intentions to use EC. Moreover, EC knowledge mediated the relationship between source credibility and intentions to use EC. Future EC education efforts should capitalize on credible information sources to positively influence EC knowledge and increase uptake of EC in emergency situations. Additional research is needed to examine the content, quality, and frequency of messages young women receive about EC.

Stymied by a wealth of health information: How viewing conflicting information online diminishes efficacy • Laura Marshall, UNC Chapel Hill; Maria Leonora Comello, UNC Chapel Hill • Confusing information about cancer screening proliferates online, particularly around mammography and prostate antigen testing. Whereas some online content may highlight the effectiveness of these tests in preventing cancer, other sources warn these tests may be ineffective or may cause harm. Across two experiments, we found support for the notion that exposure to conflicting information decreases self-efficacy and response efficacy, potentially discouraging the likelihood of behavior change that could prevent cancer.

Thematic/Episodic and Gain/Loss Framing in Mental Health News: How Combined Frames Influences Support for Policy and Civic Engagement Intentions • Lesa Major • This current research tests whether changing the way online stories frame depression affects how audience members attribute responsibility for depression and their civic engagement intentions towards policy solutions for depression. This study uses two framing approaches: 1) emphasis on an individual diagnosed with and living with depression (individualizing the coverage or episodic framing) and 2) emphasis on depression in more general or broader context (thematic or societal framing).This research examines gain (emphasizes benefits – e.g. lives saved) and loss (emphasizes costs – lives lost) frames to measure the interaction effects of frames (e.g. thematic-loss coverage or episodic-gain coverage) in news stories .A significant contribution of this research is the construction of the episodic frame. Findings of this research indicated loss-framed stories increased support for mental health policy solutions for depression, but the episodic frame increased societal attribution of responsibility for causes associated with depression.

Obesity News: The Effects of Framing and Uncertainty on Policy Support and Civic Engagement Intentions • Lesa Major • This study examined the effects of episodic (individual) frames and thematic (societal) frames in news on the causes (causal attribution) of and treatments (treatment attribution) for obesity. Interactions are investigated in this research by including gain and loss frames. Gain and loss frames have been examined in health messages, but have not received as much scholarly attention in terms of framing effects in health news. Finally, this study explored the effects of uncertainty and certainty on responsibility attribution. Findings suggest combined frames could influence support for obesity related policies.

Examining Ad Appeals in Over-the-Counter Drug Advertising in Japan • Mariko Morimoto, Sophia University • A quantitative content analysis of Japanese OTC drug TV commercials broadcasted during prime time was conducted to provide an overview of pharmaceutical advertising in Japan. In the sample of 204 ads, nutritional supplement drinks were the most frequently advertised drug category. Ad appeals including effective, safe, and quick-acting were popular. Additionally, these ads predominantly used a product merit approach, and celebrity endorsers, particularly actors/actresses and “talents” (such as TV personnel and comedians), were frequently featured.

Effects of Persuasive Health Information on Attitude Change and Health Behavioral Intentions in Mobile Social Media • Miao Miao; Qiuxia Yang; Pei-Shan Hsieh • Previous research has shown that online health information suffers from low credibility. Drawing on the elaboration-likelihood model (ELM), the central and peripheral routes were operationalized in this study using the argument quality and source credibility constructs respectively. We further examined how these influence processes were moderated by receivers’ health expertise. A between-groups, 2 (argument quality) × 4 (source of credibility) factorial design was tested from WeChat which is the dominant mobile social media in China.

Health Literacy and Health Information Technology Adoption: The Potential for a New Digital Divide • Michael Mackert, The University of Texas at Austin; Amanda Mabry, The University of Texas at Austin; Sara Champlin, The University of North Texas; Erin Donovan, The University of Texas at Austin; Kathrynn Pounders, The University of Texas at Austin • Approximately one-half of American adults exhibit low health literacy. Health information technology (HIT) makes health information available directly to patients through electronic forms including patient portals, wearable technology, and mobile apps. In this study, patients with low health literacy were less likely to use HIT or perceive it as easy/useful, but perceived information on HIT as private. There is room to improve HIT so that health information can be managed among patients of all abilities.

Sharing Health-Related Information on Facebook: An Integrated Model • Ming-Ching Liang, Metropolitan State University • This study proposes a model that explains proactive and reactive information sharing behaviors. In the context of sharing influenza-related information on Facebook, a survey study (N=338) was conducted. Results confirmed the applicability of the proposed information sharing model in current research context. Perceived norms of information sharing, need for self-presentation on SNSs, and sense of virtual community were identified as predictors for proactive and reactive information sharing behaviors. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

The Impact of Fear Appeals in The Tailored Public Service Announcements Context • Nam Young Kim, Sam Houston State University • In the context of an anti-binge drinking health campaign, this study particularly tested how the emotional content (i.e., fear appeals) in tailored messages influences people’s messages processing as well as their attitudinal/behavioral changes. Using a 2 (regulatory fit: fit vs. non-fit) X 2 (level of fear appeals: low vs. high) experimental design, the findings indicate that the influence of tailored messages should be discussed cautiously, because the tailored message’s effectiveness is reduced when combined with a high fear appeal. The findings have theoretical and practical implications on the use of emotional appeals in tailored communication.

Testing the effects of dialogic communication on attitudes and behavioral intentions related to polarized and non-polarized scientific issues • Nicole Lee, Texas Tech University • Dialogue has been presented as an alternative to the deficit model. This online experiment tested the impact of dialogue on trust in science, relationship qualities, and behavioral intentions. In order to examine the influence of political polarization, the issues of climate change and space exploration were compared. Dialogue significantly affected relationship qualities and behavioral intentions for space exploration, but not climate change. Results serve to integrate public relations theory and science communication scholarship.

Science in the social media age: Profiles of science blog readers • Paige Jarreau, Louisiana State University; Lance Porter, Louisiana State University • Science blogs have become an increasingly important component of the ecosystem of science news on the Internet. Yet we know little about science blog users. The goal of this study was to investigate who reads science blogs and why. Through a survey of 2,955 readers of 40 randomly selected science blogs, we created profiles of science blog users based on demographic and science media use patterns. We identified three clusters of science blog readers. Super users indicated reading science blogs for a wide range of reasons, including for community seeking purposes. One-way entertainment users indicated reading blogs more for entertainment and ambiance. Unique information seeking users indicated reading blogs more for specific information not found elsewhere. But regardless of science blog users’ motivations to read, they are sophisticated consumers of science media possessing high levels of scientific knowledge.

Using Weight-of-Experts Messaging to Communicate Accurately about Contested Science • Patrice Kohl; Sharon Dunwoody, University of Wisconsin-Madison • Research indicates that balanced news coverage of opposing scientific claims can result in heightened uncertainty among audiences about what is true. In this study, we test the ability of a weight-of-experts statement to enhance individuals’ ability to distinguish between more and less valid claims. An experiment found that the WOE narrative led participants to greater certainty about what scientists believed to be true, which made participants more likely to “buy in” to that belief.

Framing climate change: Competitive frames and the moderating effects of partisanship on environmental behavior • Porismita Borah • The present study conducted both focus groups and experiments to understand the influence of frames on environmental behavior intention. The focus groups and the first experiment were conducted with undergraduate students for pilot testing while the main experiment used an U.S. national sample. Findings show that a message with elements from both problem-solving and catastrophe frames increases individuals’ environmental behavior intention. This relationship is moderated by political ideology, such that only those participants who identified as Democrats and Independents showed more willingness to pro-environmental behavior. Over all, Republications were low on pro-environmental behavior intention compared to the Democrats. But within the Republicans, participants showed more likelihood for pro-environmental behavior intention in the catastrophe framed condition. Implications are discussed.

Abstract or Concrete? A Construal-level Perspective of Climate Change Images in U.S. Print Newspapers • Ran Duan, Michigan State University; Bruno Takahashi; Adam Zwickle; Kevin Duffy, Michigan State University; Jack Nissen, Michigan State University • Climate change is one of the most severe societal environmental risks that call for immediate actions in our age; however, the impacts of climate change are often perceived to be psychologically distant at a high level of construal. This research presents an initial exploration of newspapers’ visual representations of climate change using a construal-level perspective. Focusing on the recent years from 2012 to 2015, this study content analyzed a total of 635 news images with regards to image themes and nine other factors in relation to construal level (e.g., image formats, chromatic characteristics, etc.) Unexpectedly, the results show that overall, climate change has been visually portrayed as a relatively concrete rather than abstract issue and has mostly been portrayed with a high level of specificity. In particular, USA Today visually covered the issue as most concrete, followed by the New York Times, and Wall Street Journal. Human themed images were the most concrete images as compared to nature themed and industry themed images. Findings indicate that construal level aspects in the news images provide another way of understanding and interpreting climate change imagery in the media in the U.S.

“Standing up for science”: The blurring lines between biotechnology research, science communication, and advocacy • Rebecca Harrison, Cornell University • Targeted for their vocal support for genetic engineering and their work in science outreach, upwards of 50 academic agricultural biotechnologists have received Freedom of Information (FOIA) requests since February 2015. The U.S. Right to Know (US-RTK), a self-described watchdog organization who filed the requests, sought to uncover any conflicts of interest (COI) between industry and tax-payer-funded scientific research on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The action has been called a “witch hunt” and “bullying” by supporters of the scientists, and an October 2015 Nature Biotechnology Editorial challenges its audience to “stand up for science” in the wake of this “smear campaign.” The dominant view of science communication is rooted in the idealized assumption that the very act of communication is nothing more than an apolitical transfer of a simplified version of scientific knowledge. The conceptualization of general COI by the scientific community often reflects this outdated framework. But, as scientists become politically engaged as advocates for their own work, this framework is challenged. Using the 2015 case of biotechnology researchers and records requests, this paper explores the question: Why is “scientific outreach” often considered categorically different than “research” — both structurally at the university level, but also as a distinction internalized by these particular scientists — and therefore perceived as immune to charges of COI?

Effects of Heuristic-Systematic Information Processing about Flu and Flu Vaccination • SangHee Park, University of Michigan, Dearborn • This study applied the heuristic-systematic model (HSM) in order to explore risk perceptions of flu and the flu vaccination because the HSM explains individual’s information processing as an antecedent to attitude. Accordingly, this study examined how people process different types of risk information applying a 2 (Message framing: heuristic information message vs. systematic information message) by 2 (expert source vs. non-expert source) online experiment. The experiment found that risk perception of flu illness was positively related to benefit perception of the flu vaccination. The result also indicated that heuristic messages affected risk perception of the flu vaccination, but not flu illness perception. Implications and limitations of these findings were discussed.

Exploring the Multi-Faceted Interpersonal Communication Strategies Used By College Students to Discuss Stress • Sara Champlin, The University of North Texas; Gwendelyn Nisbett, University of North Texas • Mental health issues are a prevalent problem on college campuses yet stigma remains. We examine patterns of college students either seeking help for personal stress or providing help to a stressed friend. Textual analysis was used to extract themes of participant comments and identify common behaviors. Results suggest that students use direct, indirect, and avoidant approaches to addressing stress with friends. Distinctions are blurred in self help-seeking behavior. Implications for creating interpersonal campaigns are discussed.

“Warrior Moms”: Audience Engagement and Advocacy in Spreading Information About Maternal Mental Illness Online • Sarah Smith-Frigerio, University of Missouri • One in seven women will experience a maternal mental illness, yet little is known about why individuals seek information about maternal mental illness and treatments, or how they make use of messages they find. By employing a grounded theoretical approach, involving a close reading of Postpartum Progress, the world’s most read online site concerning maternal mental illness, as well as analysis of semi-structured audience interviews of 21 users of the site, this study contributes a more nuanced understanding of how participants use information and peer support on the site. In addition, the research explores how participants move beyond seeking information anonymously online about a stigmatized mental illness or use private support forums for peer support, to engage in online and offline advocacy efforts.

From Scientific Evidence to Art: Guidelines to Prevent Digital Manipulation in Cell Biology and Nanoscience Journals • Shiela Reaves, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Steven Nolan, University of Wisconsin-Madison • As technological advances have made it easier to digitally manipulate images, the scientific community faces a major issue regarding ethics of visual data. A content analysis of editorial guidelines for the scientific images in cell biology and nanoscience journals demonstrates differences between the two disciplines. Cell biology images in high impact journals receive detailed guidelines about digital manipulation. However, nanoscience journals and low-impact journals have less detailed instructions to prevent misleading visual data.

The Influence of Internal, External, and Response Efficacy on Climate Change-Related Political Participation • Sol Hart, University of Michigan; Lauren Feldman, Rutgers University • This study examined how changing the type and valence of efficacy information in climate change news stories may impact political participation through the mediators of perceived internal, external, and response efficacy. Stories including positive internal efficacy content increased perceived internal efficacy, while stories including negative external efficacy content lowered perceived external efficacy. Perceived internal, external, and response efficacy all offered unique, positive associations with intentions to engage in climate change-related political participation.

Recycling Intention Promotes Attitudinal and Procedural Information Seeking • Sonny Rosenthal; Leung Yan Wah • Information seeking is more likely to occur when the information has utility to the seeker. Prior scholarship discusses this property of information in terms of instrumental utility and, more recently, informational utility. Research on information seeking describes various factors that may motivate information search, but none has directly modeled behavioral intention as an antecedent. The current study examines the effect of recycling intention on intention to seek two kinds of information: attitudinal and procedural. Results show strong effects, which suggest that in the context of recycling, information seeking may serve functions of behavioral and defensive adaptation. Additional findings suggest that recycling personal norms and recycling-related negative affect influence information seeking, albeit indirectly, as forms of cognitive and affective adaptation. Results have implications for selective exposure theory and the practice of environmental communication.

The Effects of Environmental Risk Perception, and Beliefs in Genetic Determinism and Behavioral Action on Cancer Fatalism • Soo Jung Hong, Huntsman Cancer Institute • This study investigates the effects of environmental risk perception, and beliefs in genetic determinism and behavioral action regarding cancer development on cancer fatalism, as well as the moderation effect of education and the mediating role of environmental risk perception on those associations. Nationally representative data from the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) 2013 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) was employed. Findings reveal interesting and meaningful dynamics between those variables and suggest directions for future research.

Perceptions of Sexualized and Non-Sexualized Images of Women in Alcohol Advertisements: Exploring Factors Associated with Intentions to Sexually Coerce • Stacey Hust; Kathleen Rodgers; Stephanie Ebreo; Nicole O’Donnell, Washington State University • The purpose of this study was to identify factors associated with college students’ intentions to sexually coerce. An experiment was conducted with (N= 1,234) participants from a college sample. One condition was exposed to sexualized alcohol advertisements and a second condition to non-sexualized alcohol advertisements. Identifying as a man, adherence to traditional gender roles and heterosexual scripts, and exposure to alcohol advertisements with sexualized images of women were positively associated with intentions to sexually coerce.

Enabling Tailored Message Campaigns: Discovering and Targeting the Attitudes and Behaviors of Young Arab Male Drivers • Susan Dun, Northwestern University in Qatar; Syed Owais Ali, Northwestern University in Qatar; Rouda almeghaiseeb, Northwestern University in Qatar • Citing the preventable nature of traffic accidents and the unacceptably high number of causalities, the World Health Organization recently issued an international call for action to combat the needless loss of life and injuries (Nebehay, 2015). Because of dangerous driving behaviors 18-25 year old men are the highest the risk group for accidents, yet they are resistant to typical risk communications. Young Arab men are particularly at risk within this group. The study reported here discovered the driving attitudes and behavioral intentions of young Arab men to enable communication campaigns to specifically tailor persuasive messages for this high-risk yet understudied group in a bid to save lives and decrease the injuries from accidents. We suspected that they are high sensation seeking, fatalistic, and as members of a collectivistic, masculine culture, likely to engage in risking driving behaviors. Using a culturally contextualized focus group setting, we confirmed that they fatalistic, value assertive driving by equating good driving with high-risk behaviors, dislike fear appeals and blame other drivers for accidents. Suggestions for risk communication campaigns are provided. We discovered tensions in their belief systems that could provide an avenue for persuasive messaging, by exposing the contradictions and resolving them in a pro-attitudinal direction. Basic safety beliefs need to be targeted as well, such as the importance of seat belts and defensive driving. Finally, a novel campaign that is not recognizable as a dramatic or sad safe driving campaign is a must, especially initially, or the message is likely to be ignored.

MERS and the Social Media Impact Hypothesis: How Message Format and Style Affect TPE & Perceived Risk • T. Makana Chock, Syracuse University; Soojin Roh, Syracuse University • This study examined the effects of narrative transportation and message context on third person effects (TPE), perceived risk, and behavioral intentions. A 2 (Format: Narrative/Factual news) X 2 (Context: news site, news story on Facebook page) plus 1 (personal account on a Facebook page) between-subject experimental design (N=269) conducted in South Korea examined the differences between reading news stories about the risks of The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in different media contexts – online news sites and Facebook pages – and different formats — narrative, factual, and personal accounts. TPE were found for factual news stories read on news sites, but not for the same story when it was read on a Facebook page. Narrative versions of the story elicited greater transportation and limited TPE regardless of whether the news stories were read on news sites or Facebook pages. TPE was found for personal accounts read on a Facebook page. Source credibility and identification were found to partially mediate the relationship between narrative transportation and perceived story effects on self. In turn, perceived effects on self contributed to personal risk perceptions and risk-prevention behaviors.

Tracking public attitudes toward climate change over time: The declining roles of risk perception and concern • Tsung-Jen Shih, National Chengchi University; Min-Hsin Su; Mei-Ling Hsu • Increasing public risk perception of and concern over climate change has long been regarded as an effective strategy to motivate environmental-friendly behaviors. However, the levels of risk perception and concern may be volatile. For one thing, people may deny the existence of climate change when they feel threatened and, at the same time, do not know what to do. Furthermore, the concept of “issue fatigue” may occur when people are chronically exposed to threatening information. Based on two nationally representative telephone surveys conducted in Taiwan (2013 and 2015), this study examines how people’s risk perception and concern may change over time and whether the impacts on the adoption of pro-environmental behaviors will be different. The results indicate that, although people were more likely to take actions aimed at mitigating climate change in 2015 than in 2013, the levels of risk perception and concern declined significantly. Regression analyses also showed that the effects of risk perception and concern were moderated by time. Implications of the findings will be discussed.

On the Ever-growing Number of Frames in Health Communication Research: A Coping Strategy • Viorela Dan; Juliana Raupp • Recent years have brought a large number of studies citing framing as a theoretical guide in science and health communication research. Keeping track of this literature has become increasingly difficult due to a “frustrating tendenc[y]… to generate a unique set of frames for every study” (Hertog & McLeod, 2001, p. 151). In this study, in an attempt to assist those intending to keep track of this literature, we report the results of a systematic review of literature on news frames in the media coverage of health risks. In the studies scrutinized (k = 35), we found forty-five frame-names for just fifteen frames. They were: attribution of responsibility, action, thematic, episodic, medical, consequences, human interest, health severity, economic consequences, gain, loss, conflict, uncertainty, alarmist, and reassurance. In the paper, we address the overlap between some of these frames and other concepts and frameworks. Also, as some frames entail others or intersect with others, we provide a visualization of how frames relate to each other (see Figure 1). We suggest that building framing theory is stalled by the use of various frame-names for the same frames; yet, we realize that scholars using framing in their studies may follow other goals than building framing theory. However, those new to the field may have difficulty coping with the ever-growing number of frames. In this regard, we hope that our systematic review can help towards reaching consistency, a characteristic indispensable to any theory.

Who Are Responsible for HPV Vaccination? Examination of Male Young Adults’ Perceptions • Wan Chi Leung • HPV vaccination is an important public health issue, but past research has mostly been done on the HPV vaccination for females. An online survey was conducted on Amazon Mechanical Turk, and responses from 656 males aged 18-26 in the United States were analyzed. Attributing the responsibilities for getting HPV-related diseases more to women and to the self were associated with weaker support for the HPV vaccination for males. Attributing the responsibilities for getting the HPV vaccine more to women and to the self were associated with stronger support for the HPV vaccination for males. Findings point to suggestions for future promotions of the HPV vaccination for males.

Media Use, Risk Perception and Precautionary Behavior toward Haze Issue in China • Xiaohua Wu; Xigen Li • The study examined to what degree people’s risk perception of the haze in China was affected by mass media exposure, social network sites involvement and direct experience towards haze. The risk perception was examined in two levels: social risk perception and personal risk perception. Impersonal Impact Hypothesis was tested in the digital media context. The study also explores the influencing factors of precautionary behaviors. The key findings include: 1) mass media exposure and SNS involvement regarding haze issue mediate the effect of direct experience on risk perception; 2) Impersonal Impact Hypothesis was not supported in the context of multi-channel and interactive communication; 3) vulnerability slightly moderates the effect of mass media exposure on personal risk perception; 4) mass media exposure and SNS involvement positively affect precautionary behavior mediated through personal risk perception.

Expanding the RISP Model: Examining the Conditional Indirect Effects of Cultural Cognitions • Yiran Wang, Washington State University; Jay Hmielowski, Washington State University; Rebecca Donaway, Washington State University • This paper attempts to connect literature from the Risk Information Seeking and Processing model with the cultural cognitions literature. We do this by assessing the relationship between cultural cognitions and risk perceptions, then examine whether these risk perceptions are associated with the three outcomes of interest relative to the RISP model: Information seeking, systematic processing, and heuristic processing, through a full serial mediation model using 2015 data collected from ten watersheds communities across the U.S.

Introducing benefit of smoking in anti-smoking messages: Comparing passive and interactive inoculation based on Elaboration Likelihood Model • Yuchen Ren • This study tested the effect of message interactivity in inoculation (interactive inoculation message versus passive inoculation message) on children’s attitude towards smoking based on elaboration likelihood model. Eighty-two primary school students were recruited from Shenzhen, China. Experiment results showed that compared with passive inoculation message, interactive inoculation message generated more negative attitude towards smoking and higher involvement in both central route and peripheral route. Moreover, mediation analysis showed that only the central route indicator mediates the effect of message interactivity on children’s attitude towards smoking. In conclusion, this study not only introduces message interactivity to inoculation theory in smoking prevention context, but also reveals the mechanism of the proposed persuasion effect.

Adolescents’ Perceptions of E-cigarettes and Marketing Messages: A Focus Group Study • Yvonnes Chen; Chris Tilden; Dee Vernberg • “Prior research about e-cigarettes has rarely focused on young adolescents exclusively and explored their perceptions of the industry’s marketing efforts. This focus group study with adolescents (n=39) found that factors that motivate them to experiment with e-cigarettes (e.g., looking cool, curiosity, flavors) are identical to traditional tobacco uptake among adolescents. E-cigarette advertising was memorable because of color contrast, sleek design, and promised benefits. Restricting flavors and advertising may reduce e-cigarette experimentation and future tobacco use.”

Is a Picture Worth a Thousand Texts? Investigating the Influence of Visuals on Text-Based Health Intervention Content • Zhaomeng Niu; Yujung Nam; QIAN YU, Washington State University; Jared Brickman; Shuang Liu • Healthy eating and exercise among young people could curb obesity. Strong messaging is needed for weight loss interventions. This study evaluated the usefulness of visual appeals in text messages. A 2 (gain vs. loss) X 2 (picture vs. no picture) design with pretest and posttest questionnaires (N=107) revealed text-only messages with loss frames had an influence on affective risk response, while text messages with pictures had a positive effect on attitudes, intentions, and self-efficacy.

2016 Abstracts

Communication Technology 2016 Abstracts

Faculty Papers
Emerging media as instruments of political liberation and government repression in autocracies and democracies from 1995 to 2012 • Britt Christensen, Zayed University; Jacob Groshek, Boston University • This study empirically analyzed whether emerging media were instruments in cultivating anti-government protest as well as political purges. Here, we also examine potential differences between these phenomena in 162 democratic and autocratic countries over 18 years. The results of a series of analytic models suggest that higher levels of emerging media are positively associated with more instances of both outcomes, which have increased dramatically in recent years.

Political Fiction: Campaign Emails During the 2014 Midterm Election • Bryan McLaughlin, Texas Tech; Bailey Thompson, Texas Tech University; Amber Krause, Texas Tech University • This study employed a mixed-method analysis of one year’s worth of political emails. In doing so, we (1) draw attention to, and theorize about, the unique communication process of political emails, (2) compare and contrast the types of appeals, calls to action, and definitions of social reality the Democratic and Republican parties employed during the 2014 election, and (3) propose a novel theoretical account of how political polarization is exacerbated in the new media environment.

My News Feed is Filtered? Awareness of News Personalization Among College Students • Elia Powers, Towson University • This exploratory, two-part study examines whether college students are able to identify how news is selected and sorted on platforms that use personalization technology. Interviews with one set of students (n=37) focused on the news sources they rely most heavily upon. A survey given to a second set of students (n=147) focused on Google and Facebook. Results show that students’ awareness of news personalization is limited. Implications for journalism and mass communication education are discussed.

Senior Citizens’ Interactions on Facebook: The Effects of Social Networking Affordances on Psychological Well-Being • Eun Hwa Jung; S. Shyam Sundar, The Pennsylvania State University • This study investigated how senior citizens’ activities on Facebook are associated with intrinsic motivation and subjective well-being. A content analysis and an online survey with older (> 60 years) Facebook users (N = 202) revealed that profile customization and commenting are positively associated with feelings of autonomy and relatedness respectively, both predictors of enjoyment on Facebook. SEM analysis showed that posting photos is positively associated with a feeling of competence, which is related to well-being. Communication Technology (CTEC) Faculty Papers Structured Stories: Testing the Technical, Editorial, and Cultural Feasibility of a Computational Journalism Project Frank Michael Russell, University of Missouri School of Journalism; David Caswell, Structured Stories; Maggie Angst, University of Missouri School of Journalism; Hellen Tian, University of Missouri School of Journalism; Arthur Cook Bremer, University of Missouri School of Journalism; Hui-Hsien Tsai, University of Missouri School of Journalism; Esther Thorson, University of Missouri School of Journalism This study reports the results of tests of a new form of event-based structured journalism. Guided by mentors with professional journalism experience, student journalists tested the Structured Stories platform with reporting projects in New York City and a Midwestern state. We concluded that Structured Stories is technically and editorially feasible. Culturally, the student journalists’ response to Structured Stories echoed tension between traditional journalistic practices and a “quantitative turn” bringing computational thinking into newsrooms.

“Just One More Rep”: Using Fitness Apps and Competition to Motivate Performance and Evaluate Deception • Jared Brickman; Shuang Liu; Yujung Nam; Zhaomeng Niu; QIAN YU, Washington State University • Abstract. Fitness applications on smartphones are becoming increasingly popular. Feasibility studies suggest this new communication technology is usable, but questions remain about the extent the apps can motivate behavioral change. Using a lab experiment, this study asked how a fitness application and explicit statements of competition influence exercise outcomes. Participants in the app conditions completed more exercise, and people who were told they were competing used more deception when inputting their scores into the application.

Does anyone understand? A content analysis of health infographics on Pinterest • Jeanine Guidry, Virginia Commonwealth University; Jay Adams, Member; Shana Meganck; Marcus Messner, Virginia Commonwealth University; Richard D. Waters, University of San Francisco; Caroline Orr • A content analysis of 500 infographics on Pinterest studied the literacy levels, sources, health issue types, and presence/absence of sponsors. Results show that the combination of Pinterest and infographics is a powerful one – health communication specialists should consider Pinterest as a regular tool in their communications arsenal.

Human Control or Machine Control – Which do we Trust? The Role of Control and Machine Heuristics in Online Information Disclosure • Jinyoung Kim, The Pennsylvania State University; S. Shyam Sundar, The Pennsylvania State University • When making a purchase via our smartphones, do we feel more comfortable revealing our credit-card number to a machine agent rather than a human agent? Are we more likely to disclose personal information to a social media site that offers us control over privacy settings? An online experiment (N = 160) revealed that interface cues triggering the “machine heuristic” and one’s degree of belief in “control heuristic” predict self-disclosure. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Managing Disclosure through Social Media: How Snapchat is Shaking Boundaries of Privacy Perceptions • Justin Velten, The University of Texas at Tyler; Rauf Arif, University of Texas at Tyler; Delane Moehring, The University of Texas at Tyler • The rise of online human communication tools commonly referred to as social media apps are changing the dynamics of interpersonal relationships through self-disclosure and privacy management. However, little scholarly research is speaking to the broader role of social media as a method of privacy management in the context of interpersonal relationships. Therefore, this study focuses on Snapchat, a smartphone photo-share app and its influences on privacy management and privacy boundaries centered around the process of building and strengthening relationships through disclosure of private information. Using qualitative interview technique, results of interviews with 75 Snapchat users led to the identification and discussion of three categories in the realm of Sandra Petronio’s Communication Privacy Management Theory (2002). These three categories are privacy ownership, privacy control, privacy turbulence with discussion of the five principles of private information. Finally, this investigation explores and describes a new way in which scholars can view Snapchat through McLuhan’s claim that the medium is the message.”

Important Tweets Matter: Predicting Retweets in the #blacklivesmatter Talk on Twitter • Kate Keib, University of Georgia Grady College; Itai Himelboim, University of Georgia • Social movements increasingly use social media, particularly Twitter, to reach existing and new publics. Social media allows users to share content, but the quality of shared content has been scrutinized. A case study of the #Blacklivesmatter movement examines two key elements of tweets as predictors of retweeting: content importance – political, economic, cultural and public – and expression of emotion. Findings suggest important and emotional tweets were more often retweeted. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Motivations and Uses of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat: Which platform wins the challenge among college students? • Mengyan Ma, Michigan State University; Victoria Artis; Maggie Bakle; Florence Uwimbabazi; Saleem Alhabash, Michigan State University • With increasing reliance on social media and social networking sites, the current explores the differences among Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat in terms of use intensity, time spent daily on the platform, and the motivations to use each platform. Additionally, the study applies the uses and gratifications approach to contrast the ways in which motivations to use each of the four platforms predict the intensity of using that platform. A cross-sectional survey of college students (N = 396) asked participants to indicate the intensity of using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat as well as nine different use motivations. Findings showed that participants spent the most time daily on Instagram, followed by Snapchat, Facebook, and Twitter, respectively. They also indicated the highest use intensity for Snapchat and Instagram (nearly equally), followed by Facebook and Twitter, respectively. With regard to use motivations, Snapchat took the lead five of the nine motivations. Findings are discussed in relation to the uses and gratifications approach and uniqueness of different social media and SNSs.

Twitter Analysis of Tweets that Emerged after the #Wacoshooting • Mia Moody, Baylor University; David Lin, Baylor University; Kaitlyn Skinner • This study applies computational and machine-learning techniques to analyze the tweets that emerged following the Waco biker incident of 2015. Findings indicate individuals used Twitter to take a stand on the highly publicized incidents surrounding the shootout. Thousands of tweets emerged with popular hashtags to identify the case such as #wacoshooting, #wacobikers and #wacothugs, #Ferguson, #whitebikers, #blacklivesmatter and #Whiteprivilege. Responses to the Waco shootout were polarizing with individuals weighing in on Twitter to show support or scorn for the bikers, city officials, law enforcement and attorneys. Themes of race surfaced in tweets about the event as it occurred in the midst of the #Blacklivesmatter movement. Twitter users compared bikers to the movement, using tweets and graphics to illustrate various points. The Branch Davidian incident also provided an important backstory to the biker incident. Images of the fiery burning of the Branch Davidian compound, which occurred decades earlier, were still on people’s minds as evidenced by tweets that characterized the incident as “just another Waco tragedy.”

Context Collapse and Privacy Management: Diversity in Facebook Friends Increases Online News Reading and Sharing • Michael Beam, Kent State University; Jeffrey T. Child, Kent State University; Myiah Hutchens, Washington State University; Jay Hmielowski, Washington State University • This study tests a moderated-mediated model where diversity of relationship contexts of Facebook friends influences sharing and reading news. Using survey data from 771 US Facebook users, we find that more context collapse in people’s Facebook friends is positively related to both sharing and reading news. Furthermore, reading news on Facebook mediates the relationship between context collapse and news sharing. Lastly, openness in privacy management moderates the relationship between reading and sharing news on Facebook.

Uses of Cellphone Texting: An Integration of Motivations, Usage Patterns, and Psychological Outcomes • Namkee Park, Yonsei University, South Korea; Seungyoon Lee, Purdue University; Jae Eun Chung, Howard University • This study suggests an integrated model that explains the associations among motivations for using cellphone texting, usage patterns, and psychological consequences. Using data from an online survey (N = 335), the study identified motivations of communication with strong ties and weak ties, which were found to be associated with different usage patterns of cellphone texting. Further, time spent on cellphone texting was negatively associated with relationship satisfaction, while the number of text messages sent and received was associated with reduced feelings of loneliness through higher levels of perceived intimacy and relationship satisfaction.

Pills and power ups: How in-game substance shapes players’ attitudes and real-life substance abuse intentions • Ryan Rogers, Marist College; Jessica Myrick, Indiana University • “Objective: Guided by social cognitive theory, this study investigated the effects of in-game substance use portrayals in video games on players’ real-world substance-related cognitions and intentions. Materials and Methods: A custom-designed computer designed game presented 97 participants across two studies with encounters with alcohol and cigarettes. For half of the participants, the in-game substance use facilitated gameplay and for the other half the substance use inhibited gameplay. Results: The first study showed that negative consequences of in-game substance use improved attitudes toward the game, which then impacted attitudes toward drinking under certain conditions. In the second study, participants had more positive attitudes toward the game when the game portrayed positive consequences for cigarette smoking, and this impacted attitudes toward smoking. vConclusion: Mediated portrayals of substance use, like those found in video games, can influence a player’s perception of substance use. We believe that carefully crafted video games could be used to discourage substance use behaviors. However, the effective means of implementation and understanding how users will respond under different conditions merits further study.”

Time, Space, and Digital Media: An Analysis of Trade Press Depiction of Change in Practice • Sally McMillan, University of Tennessee • This study applied Harold Innis’ concepts of time- and space-biased media to examine digital media for 10 years beginning with the dawn of the “Web 2.0” era in 2005. Analysis of the advertising trade press showed changes in how time and space were conceptualized. Roles of media professionals and content “consumers” were also examined. Changes in the media business were presented as more revolutionary than evolutionary. Implications for theory, practice, and pedagogy are discussed.

Comparing Facebook and Instagram: Motivations for Use, Social Comparison Process, and Psychological Outcomes • Seohee Sohn, Yonsei University, South Korea; Namkee Park, Yonsei University, South Korea • Based upon uses and gratifications and social comparison theories, this study compares the motivations and consequences of Facebook and Instagram use. While previous studies on SNS social comparison generalized that SNS use provokes negative social comparison and leads to negative psychological consequences, this study proposed that the association is more complicated. The study examined the role of user motivations in the process and aftermath of social comparison. A sample of 285 undergraduate students who used either Facebook or Instagram participated in the study. Main findings suggest that contrary to previous studies, entertainment is the highest motivation for using both SNSs, yet motivation for relationship maintenance was still higher on Facebook. Self-expression motivation played a key role in social comparison process, suggesting that students higher in self-expression motivation made more positive social comparison. Negative social comparison led to lower satisfaction with life and mental health, but only for Facebook users. Implications and limitations are discussed.

Japanese love to Tweet: The effects of information sharing, relational mobility and relational commitment on Twitter use in Japan • Shaojung Sharon Wang, National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan • The Japanese Internet is more culturally homogenous and Japanese websites that provide services similar to or copies of U.S.-based websites are often more popular than the originals in Japan. Yet, Twitter has encountered few barriers in entering the country. Japan is one of the biggest Twitter markets in the world and Japanese is the most frequently tweeted language after English. The goal of this study was to explore the factors that may influence the intensity of Twitter use in Japan through the dual lens of the socio-ecological aspects and the characteristics of CMC. The results demonstrated that relational mobility and information sharing intention were significant predictors of Twitter use intensity. Positive relationships between Twitter self-disclosure and relational commitment, and between relational commitment and intensity of Twitter use, were also supported. Implications on how the Japan’s real-world social and cultural norms may be relative to the virtual world are discussed.

Do Fitness Apps Need Text Reminders? An Experiment Testing Goal-setting Text Reminders to Promote Self-monitoring • Shuang Liu; Jessica Willoughby • “Fitness tracking apps have the potential to change unhealthy lifestyles, but users’ low compliance is still an issues. The current intervention examined the effectiveness of using goal-setting theory-based text message reminders to promote tracking activities on fitness apps. Participants who received goal-setting reminders liked the messages and showed significantly increased self-efficacy, mindfulness of personal goal, motivation, and intention to use the app.

Understanding the Role of Different Review Features in Purchase Probability • Su Jung Kim, Iowa State University; Ewa Maslowska, Northwestern University; Edward Malthouse, Northwestern University • The role of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) has been recognized by marketers and academics, but little research has examined the impact of eWOM on purchase behavior. This study aims to disentangle the effect of different online review features (i.e., review valence, length, pros and cons, helpfulness, authorship and product recommendation) on sales. Using product reviews and sales data from an online retailer website, this study investigates the financial impact of online product reviews. The results provide interesting theoretical contributions to the literature on persuasion. In addition, managerial implications on how companies should design and manage their online review system are offered.

Assessing the Influence of eWOM and Online Brand Messages on Consumer Decision-Making • Tai-Yee Wu, University of Connecticut; Carolyn Lin • This study examined the integrative effects of a brand’s online product description, eWOM content, digital retail platforms and innovation adoption factors on a consumer’s decision-making process. Results from a between-subject experiment (N = 231) suggest that consumer perceptions of product-description usefulness, technology fluidity, product usefulness, product-use ease, consumer-review trustworthiness, consumer-review usefulness, user ratings of consumer reviews and retail-platform trustworthiness have a direct or indirect effect on their attitude and purchase intention toward the technology product.

Flow in Virtual Worlds: The interplay of Community and Site Features as Predictors of Involvement • Valerie Barker • Cultivating involvement within virtual worlds where interactivity and community are salient attributes represents a key goal for businesses and educators. This survey assessed whether the interplay of these attributes facilitates a form of intense involvement known as flow. Findings showed that site features mediate the relationship between sense of community and reported flow experience. Therefore, site designers may choose to intensify involvement by encouraging community spirit via interactivity, feedback, content variety and ease of use.

Quizzical Attraction of Online Personality Quizzes: A Uses and Gratifications Perspective • Yee Man Margaret Ng; GIna Masullo Chen, The University of Texas at Austin; Ventiva Chen • Personality quizzes are all the rage. Applying the principles of Uses and Gratifications (U&G), this study offered an exploratory look at what gratifications people fill by doing these quizzes and sharing their results on SNSs. Results via factor analysis from a pre-test (open-ended questions) and a survey of 282 participants identified three gratifications for doing online personality quizzes (self-identity, entertainment, and subjective norms) and sharing results of quizzes on social media (socialization, attention-seeking, and entertainment) respectively. OLS hierarchical regressions were also employed to examine how demographics, personality traits, social capital factors, perception of quiz reliability, and personal motives influence on the intention to do and share quizzes. Final results showed that the need for entertainment is the strongest predictor.

Social Influence on the Net: Majority Effect on Posters and Minority Effect on Lurkers • Young June Sah; Wei Peng, Michigan State University • Participatory websites provide users with two distinctive contexts: posting comments and lurking. Acknowledging lack of studies comparing social influence in these contexts, the current study investigated whether comments in a participatory website generates different social influence for posters and lurkers. An online experiment (N = 334) was conducted in a 2 (context: posting vs. lurking) X 3 (opinion composition in comments: balanced, lopsided, or unanimous) between-subjects design. Results revealed that posters were influenced by a majority opinion whereas lurkers were affected by the minority one when exposed to opposing two opinions advocated by numerically-majority and -minority comments respectively. Faced with unanimous comments, both posters and lurkers were influenced by the unanimous opinion. Additional analyses revealed different mechanisms of these effects. The majority effect, mediated by posters’ perceived publicness and moderated by group identification, seems to be driven by normative pressure. The minority effect, moderated by need for cognition, deem to be based on informative influence.

Challenging Read: How Regulatory Non-fit can Increase Online News Audience Engagement • Yu-Hao Lee, Department of Telecommunication, University of Florida; Bruce Getz, University of Florida; Min Xiao • We conducted a 2 (motivation) x 2 (regulatory fit/non-fit) experiment to test the effect of regulatory fit and non-fit news headlines on perceived importance, news value, time spent in the article, information elaboration, and likelihood to seek additional informational. The results showed that when users are motivated to read the news, regulatory fit headlines increased time spent in article, information elaboration, and likelihood to seek additional information. When users have low motivation to read the news, the regulatory non-fit headline increased time spent in article, elaboration, and likelihood to seek more information.

Open Competition
Enhancing writing quality with virtual reality technology: 360° images give journalists information for vivid descriptions • Clyde Bentley, University of Missouri School of Journalism; Joy Jenkins, University of Missouri; Bimal Balakrishnan, University of Missouri • This project explores an alternate way that virtual reality technology can be used to enhance journalism. Rather than used for publication images, VR cameras were used as image note-takers that allowed student reporters at a large Midwestern university to add vivid detail to stories. Theories of narrative literature, narrative persuasion and transportation suggest these details are key to reader engagement while also instructing students in a form of journalism that might offer them greater recognition in the field.

How Social Indicators on Discussion Webpages Influence Interpretations of Conversation Norms • David Silva, Washington State University • Indicators of group size and normative statements are common elements in online discussion spaces. Both provide clues about how to act in a discussion environment, but their effect on perceptions of online group norms is not fully understood. This study conducted an experiment manipulating these two elements. Main effects and an interaction effect were found and are applied to theories of media processing and efforts to create optimal online discussion spaces.

The Role of Mobile Phone Use in Bonding and Bridging Peer Capital among Singaporean Adolescents • Estee Goh, Nanyang Technological University; Agnes Chuah; Shirley Ho, Nanyang Technological University • This study investigates the relationships between personality traits, peer mediation, mobile phone use, problematic mobile phone use (PMPU), and peer capital. Through a self-administered survey, data were collected from 624 participants from secondary schools in Singapore. Results showed that self-esteem, extraversion, peer co-use and mobile phone use were positively associated with peer capital. However, PMPU was found to be negatively related to bonding peer capital. Limitations and implications were discussed.

Perceptions of Online Reviews: Motivation, Sidedness, and Reviewer Information • Hyunjin Seo; Roseann Pluretti; Fengjun Li • This study conducted a 2 (motivation) x 3 (review sidedness) x 2 (reviewer activeness) mixed factorial design experiment to examine how characteristics of online reviews and reviewer information influence people’s evaluations of online reviews. Our results show that how actively the reviewer posts online and how many friends the reviewer has on the review site influence people’s evaluations of positive, negative, or neutral reviews of products and services. Prior perceptions of online reviews moderate these effects.

Effects of Music Pacing in a Nutrition Game on Flow, and Explicit and Implicit Attitudes • Jose Aviles; Sushma Kumble; Michael Schmierbach; Erica Bailey, Penn State University; Frank Waddell; Frank Dardis, Penn State University; Yan Huang, The Pennsylvania State University; Stephanie Orme; Kelly Seeber; Mu Wu, Penn State University • Video games have been utilized as persuasive technologies in limited contexts. However, few studies have examined how particular attributes of games influence these persuasive messages. The current study offers a contribution to this area by examining the interactions between music and flow, and the effect they have on players’ implicit and explicit attitudes toward nutritional food. Results indicate that attention and enjoyment are significant moderators of implicit attitudes, but did not moderate explicit attitudes. Specifically, the results indicated that for lower levels of attention and enjoyment, fast-paced music aided in higher levels of implicit attitudes. However, for higher levels of attention and enjoyment, slow-paced music aided in higher levels of implicit attitudes.

Applying a Uses and Gratifications Approach to Health App Adoption and Use • Linda Dam; Deya Roy; David Atkin, UConn; Dana Rodgers • The present study employs an audience-centered approach to examine motivations for mobile fitness app use. Guided by uses and gratifications (U&G) theory, we explore motivations to use a specific health and fitness app. An online survey of 469 respondents reveals that competitiveness was the most powerful predictor of behavioral intentions related to app use. Although this research was largely exploratory in nature, it does support previous research linking such psychological factors as self-efficacy and self-esteem–alongside media uses and gratifications–with communication technology adoption. Study results thus provide support for a new set of mobile app uses and gratifications than can profitably supplement conventional measures of m-health technology adoption and use.

Dualities in journalists’ engagement with Twitter followers • Rich Johnson, Creighton University • Scholars have identified that journalists have a strong occupational identity, leading to ideological conceptions of the rules of the field. However, while journalists are often the first to embrace technological change, they often do so in different ways than most people. With the arrival of digital technologies, journalists are often faced with practices that run contrary to long-established ideology, and they often carry traditional practices over to new media. Using the theoretical lens of Giddens’s structuration theory, this research identifies traditional journalism structures that encourage or discourage journalists to interact with their followers on the social network Twitter. Using constant comparative analysis to interpret 23 interviews with contemporary journalists, this study identified multiple dualities between the use of Twitter and traditional newsgathering.

Using Instagram to Engage with (Potential) Consumers: A study of Forbes Most Valuable Brands’ Use of Instagram • Sherice Gearhart, Texas Tech University; Oluseyi Adegbola; Jacqueline Mitchell, University of Nebraska at Omaha • The current study identifies connections between the posting behavior of popular brands on Instagram and audience engagement. Posts (N = 710) were coded for image type and the presence of brand-related and social content. Using an individualized engagement score for each post, results found audiences were most responsive when images featured products and logos together and when social content appears in captions. Findings are useful to marketing strategists aiming to capitalize on this platform.

How Do Parents Manage Children’s Social Media Use? Development and Validation of a Parental Mediation Scale in the Context of Social Media Across Child and Parent Samples • Shirley Ho, Nanyang Technological University; Liang Chen, Nanyang Technological University • Social media use carries both opportunities and risks to children and adolescents. In order to reduce the negative impacts of social media on children, we aim to focus our efforts on parental mediation of social media. Specifically, the purpose of this research is to enhance the conceptualization and operationalization of parental mediation of social media. First, we conducted focus groups with both children and parents in Singapore in Study One. The results identified and developed an initial scale based on four conceptually distinct parental mediation strategies of social media – labelled as active mediation, restrictive mediation, authoritarian surveillance, and monitoring. Following this, we conducted a survey in Study Two with a representative sample of 1424 child participants and 1206 parent participants in Singapore to develop and test the scale. After some modifications, the results revealed a scale that was confirmed and validated. The implications and limitations were discussed.

Moderating Effects of App Type on Intention of Continued Use of Mobile Apps among Young Adults • Wei Peng, Michigan State University; Shupei Yuan, Michigan State University; Wenjuan Ma, Michigan State University • With the increasing popularity of mobile apps, research on their adoption and acceptance is also on the rise. However, an important yet understudied area is the continued use after initial adoption. Additionally, although there are a variety of mobile apps, most previous research either examines one type of mobile app or treats all types of mobile apps as one homogenous entity. The purpose of this study is to investigate the moderating effects of app type on intention of continued use among the three most popular types of mobile app (social networking, game, and productivity apps). A survey (N = 790) with young adults was conducted based on the extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2). The structural equation modelling results showed that the moderating effects between app type and factors in UTAUT2 on behavioural intention of continued use. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Student Papers
Psychological Proximity to Issues of the Elderly • Ah Ram Lee, University of Florida • Even though the rapid aging of the population has been a global phenomenon, many societies are not ready to embrace the issue due to prevalent ageism and the lack of the public’s efforts to address issues of the elderly. Reducing negative stereotypes of the elderly and building harmonious relationships between young and old generations have been critical and momentous issues to solve across the globe. To contribute to the efforts, this paper proposed and empirically tested the effects of vivid images of future self enabled via age-morphing technologies as a part of communication strategies to address the issue. 302 participants completed an online survey following the individual trial to see an image of one’s old self. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the proposed relationships among psychological continuity, group identification, empathy, sympathy, ageism, psychological proximity, attitudes, and behavioral intentions. Results revealed that psychological continuity created through a vivid image of future self is positively correlated with group identification with the elderly, which leads to psychological proximity to issues of the elderly. This relationship is positively mediated by empathy and sympathy, and ageism negatively mediates the relationship. The close feelings to issues relevant to the elderly are likely to elicit positive attitude toward the efforts of addressing the issues as well as participation intentions to relevant social media campaigns for the elderly. Theoretical and practical implications of the determinants of psychological proximity and their role in creating positive attitudes and behaviors are discussed.

The Impacts of WeChat Communication and Parenting Styles on the Quality of the Parent-Child Relationship • Cheng Chen, The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Zhuo Chen, The Chinese University of Hong Kong • “The purpose of this exploratory study is to examine how WeChat communication patterns (frequency, means, and content), WeChat affordances (perceived intrusiveness and ubiquity), and parenting styles (uninvolved, controlling-indulgent, and authoritative) influence the quality of the parent-child relationship (companionship, intimate disclosure, satisfaction, emotional support, and approval). Data were gathered from a probability sample of 407 university students in mainland China, among whom 391 were emerging adults. Regarding WeChat communication patterns, content (especially parent-initiated text messaging and intimate sharing) contributed to the formation of high-quality relationships between parents and children. In addition, regression analysis showed that parenting styles, especially controlling-indulgent and authoritative, were the most significant predictors of parent-child relationship quality. It is interesting to note that female college students were more likely to feel companionship and approval when parents sent intrusive content to them. The limitations of the study and its implications for future research are discussed.

Social media use for information and political participation: An investigation of the moderation effect of social media type • Cheonsoo Kim • This study investigates the relationship between social media use for information and political participation by taking social media type—symmetrical vs. asymmetrical—seriously. It proposes and tests a moderated mediation model, in which the indirect effect of the informational use of social media through online participation on offline participation is moderated by users’ relative preferences for social media type. The findings indicate the link between social media use for information and offline participation was fully mediated by the extent to which a user engages in online political activities. And users’ relative preferences for social media type moderate the indirect effect, suggesting that, the more frequently individuals use symmetrical media for information, the more likely they are to participate in political activities.

Journalism, Silicon Valley, and Institutional Values: Discursive Construction of the Digital Disruption of News • Frank Michael Russell, University of Missouri School of Journalism • This study explores interactions between journalism, Silicon Valley, and citizens with an analysis of interviews in the Riptide oral history of the digital disruption of journalism. Discourse between four senior news executives who conducted the interviews and 21 technology executives, developers, investors, and entrepreneurs indicated that journalists and technologists interact with each other based on institutional-level concerns of journalism and Silicon Valley. Findings suggested Silicon Valley could be defined as an emerging institution.

Redefining the News through Social Media: The Effect of Policy, Organization, and Profession on Journalistic Impact • Kristen Guth, University of Southern California; Christina Hagen; Kristen Steves • Social media participation by journalists in news outlets has brought into question traditional organizational structures and measures of audience reach, and has spurred the creation of social media policies for the newsroom. From a sample of 205 journalists in a large metropolitan news organization, this research: (a) tests the scale reliability of policy communication measures, (b) proposes a new scale for gatekeeping, and (c) investigates the relationship of several measures to social media impact.

Exploring the roles of social anxiety, self-efficacy, and job stress on Chinese workers’ smartphone addiction • Li Li, Nanyang Technological University • This study is to explore the relation of psychological factors (i.e., social anxiety and smartphone self-efficacy) and environmental factor (i.e., job stress) to smartphone addiction among young workers. The data were gathered from 527 employees in China. The Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) identified four key smartphone addiction symptoms: withdrawal, salience, inability to control craving, and productivity loss. Social anxiety, smartphone self-efficacy and perceived job stress were found to be positively associated with their smartphone addiction.

Exploring WhatsApp’s Last Seen Timestamp among Young Adults from Argentina • Mora Matassi • This article explores how young adults in Argentina perceive, use, and react to the Last Seen timestamp on WhatsApp’s mobile instant messaging platform. This feature indicates the last time a user opened the application. Data have been derived from focus groups with 23 young adults living in Buenos Aires. The analysis shows that users perceive this feature as a threat to privacy and to responsiveness control, while they use it as a tool for inferring others’ movements and conveying their own activities. I argue that this perception is due to the symmetrical setting of WhatsApp’s information policy and to the emergence of one-to-one monitorial practices in mobile communication platforms. I draw upon these findings to contribute to the existing knowledge of perceptions and uses of everyday mobile CMC devices.

Networked narratives on Humans of New York: A content analysis on social media engagement • Ruoxu Wang, Penn State University; Jinyoung Kim, The Pennsylvania State University; Anli Xiao, Penn State University; YoungJu Jung, Penn State University • Humans of New York (HONY) is a popular Facebook page which has more than 13 million fans. The posts on HONY are termed as networked narratives, which are stories told on social media with technology affordances enabling story co-construction between the story tellers and the readers. A content analysis (N = 390) was conducted to examine the popular topics on networked narratives and its impact on social media engagement as represented by the number of likes, the number of shares, and the likability of characters featured in the post. Results revealed that a set of topics of the networked narratives were associated with social media engagement. Also, the tone and the length of the posts were associated with social media engagement.

Facing up to Facebook: How Digital Activism, Mass Media, and Independent Regulation Defeated a Challenge to Net Neutrality • Saif Shahin, School of Journalism, The University of Texas at Austin • This study traces how Facebook-promoted Internet.org/Free Basics, despite initial acclaim, was eventually rejected in India – and how net neutrality came to be codified in the process. The topic modeling of articles (N=1,752) published over two-and-a-half years in 100 media outlets pinpoints the critical junctures in time at which the public discourse changed its trajectory. Critical discourse analysis of different phases of discourse then identifies the causal factors and contingent conditions that produced the new policy.

Hail Lucky Money on WeChat: A rising cultural form on the Chinese mobile Internet • Shuning Lu, The University of Texas at Austin • This paper complicates our understanding of the intersection between technology and culture by unpacking why Lucky Money, an add-on of the mobile application WeChat, has evoked such a big fanatic enthusiasm among Chinese mobile phone users and how it becomes meaningful with regard to its form and users’ practices in Chinese context. Based on the combination of auto-ethnography on Wechat and textual analysis of several strands of sources, including news articles, online discussion and personal commentaries, the study seeks to answer: how might Lucky Money on WeChat weave itself into the texture of the social and cultural surroundings in the context of China? What kind of mentality and imagination might Lucky Money on WeChat invoke from the Chinese public? By considering Lucky Money as a cultural form, the article first analyzes the origins and nature of Lucky Money, with a focus on the trajectory embedded in the larger social and cultural conjuncture that gave rise to the prevalence of its mobile counterpart. The study then presents characteristics of the platform of WeChat along with various modes of sending and receiving digital money. The article further reviews the state of debate about the meanings of Lucky Money on WeChat among different textual communities. It concludes with reflections on the wider implications of Lucky Money on WeChat in regard to the broad social milieu of contemporary China.

#ReclaimMLK: Collective memory and collective action in the Age of Twitter • Simin Michelle Chen, University of Minnesota • In light of the recent racial injustice, #ReclaimMLK’15 was a day of protest organized around reclaiming the legacy of Dr. King Jr. To mobilize protesters and legitimize their collective action, organizers appropriated counter-memory of Dr. King in their tweets. Therefore, #ReclaimMLK presented an opportunity to examine the appropriation of collective memory as a form of mobilization and justification during the street demonstrations on Martin Luther King Day in 2015. Bridging the conceptual gap between collective action and collective memory, this study uses quantitative content analysis to examine the strategic use of Twitter by three notable organizers during #ReclaimMLK to organize, build community, broadcast their activities and demands, and encourage hashtag activism. Findings suggest that while the three organizers focused more on the present rather than the past, there is a significant difference in how they utilized Twitter for the purpose of #ReclaimMLK. This study therefore adds to the discussion and broaden our understanding of Twitter’s role in contentious politics

Strangers in the field: Public perception of professionals, technology, audiences, and the boundaries of journalism • Victor Garcia-Perdomo, University of Texas at Austin/Universidad de La Sabana, Colombia; Heloisa Aruth Sturm, University of Texas at Austin • This study addresses the concept of boundaries in the journalistic field from the perspective of the audience, and explores how technological factors may reshape professional news borders. Findings from a two-wave U.S. national panel survey suggest that offline platform use for news versus social media news consumption predicts distinct outcomes about the role of journalists in the current news environment. Perception of technology, particularly reliability, optimism and efficiency, is a significant predictor of the intersection between journalists, audiences and tools.

Mediated hookup: gratifications and psychological attributes as predictors of Chinese college students’ hookup behavior via “People Nearby Applications” (PNAs) use • Yuchao Zhao, Chinese University of Hong Kong; Yuan Wang, Chinese University of Hong Kong • This study explores whether and how gratifications and psychological traits affect Chinese college students using PNAs to hook up. First, a factor analysis of a field survey (N=511) outlined two unique gratifications obtained (i.e., mediated sexual convenience and online recognition) from the use of PNAs to hook up. Results from regression analysis showed that one psychological trait (i.e., loneliness) was a strong predictor of both gratifications. Additionally, loneliness significantly predicted four different dimensions of using PNAs to hook up. To a lesser extent, gratifications and other two psychological traits (i.e., self-esteem and traitlike communication apprehension) solely respectively predicated one indicator of using PNAs to hook up.

2016 Abstracts