Communication Technology Division

Faculty Paper Competition
Motivations to Use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok Predicting Problematic Use and Continuance Intentions • Anvita Suneja, Michigan State University; Anish Nimmagadda, Michigan State University; Saleem Alhabash, Michigan State University • While much of the studies within the Uses and Gratifications (U&G) tradition were set to predict facets of media use, the current examines how use motivations, nature of platform use, and privacy-related perceptions predict users’ use continuance intentions for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Tiktok and their problematic use of that platform (i.e., addition), simultaneously. The study uses a cross-sectional survey of undergraduate students at a large Midwestern university (N = 373), where participants answered questions related to their motivations to use each of the four platforms (depending on their active use of the platform), platform affinity and other usage factors, their intentions to continue using the platform and their problematic of the platform. Findings showed superiority of Instagram in terms of U&G. Regression models highlighted differences in the four platforms’ problematic use and continuance intentions. Findings are discussed within the framework of reconceptualizing U&G outcomes within the evolving environment of social media use.

Assessing Routes to the Proteus Effect: Testing Self-Perception and Priming Hypotheses • Jose Aviles, Albright College • This study examines the Proteus effect and the potential mechanisms to its success. The Proteus effect suggests that user’s avatars influence individual behavior. However, mechanisms of the Proteus effect remain unclear. Research on the Proteus effect has put forth evidence that self-perception and priming both function as routes to the Proteus effect. This study tests each route in a desktop game experience. The study indicates no support for either route to the Proteus effect in the conditions that it was tested. Implications of testing environment and stimuli are discussed, indicating that specific thresholds may be needed to activate the Proteus effect.

“I probably just skipped over it:” Using eye tracking to examine political Facebook advertising effectiveness –and avoidance • Matthew Binford, University of Georgia; Bartosz Wojdynski, University of Georgia • Social media political advertising has, in recent years, been the target of a lot of interest and scrutiny from the public, scholars, and even the social media platforms themselves. While there is still some debate as to the overall effectiveness of social media political advertising there is compelling evidence to show that a number of social media users seek to avoid content that is political in nature. Those users tend to simply skip over the content once they have identified it as being political in nature (Bode, Vraga & Troller-Renfree, 2017). However it is less clear whether the same pattern holds for political candidate advertising which is typically easily identifiable as political, but designed to catch attention with images and text. The present study sought to shed light on the understanding of how consumers actually view or avoid political advertising on social media by using eye-tracking equipment to map users eye scanpaths as they viewed a constructed social media news feed. It was found that users with high levels of political interest fundamentally view political advertising differently with different scanpaths than those who have low political interest levels.

I’d Rather Hear it from a Robot: How Audio Voice Drives Preferences in AI-Powered Audio Messages • Jackson Carter, University of South Carolina; Linwan Wu, University of South Carolina • AI-powered audio has become increasingly popular and increasingly lifelike. However, is there a problem with being too lifelike? This paper examines the effectiveness of AI-powered audio through the framework of HAII (human-AI interaction) by exploring how the type of audio voice affects user preferences in AI-powered audio messages. Theoretical and practical applications are discussed, as results offer connections between areas of social science literature while providing insights for strategically using voice in programming.

The reviews of human-computer interaction and online relationship in new media: the evidences from live video streaming services • Po-Chien Chang, Shih Hsin University; Cheng-Yu Lin, Shih Hsin University • Comparing to live broadcasting in mass media, live video streaming is relying on broadband and digitalized content distribution over the Internet. Audiences are no longer constrained by linear schedule and empowered by social presence and co-experience of viewing. This study develops an empirical model by expanding the motivational factors in Uses and Gratification Theory (UGT) and associated with various user engagement and media consumption behaviors. The implications are discussed.

The Warranting Value of Information from Machines and Humans Different Information Types • Mo Chen; Yu-Hao Lee • It is increasingly common for students to acquire information online using intelligent virtual assistants (IVAs) such as Amazon’s Alexa or Google Assistant, but few studies have examined how students assess the quality and credibility of information provided by an IVA. Informed by the warranting theory, a 2 (source: human vs. IVAs) × 3 (information type: fact, aggregated opinion, individual opinion) experiment was conducted with 192 participants. Results revealed that the type of information affected the warranting value of the information. Aggregated opinions were perceived to be most warranted, credible, and of higher quality, followed by facts, and then individual opinions. Machine heuristic was a significant moderator between the information source and credibility judgments. The current study extends the warranting theory to examine AI-generated information and also suggests that different information types are associated with higher or lower warranting values.

An Experiment on the Sequential Mediation Effects of PDAs on Subjective Well-being • Ye Chen, University of Connecticut; Anne Oeldorf-Hirsch, University of Connecticut • “Likes” seem indispensable on social media platforms today, and research across communication domains has investigated their meanings, functions, and potential impacts. Yet a causal relationship between PDAs (paralinguistic digital affordances, such as “likes”) and subjective well-being is unclear. This study utilized an experimental method and demonstrated the causal link between PDAs and subjective well-being. Potential mediating and moderating mechanisms were further explored. Our experiment also found that psychological factors such as self-esteem, pleasure, anxiety and depression were significant indicators of perceived life satisfaction, through sequential mediating processes. Moreover, satisfaction with the expected “likes” did not play a moderated mediating role in these processes. Instead, it also mediated the link between PDAs and life happiness. The findings add evidence to the ongoing debate about the good or bad of social media “likes” and contribute to unpacking the myth of social media impacts.

Do Opinions Change from Information or Experience? Attitudes toward Algorithmic Systems Depend on Transparency of Design and Power Usage • Chan Chen, Washington State University; David Silva, Kent State University; Ying Zhu • Algorithmic decision-making systems are ubiquitous in digital media, but the public holds largely negative attitudes towards them. This study investigates two approaches of improving opinions towards algorithms. The first approach provided information about how algorithms work. The second approach used respondent’s Instagram profile data to show algorithmic categorization in action, that is experiencing algorithms in action. Both methods increased positive opinions, but attitude change was also dependent on the individual-level trait of power usage.

The situated influence of individual cultural orientation on online political expression through self-presentational concern • Xi Cui, College of Charleston; Jian Rui; Yu Liu, Florida International University • This study examines political expressions on social network sites (SNSs) from a self-presentation perspective. Through an online experiment (N = 360), we found that users’ cultural orientations toward power and social inequality influenced political self-presentation through self-presentation concern. Furthermore, a three-way interaction between social inequality, audience, and issue controversialness was found on self-presentational concern. This study suggests that political expressions via SNSs can be a function of cultural orientation, SNS audience, and issue through self-presentation.

* Extended Abstract * Extended Abstract: The Effects of Victim Response to Direct and Indirect Digital Aggression • Yao Dong, Michigan State University; Saleem Alhabash, Michigan State University • The frequent use of digital media increased the rate of cyberbullying victimization, and the sociotechnical affordances of social media have made them hotbeds for digital aggression. In this study, we examined the effects of victim response to direct and indirect (subtweeting) aggression, and found the effects of victim response and its interaction with message directness on participations’ perceptions of aggressive messages, their sympathy toward the aggression victims, as well as their intervention likelihood.

Playable News Technologies: Journalism and the Rise of Mobile Gaming • David Dowling • The stratospheric rise of mobile games to the top of the global games industry is attributable to synergies between mobile devices and social media platforms, particularly through the increasing use of Facebook on the iPhone and other smartphones. Phones and tablets are now where the majority of people play games and consume news. This shared digital space has given rise to mobile newsgames, a hybridization of gameplay and journalistic content allowing users to play the news, shattering the divide between entertainment and civic engagement. Among adult players, the smartphone is the most common device used for playing video games, followed by PC and consoles. Through smartphone apps, games now reach users in some of the most popular spaces in the digital ecosystem and on devices that have become ubiquitous in twenty-first century networked culture. News organizations and commercial game developers alike have responded to the simultaneous rise in mobile news consumption and skyrocketing popularity of mobile games by producing games that engage current events and issues of political and social significance. The journalistic consequences of the technological convergence of news and gaming industries constitutes the focus of this study. Critical analysis treats five case studies of the most influential mobile newsgames since 2016 by commercial game developers and legacy media. Can mobile newsgames provide civic engagement and a journalistic check on power? By directing data flows on social media, mobile games occupy a powerful role in the digital ecosystem.

SoundCloud Rap: An Investigation of Community and Consumption Models of Internet Practices • Ian Dunham • Andrew Feenberg states that “the social role and significance of the internet is in suspense today” (Feenberg, 2019), suggesting that its technosocial impacts are the result of a dynamic exchange in which multiple agents compete, cooperate, and coexist for a variety of reasons that stem from just as many motivations. On SoundCloud, a popular music-based social networking platform, the suspense Feenberg references is in full tilt–a few short years ago, it was on the brink of shutdown because of cash shortages, forcing mass layoffs and the closure of San Francisco and London offices (Satariano, 2017), only to become the site of a burgeoning hip hop community in 2017 and 2018. What has been labeled “SoundCloud Rap” represents a unique social phenomenon that is simultaneously a community, a particular approach to governance, and a network that relies on the symmetrical interplay of humans and machines. Using Feenberg’s recent discussion of the diversity of the internet’s formulations, this paper analyzes SoundCloud Rap, concluding that artists and listeners operate under both a community model and a consumption model. An empirical study of data collected from SoundCloud supports this discussion. Lastly, I consider the wave of SoundCloud Rap artists and the novel place within the industry they currently occupy, and whether the subgenre can leave any lasting marks on musical technoculture.

From passive to purposeful: Can Apple’s Screen Time realign users’ relationships with their devices? • Ebubechukwu Ubochi, Florida Institute of Technology; Heidi Hatfield Edwards, Florida Institute of Technology • This qualitative phenomenological study investigated smartphone users’ relationships with their devices and digital wellness software. It involved following the activities of eight iPhone users who were encouraged to use and pay attention to Screen Time over the course of a week. They were interviewed at the start of the process to learn about how they use their phones as well as what knowledge they had about Screen Time, and then at the end of the process to measure any changes that might have emerged. Each participant’s Screen Time data was also recorded with screenshots and used in the analysis. The findings showed overall that focused attention to Screen Time is capable of affecting smartphone usage patterns and helping iPhone users take control of the way and extent to which they use their devices.

Assumption of consensus: A path model predicting political participation among instant messaging app users • HyungJin Gill, University of Wisconsin – Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication; Hernando Rojas, University of Wisconsin – Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication • This study uses a nationally representative survey of U.S. adults to test a path model that examines potential influence of instant messenger (IM) apps on cognitive bias and political participation among users. The findings provide insights into how “false consensus,” or egocentric assumption in public opinion perception, that may stem from mobile echo chamber can contribute to a user’s participatory behaviors, which further highlights IM as a private, closed mode of political communication.

How much immersion is enough? Exploring the use of 360 video on social networks to influence user reflections on important issues • Michael Horning, Virginia Tech; Emily McCaul, Virginia Tech • 360-degree video is an emerging video technology that is popular on social networks and is used to immerse users in a virtual reality experience. Some argue that this technology enables individuals to process visual, verbal and spatial information together in one space in order to engage users more deeply with the information than standardized video. In this study, we create a news story using 360 video to test this assumption and to explore users’ experience with 360 news content delivered on three different displays: desktop computer, mobile tablet and head-mounted display. Our results show that individuals who engage with 360 narratives using head-mounted displays are more likely to reflect on the issues in the narrative than other mediums. Our findings also suggest that using iPads to experience 360 narratives can be more engaging but also decrease reflection on the main themes in a 360 story. Implications for use of 360 on social media are discussed.

Exploring Multiple-level Predictors Contributed to the Credibility of Smartphone Information • Bing Hu, South China University of Technology; Bu Zhong, Pennsylvania State University; Tao Sun, University of Vermont • This study proposes a hierarchical model to explore information processing on the smartphone, in which need for cognition is the independent variable and perceived credibility of smartphone information the dependent variable, with smartphone power use and information verification as the mediators, while controlling for such demographic characteristics as age, gender, education and area of residence. Our findings suggested a significant indirect path from the need for cognition to smartphone use and smartphone information credibility.

Misinformation Corrective Action when Exposed to Fake News: The Role of Media Locus of Control, Need for Cognition and Fake News Literacy • Brigitte Huber; Porismita Borah; Homero Gil de Zúñiga • Fake news is increasingly becoming a problem for democracy and questions arise on how to combat misinformation. This study investigates whether news media literacy helps taking corrective action when encountering misinformation. By relying on survey data from the U.S. (N = 1337), we show that news media literacy in terms of media locus of control and need for cognition is not sufficient to take corrective actions; people rather need to develop specific fake news literacy.

Neither by design nor intention: The creative uses of a gay dating app by HIV-positive clients • Robert Huesca, Trinity University • The geosocial networking mobile application Grindr has attracted a great deal of scholarly attention in the past decade because of its diverse uses and widespread adoption. Yet no study has identified Grindr as a platform whereby HIV-positive users have sought and provided emotional support and medical guidance regarding their diagnoses. Findings from 21 in-depth interviews shed light on this potentially important use of Grindr to contribute to the well-being of people living with HIV. The findings of this study hold valuable contributions to communication theory, public health practice, and mobile phone app development.

Hello, I am a Humanized Robot Reporter: Anthropomorphism in Robot Journalism • Wonseok (Eric) Jang, Sungkyunkwan University; Soojin Kim, Louisiana State University; Jung Won Chun, Sejong University; Young Woo Kang, Sungkyunkwan University • This study examines the effects of humanized robot reporters and the role played by humanized- and non-humanized robot reporters with human reporters in writing the story to determine the persuasiveness of news. Participants displayed greater emotional involvement and evaluated the news more positively when humanized robot reporters write the story compared to non-humanized robot reporters. Such positive effect was magnified when humanized robot reporters formed a partner-to-friend-relationship with human reporters rather than a servant-to-master-relationship.

Capturing Injustice: Using the Screenshot as a Tool for Sousveillance • Bryan Jenkins, Howard University; Emily Cramer, Howard University • “The purpose of this study is to ascertain the role of screenshots in online social justice movements, specifically as it relates to the concept of sousveillance. Screenshots primarily allow for users to call attention to injustices in online spaces. They also allow users to emphasize portions of racist comments, incorporate information used to support a user’s argument, and occasionally bring levity to those engaged in online activism.

Dislike and warn: Different levels of corrective actions on social media • Liefu Jiang, Chicago State University • Through a survey with 193 participants, this paper investigates individuals’ frequencies of taking corrective actions when exposed to unfavorable information on social media. Examining through four perspectives, including cognitive effort, expected influence, creativity, and engagement levels, 11 forms of corrective actions were ranked in three ordered levels. This paper contributes to corrective action studies by providing a new approach to investigate corrective actions, which helps researchers measure corrective actions more accurately.

Ways to Relieve Anxiety: Chinese Consumers’ Perceptions of Paid Digital Knowledge Products • Jie Jin, University of Florida; Huan Chen, University of Florida • This study interviewed 19 Chinese paid digital knowledge products consumers to explore what’s the essence of Chinese consumers’ experience with paid digital knowledge products in the first- and second-tier cities. Findings revealed Chinese consumers use these products to relieve stress and anxiety from real-life competition and the insecurity of falling behind. Although consumers realize the limited assistance that paid knowledge products can offer, their acceptance and expectation of paid digital knowledge products are positive.

Measuring Consumer-Perceived Humanness of Organizational Agents in CMC • Lincoln Lu, University of Florida; Casey McDonald, University of Florida; Tom Kelleher, University of Florida; Susanna Lee; Yoo Jin Chung, University of Florida; Sophia Mueller, University of Florida; Marc Vielledent; April Yue • A broad sample (N=172) of participants interacted with either virtual or human agents representing organizations online and completed a survey including items derived from constructs of conversational human voice, anthropomorphism, and social presence. An exploratory factor analysis yielded a central factor indicating consumer-perceived humanness. The new measure was found to be reliable and valid—working as predicted to assess both virtual and human agents and explain significant variance in perceived relational investment and trust.

The Mere Exposure Effect of Tweets on Vote Choice • Hyunjung Kim • This study investigates the effects of exposure to political candidates’ tweets on vote choice in the context of the 2018 local election in South Korea. A field experiment was conducted among Twitter users in two constituencies. Participants in the experimental group were guided on Twitter to follow a leading candidate in their electoral district, whereas those in the control group were not guided to follow the candidate. The results of the experiment indicate that following a candidate on Twitter was positively linked to voting for the candidate through candidate likability particularly when the candidate’s tweets were personalized. On the other hand, following a candidate on Twitter was negatively linked to voting for the candidate when voters had a low level of involvement with the election and the candidate’s tweets were not personalized. Implications of the findings and limitations of the study are discussed.

Predicting the adoption of AI-based healthcare technology: Theory of planned behavior, self-efficacy and controllability • Joon Kyoung Kim; Mo Jones-Jang, Boston college; Yong Jin Park, Howard University • Artificial intelligence (AI) has become increasingly prevalent in various industries. Despite increasing attention to AI, little is known about what motivates individuals to adopt AI use in health care. Using the theory of planned behavior as a theoretical framework, this study investigated the determinants of individuals’ intentions to use AI for health monitoring and diagnosis. The results of a survey (N = 1,162) indicated that attitude and perceived behavioral control predicted intention, but not subjective norms.

The Effect of Advanced Technology on Jobs: Attention, Income, Worry, and Support for a Basic Income • Alex W. Kirkpatrick, Washington State University; Jay Hmielowski, University of Florida • Understanding how media use influences public perceptions of advanced technologies is important, particularly in light of recent advances in Artificial Intelligence and robotics. In this paper, we examine whether awareness of computers and robots changing the nature of US jobs is associated with worry over the issue. We then assess whether worry is associated with support for a universal basic income policy, and if worry mediates the relationship between attention and policy support. Lastly, we assess whether this indirect relationship varies by household income. Findings suggest that lower income workers who have thought about the issue of workplace technology are more worried about the issue than higher paid workers. This increased worry is associated with support for a federal policy guaranteeing a living wage for Americans. Results are discussed under the lens of Agenda-Setting Theory. Avenues of future research are suggested.

* Extended Abstract * Extended Abstract: Are You Engaging the Game? Effect of the Challenge and the Interaction toward Game Engagement in Mobile FPS Game • Heejae Lee; Se Jung Kim, Syracuse University; Shengjie Yao; Yoon (Seo Yoon) Lee; Makana Chock • “Drawing on the relationship between social presence and related works on mobile game engagement, this study investigates the effects of the perceived risk of player-death on player communication, which elicited by the challenges of the game. Specifically, the current study examines whether 1) the higher level of challenge will induce a feeling of the perceived risk of player-death; 2) the level of challenge will serve as a trigger for communication; 3) the degree to which player-death perceivers experience a feeling of interaction; 4) the perceived risk of player-death will positively influence social presence and engagement; 5) the amount of communication will positively affect social presence and engagement.

Information Inequality: The Information Demand and Supply Factors that Shape the Digital Engagements of Low-income and High-income Individuals in the United States • Jihye Lee, Stanford University; James Hamilton; Nilam Ram, Pennsylvania State University; Thomas Robinson; Byron Reeves • This study explores how individuals of different income levels navigate digital spaces by observing more than 13 million screenshots collected from the smartphones of low-income (N = 33) and high-income (N = 35) individuals in U.S. major metropolitan areas. Our findings suggest that income is significantly associated with various aspects of individuals’ digital engagements, including temporal patterns of their smartphone engagements, level of news consumption, and types of information supply factors.

Self-disclosure on Facebook: “Self” and “Others” from social penetration perspective • Danielle Ka Lai Lee, Washington State University; Xizhu Xiao; Porismita Borah • “The study examined the influences of “self” and “others” in self-disclosure on Facebook. Based on social penetration theory, we conducted an experiment and 241 young adults participated. Results suggest that highly relevant information triggered thought elaborations in deciding self-disclosure. Surprisingly, influence from audience was revealed to be minimal. The study underscored the self-serving purpose of disclosure, such that users would chiefly think about themselves instead of audience. Future directions are discussed.

Alexa as a Shopping Assistant: The Effects of Message Interactivity and the Mediating Role of Social Presence • Sangwook Lee, University of Texas at Austin; Jeeyun Oh; Won-Ki Moon, The University of Texas at Austin • This study explores the key factors that influence consumer intention to use virtual assistants for online shopping. It examines (a) whether existing concepts in communication technology literature (particularly message interactivity and social presence) are applicable to understanding consumer responses to virtual assistants and (b) the mediating role of social presence which influences intention to use virtual assistant technology for online shopping. Result from a lab experiment showed that individuals who had more back-and-forth conversations with Alexa reported higher perceptions of message interactivity and greater feelings of social presence. Feelings of social presence mediated the effect of message interactivity on intention to use. The current study provides theoretical and practical implications to communication technology and consumer research and leaves suggestions for future study of artificial intelligence.

Connect or Contrast: Public Self-Awareness and Social Cues Impacts on Selective Exposure to Political Content • Wenbo Li, The Ohio State University; Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick • The study investigates the impacts of public self-awareness on selective exposure to political messages with social recommendation cues. A 2 (high vs. low public self-awareness) × 2 (likes vs. comments) between-subject selective exposure experiment was conducted, while partisan stance and social-cues level served as two within-subject message factors. Participants’ selective exposure was unobtrusively recorded. The results show that public self-awareness interacted with the level of social cues in affecting selective exposure. Specifically, participants high in public self-awareness spent more time reading messages with low social cues while those low in public self-awareness spent more time reading messages with high social cues. Partisanship impacted the interaction between public self-awareness and social cues. Republican’s selective exposure to pro- and counter-attitudinal messages varied between cue types (comments versus views).

Silence mobile phone notifications can be more Distracting than receiving notifications with Sounds and Vibrations • Mengqi Liao, Penn State University; S. Shyam Sundar, Penn State University • Smartphone users often turn off notifications on their smartphones to avoid distractions, but our analysis of behavioral data from the Screen Time tool of 138 iPhone users suggests that users tend to pick up their phones and check for messages more often when it is in silent mode than when it is on audio-alert or vibrate modes. This is especially true for individuals who have high Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) and Need to Belong.

Understanding the Interplay of Personality Traits and Social Comparison in Selfie Editing and Posting Behavior • Yu Liu, Florida International University; Weirui Wang, Florida International University • Selfies have been an omnipresent phenomenon across the world. By conducting a survey (N=528), this study examines how personality traits interact with social comparison process (i.e., downward identification, downward contrast, upward identification, and upward contrast) to influence photo editing and selfie posting behavior. The findings suggest being subject to different types of social comparison process, individuals with low self-esteem, high public self-consciousness, and high narcissism more frequently engage in photo editing and selfie posting.

Mimicry Decreases Resistance Towards a VR Interaction Partner – A Pilot Study. • Barbara Müller, Radboud University Nijmegen; Weronika Trzmielewska; Wolf-Gero Lange; Tibor Bosse • Interacting with virtual reality agents (VR agents) becomes more and more common in the future. The present study investigated whether non-verbal mimicry leads to less resistance, and a more positive evaluation of the VR agent. Before evaluation of the VR agent, participants interacted with a VR agent which either mimicked or anti-mimicked their non-verbal behavior. Results showed that a mimicking VR agent was perceived as more convincing, and elicited less resistance. Possible explanations are discussed.

The Target of Incivility: Examining the Uncivil Discourse on Social Media Platforms • Mustafa Oz, The University of Tennessee Knoxville; Bahtiyar Nurumov, Suleyman Demiral University • This study focused on the uncivil discourse on social media platforms. The main purpose of this study was to understand whether uncivil comments target discussion participants and specific groups on Facebook and on Twitter. Also, this study was an attempt to see if there are any differences between Facebook and Twitter in terms of uncivil discussions. Systematic content analysis was conducted and 1485 Facebook comments and Tweets were analyzed. The results suggested that there were more frequent uncivil comments on Twitter versus Facebook. Also, the results indicated that users were more likely to target discussion participants on Twitter than on Facebook.

* Extended Abstract * Yelp!ful or not? A Heuristic-Systematic Model Approach to Online Reviews on Yelp! • Bhakti Sharma; T. Franklin Waddell • Electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM) has become a primary source for users to seek recommendations and gather information to make purchase decisions. Applying the Hueristic Systematic Model (Chaiken, 1980), this study tested the impact of online reviews presented in the form of both heuristic cues (star ratings) and systematic information (written reviews) on restaurant appeal and behavioral intentions. Results reveal the importance of heuristic cues in new light and add to the existing eWOM literature

Can Social Media Engender Resilience in a Crisis? A Semantic Network Analysis • Staci Smith, Brigham Young University; Brian Smith, Brigham Young University • Social media engagement following a crisis raises the question about the influence of social media on crisis coping and resilience. This study examined Twitter responses to terror attacks in Paris (2015) and Barcelona (2017). Semantic network analysis of 24,728 #Paris tweets and 27,338 #Barcelona tweets showed that social media are for more than just information curation—they may facilitate crisis coping and resilience, including expressing emotion, building community, and creating new normalcy following a crisis.

“We think you may like”: An investigation of e-commerce personalization for privacy-conscious consumers • Yong Whi Greg Song, The University of Texas at Austin; Hayoung Sally Lim, the University of Texas at Austin; Jeeyun Oh • This study examines and proposes an electronic commerce (e-commerce) personalization technology acceptance model. A 2 (Privacy concerns priming vs. Control condition) × 2 (Personalization vs. Non-personalization) factorial, between-subjects experiment was conducted (N = 205). The findings indicate consumers’ perceived usefulness of personalization technology is positively related to their behavioral intentions to use an e-commerce mobile app, supporting Davis (1989)’s Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Data further demonstrate that consumers’ privacy concerns moderate the personalization–behavioral intention relationship.

Fighting Over Smartphones? Parents’ Excessive Smartphone Use, Lack of Control Over Children’s Use, and Conflict • Jörg Matthes; Marina Thomas; Anja Stevic; Desirée Schmuck • Parental regulation of children’s smartphone use is typically associated with conflict. To explain conflict, this paper focused on parents’ own smartphone use. A panel survey among parent-child pairs (NT2=384) revealed that parents’ excessive smartphone use increased lack of control over children’s smartphone use, which, in turn, increased conflict about the smartphone from children’s and parents’ perspectives. The relations with conflict were independent of whether parents thought that smartphones have negative effects on children.

Seeing is Believing: Is Video Modality More Powerful in Spreading Fake News via Online Messaging Apps? • S. Shyam Sundar, Penn State University; Maria D. Molina; Eugene Cho • Doctored videos sent over private messaging platforms like WhatsApp have elicited visceral responses, resulting in the wrongful death of innocent people. Would the responses have been so strong if such fake news was circulated in the form of text or audio? We explored this question by experimentally comparing reactions to three false news stories (N=180) in India. Our findings reveal that users process video more superficially, readily believing its content and sharing it with others.

“Chameleons” Make us More Other-Oriented – a Virtual Reality Study. • Weronika Trzmielewska, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities; Barbara Müller, Radboud University Nijmegen; Wojciech Kulesza, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities; Wolf-Gero Lange • Mimicry is often labelled a ‘social glue’ between people. In this study, we explored if this notion is also true in human/non-human interactions. We tested if mimicry by a virtual agent leads to more concern about others, and changes concern about the self. Participants performed a photograph description task and were either mimicked or not. The results showed that being mimicked increased participants’ orientation toward others but did not change their orientation toward self.

* Extended Abstract * Vicarious Learning of Social Media Political Expression: The Role of Expected Outcomes and Appropriate Communication Competence • Alcides Velasquez, University of Kansas; Dam Hee Kim; Andrea Quenette • Based on Social Learning and Social Cognitive Theories, this study examines how observing others successfully use social media for political expression increases one’s social media political expression. Results support a parallel mediation model where social media political expression observational learning simultaneously leads to social media political expression expected outcomes, and to appropriate social media communication competence. Expected outcomes increase social media political expression whereas appropriate social media communication competence decreases individual’s social media political expression.

* Extended Abstract * Media Use and Attitudes Toward Social Media Bots • Ming Wang, University of Nebraska-Lincoln • Using the O-S-O-R framework, this study examines whether orientational variables mediate the impact of various media use on attitudes toward social media bots. Analysis of a nationally representative survey reveals that the effects of social media use on bot attitudes were partially mediated through bot detection self-efficacy and perceived influence on others. Interestingly, some paths were opposite to what hypotheses predicted. This study enhances our understanding of individual antecedents to social media bots attitudes.

Understanding AI Advertising from the Consumer Perspective: What Factors Determine Consumers’ Appreciation of AI-created Advertisements? • Linwan Wu, University of South Carolina; Taylor Wen, University of South Carolina • This study tested a conceptual model that examined some influential factors of consumers’ overall appreciation of AI-created advertisements. The findings indicated that consumers’ perceived objectivity of the process of advertising creation positively influenced machine heuristics which benefited their appreciation of AI-created advertisements, but negatively influenced perceived eeriness which jeopardized that appreciation. Consumers’ feelings of uneasiness with robots were found to positively influence both machine heuristic and perceived eeriness of AI advertising.

Multiple Selves and Multitasking: A Dynamic Longitudinal Study • Shan Xu, Texas Tech University • This study integrates the theory of multiple selves within the theoretical framework of dynamic motivation activation (DMA) to identify the dynamic patterns of multiple self-concepts (i.e., the potential self, the actual self) in multitasking (e.g., primary activities, secondary activities) in daily life. Experience sampling data over three weeks showed that the potential self was more dominant in primary activities, whereas the actual self was more dominant in secondary activities. Dynamic panel modeling results confirmed that these self-concepts reinforced themselves in primary and secondary activities. They also shifted from one to another to achieve a balance in primary activities. Interestingly, secondary activities were not driven by the alternative self-concept in primary activities, but instead by the emotional experiences of primary activities. Furthermore, multitasking to fulfill the actual self did not motivate people to re-prioritize their potential self later.

Adoption of AI-powered news: Integration of technology acceptance and perceived contingency • Jun Zhang, Newhouse School of Syracuse University; Joon Soo Lim, Syracuse University • In the AI era, news audiences’ interaction with news systems brings highly personalized news experience. This study integrates the TAM and perceived contingency model to investigate the adoption of AI-powered news. With a representative survey of 1,369 respondents, the study finds that perceived contingency becomes a critical supplement to perceived usefulness and ease of use to yield favorable attitude and engagement with AI-powered news, thereby lead to the actual use of AI-powered news.

Impact of Interactivity on Satisfaction in Digital Social Reading − Social Presence as a Mediator • Wu Li; Yuanyi Mao; LIUNING ZHOU, University of Southern California • Digital social reading is characterized by interactivity and social presence. We conducted empirical research to better understand the effect of interactivity on users’ reading satisfaction through the mediating effect of social presence. Research findings show that human-to-human interactivity was affected by human-to-text interactivity, and both types of interactivity significantly predicted social presence. Social presence fully mediated human-to-human interactivity and satisfaction, while partially mediating human-to-text interactivity and satisfaction.

Student Paper Competition
“Should I Use Emoticon and GIF?”: The Effect of Emoticon and GIF in Human-Chatbot Interaction • Jin Kang, The Pennsylvania State University; Lewen Wei, Pennsylvania State University • Would human users react favorably after seeing chatbots that use emoticons and GIFs? To address this question, we conducted a 2 (Source: Human vs. Chatbot) x 3 (Cues: GIF vs. Emoticon vs. Text) between-subjects online experiment. We found the important role of machine heuristic, such that those with greater belief in machine heuristic showed favorable outcomes, regardless of a source. Theoretical and design Implications are discussed.

Unpacking the Effects of Social Media Comments on Young Adults’ Body Image Perception • Hye Min Kim, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California • Studies have highlighted the influence of social media comments on users’ perceptual consequences, but if this holds true in body image context is still largely unknown. To investigate the effect of social media comments on young adults’ ideal body perceptions and one’s own body satisfaction, participants (N = 330) were randomly exposed to Instagram body posting with favorable- vs. unfavorable- (to the depicted body) vs. no-comments. Results indicated that social media comments guided the viewers’ perceptions of what is considered as ‘ideal’ body. Viewers of favorable comments to body posting reported greater idealization of the body imagery (i.e., ideal-enhancing effects) whereas viewers of unfavorable comments showed a lower level of idealization (i.e., ideal-derogating effects). Interestingly, the more ideal the body imagery was perceived, the greater the body satisfaction was reported among participants with little self-discrepancy (i.e., perceptual gap between one’s actual- and ideal- selves).

Internet as a context: Exploring its impacts on scientific optimism in China • Chen Luo, Tsinghua University; Yuchun Zhu; Jia Shang • Internet brings new opportunities and challenges to scientific development and science communication, but how the Internet affects public scientific attitudes remains underexplored. Conceptualizing the Internet as a context, this paper examines the Internet’s impacts on the scientific optimism of Chinese people. By combining China’s survey data (n = 2,300) from the sixth round of the World Values Survey and provincial data (24 provinces), multilevel analysis suggests that: 1) Internet as a context weakens scientific optimism of the Chinese public, at the same time, the Internet as a medium has no significant effect. 2) As a quantitative indicator of Internet development, Internet penetration at the provincial level promotes the positive relationship between individual traditional media exposure and scientific optimism. In contrast, the qualitative indicator has no evident moderating effect. This research reveals unique characteristics of Chinese society, provides a piece of empirical evidence on Internet technology’s shaping effects on scientific attitudes in the non-western environment. Explanations of the findings and implications are further discussed.

Exploring Twitter Conversations around Four Brand Categories: A Computational Approach to Identify Dominant Topics and Content Characteristics • Haseon Park, University of Alabama • Extant research on social media advertising suggests that reaching consumers via social media enhances engagement, leading to positive outcomes. In line with previous research, this study identifies dominant topics discussed in different brand networks as well as content characteristics within the theoretical background of Elaboration Likelihood Model and FCB grid model. By incorporating a computational approach, this study contributes to revisiting the application of ELM and FCB grid model in the context of social media advertising.

Flow = Optimal? How Flow Diverts Media Users’ Performance, Enjoyment, and Evaluation in Multiple-Goal Pursuit • Giang V. Pham, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Minh V. Pham • This study conceptualized and tested the diversion effects of flow experiences in media use. Results from an experiment (N = 84) showed that when people have multiple goals, the flow state experienced during video gaming significantly lowered their performance on the subsequent goal and decreased their game enjoyment and evaluation. These findings suggest that in multiple-goal pursuit, media flow could divert people’s resources away from their tasks, causing goal disruption and reduced media enjoyment.

Alexa, What Do You Know: An Investigation of Smart Speakers and Privacy Perceptions • Nicholas Sarafolean, University of Tennessee; Courtney Carpenter Childers • The modern smart home is increasingly connected, and at the center of most smart homes is the smart speaker. These devices produce a rich flood of new data points, offering advertisers an opportunity to gather more detailed data about consumers than ever before. However, with Big Data collection, there are challenges associated with the constant “listening” of smart speakers and privacy threats to children. Smart speakers’ “listening” of young children raises red flags around the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), as COPPA allows for data collection but it does not allow the use of such data for advertising purposes. This exploratory study used the qualitative paradigmatic perspective to address experiences with and perceptions of smart speakers in the household with 10 mothers with children under 12 years (n=10). Results highlight that mothers are often struggling with how to best manage household smart speaker use with their kids, privacy and listening concerns are “real,” and smart speaker technologies for kids, such as the Amazon Echo Kids Edition, are blurring the lines between big tech and targeted advertising efforts. Implications for advertisers are discussed.

“There’s a Camera Everywhere”: How Citizen Journalists, Cell Phones, and Technology Shape News Coverage of Police Shootings • Denetra Walker • This study examines how an evolving technological landscape influences how television news journalists cover the issue of deadly, highly-publicized police shootings in the United States. Through 10 in-depth interviews, the author analyzes how social media, cell phones, as well as citizen journalists shape this narrative. Themes include a change in speed and accessibility, accuracy, and a multi-layered challenge to police authority. Practical and theoretical implications on the future digital landscape covering this topic is discussed.

* Extended Abstract * Friendly mistakes: Investigating the relationship between AI error, social cues, and trust in gameplay • Ryan Tan, Penn State University; Mengqi Liao, Penn State University; Ryan Wang, Penn State University • People often interact with technological agents as though they are social actors despite relying on them being free from ‘human error’. Would an artificial intelligence agent that reinforces these expectations by exhibiting social cues then be more/less likely to lose user trust? This study utilizes Structural Equation Modelling to analyze the results of an online game-based experiment to investigate the process by which heuristics potentially mediates the effects interactions of social cues and error.

All About Words: Linguistic Profile of Twitter Users Who Tweet and Retweet About Face-swapping Posts • Lewen Wei, Pennsylvania State University; Jin Kang, The Pennsylvania State University • Through a social network formulated over three months, we examined the relationship between key characteristics of Twitter users and their primary versus secondary self-presentation via face-swapping activities. We found that users who valued friends, showed female preferences, actively engaged with cognitive reappraisals, or were more honest with their self tended to post their own face-swap rather than sharing others’ face-swap on Twitter. Implications for self-identity and self-presentation are discussed.

The Picture of Health on Instagram: Congruent vs. Incongruent Emotion in Predicting the Sentiment of Comments • Jiaxi Wu; Traci Hong • This study aims to explore the effects of congruent and incongruent emotions in Instagram images and captions on the sentiment of comments. A content analysis of Instagram posts (N=7,078) with the hashtag “#mentalhealth” on World Mental Health Day found emotionally congruent posts received more positive comments than incongruent ones. Posts with both positive captions and images attracted the most positive comments compared with other posts. While emotions in captions significantly predicted the sentiment in comments, emotions in images had no effects on the outcome variables. This study also found images containing faces attracted more likes, comments, and positive comments. Images with intimate gaze also led to more positive feedback from users. Theoretical implications of emotional contagion as elicited from images are discussed.

<2020 Abstracts

Communicating Science, Health, Environment, and Risk Division

Comfort, Compliance, and Concern: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Health Research Communication • Robyn Adams, Michigan State University • There is increasing interest in the communication between researchers and research participants, particularly health communication. Research suggests that participants and researchers perform ideological roles. Yet, little research is examining these roles or their influence on their interactions. This study critically examined communication between research staff and participants within a more extensive health study. Findings revealed how researchers’ and participants’ unique and intersecting racial, social, and geographic backgrounds influence the health communication process and power dynamics.

Social media use during the flood: Formation of global warming risk perceptions during extreme weather events • Ashley Anderson, Colorado State University • This study examines how social media habits during a major flooding event in Colorado shape global warming risk perceptions. A statewide survey (n = 808) shows those who share news about the extreme weather event over social media are more likely to hold perceptions that global warming will have an impact on future local weather events. Social media information consumption about the flood boosts risk perceptions for those who hold low global warming belief certainty.

Threat Appraisals and Emotions in Crisis:  Examining Information Seeking and Sharing in Hurricane Florence • Lucinda Austin, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Adam Saffer; Seoyeon Kim, University of Alabama • This study examined the relationship between the perceived threat of disasters (including disaster severity and involvement recognition), negative emotions (including anxiety, fear, sadness, and anger), and information seeking and forwarding/sharing. Through a survey of over 600 U.S. adults in a hurricane-affected region in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, findings showed that negative emotions mediated the relationship between threat appraisals and the outcomes of information seeking and sharing.

* Extended Abstract * Structures of engagement: How institutional structures at U.S. land-grant universities impact science faculty’s public scholarship • Luye Bao, Univerity of Wisconsin – Madison; MIKHAILA CALICE, University of Wisconsin-Madison Dept. of Life Sciences Communication; Kathleen Rose, Dartmouth College; Dominique Brossard • As science communication is increasingly expected of science faculty, research into factors that effectively develop these skills, like institutional structure and culture, are growing. Using hierarchical linear modeling, we analyze 2018 survey data of science faculty from U.S. land-grant universities to explore how institutional structures within these universities affect the science faculty engagement with the public. Our findings show weak influence of institutional factors and reiterate previous findings regarding the effectiveness of training and experience.

Are productive scientists more willing to participate in public engagement? • Luye Bao, Univerity of Wisconsin – Madison; MIKHAILA CALICE, University of Wisconsin-Madison Dept. of Life Sciences Communication; Dietram Scheufele, University of Wisconsin at Madison • Expanding upon public engagement research that explores the relationship between science and society, we examine what factors influence scientists’ willingness to engage with the public. Using survey data of scientists from U.S. land-grant universities, we find that academic productive scientists are more willing to participate in public scholarship. Insights from social sciences research, science communication training, institutional incentives, and self-efficacy are associated with greater willingness to participate in public scholarship and informal science education.

Discerning Discourse: The Language of Media in Reporting on Global Warming and Climate Change • Bruno F Battistoli, Fairleigh Dickinson University • This study examines media discourse in the communication of scientific information on Climate Change and Global Warming in articles on extreme weather events over a one-year period in The New York Times and The Washington Post (N = 7,252). Frequencies of primary climate terms (Global Warming, Climate Change) and secondary extreme weather event terms (tropical storm, hurricane, flood, drought, heat wave, forest fire) are reported. Qualitative content analysis revealed four thematic discourse categories.

Narratives vs. Standard of Care: Testing Messages Effectiveness for Adolescents’ Type 1 Diabetes Management • Trevor Bell, California State University, Long Beach; Seth Noar, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Allison Lazard, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a chronic illness requiring constant self-management. For adolescents, however, self-management is a daunting task. This study conducted an online experiment involving adolescents with T1D (N = 191) who were randomized to view sets of narratives or standard of care messages to evaluate the impact on message evaluation and psychosocial outcomes. Narratives were based on true stories from college students with T1D who described challenges to management and steps to overcome barriers, and standard of care messages were adapted from a high-ranking pediatric endocrinology clinic. Results showed no significant differences on any outcomes between conditions; however, mean scores were high for both, suggesting that different types of messages offer useful advice and guidance for adolescents with T1D. Discussion focuses on how narratives could work well in conjunction with standard of care messages to target different motivational and informational aspects of T1D management.

“From Cover-Up to Catastrophe:” How the Anti-Vaccine Propaganda Documentary “Vaxxed” Impacted College Students’ Perceptions About Vaccinations • Amanda Bradshaw, University of Florida; Debbie Treise, University of Florida; Alexis Bajalia, University of Florida; Easton Wollney; Summer Shelton; Kendra Auguste; Montserrat Carrerra Seoane • Through the lens of the Health Belief Model, this study sought to understand how viewing the anti-vaccine propaganda documentary Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe impacted individuals’ perceptions of the measles mumps rubella (MMR) vaccine and their subsequent expressed intentions to vaccinate prospective children. Qualitative pre/post video interviews were conducted along with think aloud methodology; thematic analysis revealed four themes: viewing vaccination from a Western lens; underlying distrust; skepticism or shaken beliefs, and Aristotle’s three proofs.

A Sea Change For Climate Refugees In The South Pacific: How Social Media—Not Journalism—Tells Their Real Story • Elizabeth Burch, California State Univeristy Sonoma • This study examines how Pacific Islanders use social media to fight global warming. In-depth interviews with journalists and activists in Fiji and Tuvalu explore how socially-mediated communication provides a novel forum for counter-hegemonic resistance. Social media has become the last Mayday of the so-called climate change refugee. As long as journalism misses their real story, Pacific Islanders will continue to call for help through Posts, Tweets and (Dis)likes.

* Extended Abstract * Examining the influence of gene editing knowledge on science attitudes among four major stakeholder groups • Christopher Calabrese, University of California, Davis; Jieyu Ding Featherstone; Matthew Robbins; George A. Barnett • In the context of gene editing, this study examines the role of factual knowledge on science attitudes among four major stakeholder groups: farmers, scientists, policymakers, and the general public. Findings indicate gene editing knowledge predicted science attitudes for all four groups. These results suggest the deficit model may hold for certain conditions; knowledge surrounding emerging technologies may influence general science attitudes. Understanding key factors among stakeholder groups will aid in guiding future message strategies.

The Third-Person Effect of COVID-19 Misinformation: Examining A Mediation Model for Predicating Corrective Actions • Liang Chen; Lunrui Fu • Based on the third-person effect as the theoretical framework, the current study aims to explore how the third-person perception of COVID-19 misinformation affects public intention to engage in corrective action. A total of 1,063 participants in mainland China were recruited to complete the online survey. Our findings provided partial support for the hypotheses that make up the extended third-person effect model. Results indicate that the third-person perception indirectly shaped public intentions to engage in corrective actions through attitude and perceived behavioral control, providing empirical support for a new dimension of the behavioral outcome of the third-person effect.

* Extended Abstract * Extended Abstract: The Impact of Uncertainty on Prevention Behavior Intention – Applying Theory of Planned Behavior to Uncertain Health Threat Situation • Junhan Chen, University of Maryland, College Park; Kang Namkoong, University of Maryland • Novel infectious disease outbreaks such as the COVID-19 pandemic often induce feeling of uncertainty. How uncertainty affects individuals’ intention to take prevention actions is not fully understood. Through an experiment with two conditions (known vs. unknown disease), this study investigates 1) whether individuals perceive higher uncertainty in face of an unknown infectious disease, and 2) how perceived uncertainty affects attitude, self-efficacy, and perceived norms, and in turn affects intention to take prevention behaviors.

Megaphoning Effects of Skepticism, Cynicism, and Situational Motivation on an Environmental CSR Activity • Myounggi Chon; Young Kim • The purpose of this study was to examine how individuals’ skepticism and cynicism about an environmental CSR activity influence their positive and negative communication behaviors toward a corporation (megaphoning effects). The findings demonstrated the important mediating role of situational motivation in problem solving on a given environment issue between skepticism/cynicism and megaphoning effects. Using a nationwide survey of 504 participants living in the United States, this study found that skepticism and cynicism increased negative megaphoning effect and decreased positive megaphoning behaviors. Furthermore, skepticism/cynicism and megaphoning behaviors were partially mediated by situation motivation of problem solving. In particular, skeptics who were motivated to solve an environmental issue were less likely to take and forward negative information about a corporation in an environmental CSR activity. This study provides new theoretical and practical insights into CSR strategies that understand skepticism and cynicism and the communicative behaviors of publics.

* Extended Abstract * Construing Climate Change: Psychological distance, individual difference and construal level of climate change • Haoran Chu, Texas Tech University • This study examines the influences of distance cues and individual characteristics (trait empathy, time orientation, age, and gender) on climate change construe. Content analysis was utilized to investigate American adults’ mental construe of climate change after exposure to messages illustrating its impacts in close or distant locations and time. This study complements extant literature on psychological distance of climate change by pinpointing construal level’s role in shaping people’s response to climate change communication messages.

Adaptive Framing: Uncovering the Mediators and Extending the Strategy to Other Controversial Issues – Climate Change Skepticism and Vaccine Hesitancy • Renita Coleman, University of Texas Austin; Esther Thorson; Cinthia Jiminez; Kami Vinton, University of Texas Austin • This study tests a new frame that journalists can use for issues where people dispute scientific claims by instead focusing on solutions to adapt to impacts and by avoiding trigger words that cue ideological attitudes, causing people to shut down and refuse to even discuss these issues. An experiment shows this “adaptive frame,” which does not cue people’s deeply held beliefs, is significantly better at encouraging people to take action, engage with the news, and agree with the story’s perspective. These are mediated by increased perceived behavioral control, and reduced persuasion knowledge. Extensions to framing theory and practical advice for journalists are discussed.

Subverting Stereotypes: Visual Rhetoric in the #SheCanSTEM Campaign • Deborah J. Danuser, University of Pittsburgh • The Ad Council’s “She Can STEM” campaign works to promote science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to girls by subverting the culturally-dominant stereotype that they are masculine endeavors. I examine select campaign images to see how they avoid the most common STEM visual stereotypes. However, the campaign’s strong avoidance of all STEM tropes ends up creating a campaign deficiency by stripping its role models of all visual cues that they are in STEM.

Twitter Networks during the Global COVID-19 Pandemic: Online Networking at the Time of Physical “Social Distancing” • Shugofa Dastgeer; Rashmi Thapaliya • This study examined Twitter networks during the global COVID-19 pandemic. It was a combination of social network analysis and content analysis on how people in different parts of the world engaged in health discourse on Twitter. The findings showed that people tended to talk more about politics than medical issues related to the pandemic and engaged in blaming others for the crisis. The main sources of information among users were news, self, and government officials.

A Comparison of Pro- and Anti-Vaping Groups’ Use of the Dialogic Communication Potential of Social Media • Nicholas Eng, Penn State University; Rachel Peng, Penn State University • Amidst the controversies surrounding e-cigarette use, a number of pro and anti-vaping organizations have surfaced over the years. Although these organizations have polar opposite views on vaping, they still share the same goal of gaining support from the public for their cause. This study examines how well five organizations representing two differing points of view create dialogic spaces on social media for their users. Through a content analysis, we found that both pro and anti-vaping organizations were not fully embracing recommendations on creating a dialogic space online. Pro-vaping organizations were found to be significantly more aggressive in encouraging advocacy action than anti-vaping organizations, but no significant differences were found in initiating dialogue or responding to users’ questions. Additionally, there was a significantly larger portion of comments by users that expressed distrust in health information on anti-vaping organizations’ posts than pro-vaping organizations’ posts. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Testing the Efficacy of Carbon Footprint Calculator Messaging on Climate Action: An Emotion-as-Frames Approach • Nicholas Eng, Penn State University; JIN CHEN; Jason Freeman, Pennsylvania State University; Carlina DiRusso, Pennsylvania State University • Due to the urgency of climate change, tools like carbon footprint calculators aim to encourage individuals to improve their environmental behaviors. To enhance pro-environmental information communicated through such tools, this experiment (N = 388) examined the role of individuals’ carbon footprint calculator performance and gain-loss framed efficacy messages on emotional responses, attitudes, and intentions toward climate action. Using the emotions-as-frames model and the theory of planned behavior, we found support that a low carbon footprint score evokes feelings of hope, which in turn influences attitudes, norms, perceived behavioral control, and ultimately pro-environmental behavioral intentions. High carbon footprint scores evoke anger, which directly increases behavioral intentions. We did not find support for gain-loss frames shaping emotional, attitudes, or intention-related outcomes. The findings suggest that emotions, like hope and anger, are persuasive mediators for increasing intentions. However, some emotions may be more effective than others for changing attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

The Impact of Media Exposure on HPV Vaccine Risk Perception and Parental Support: The Moderating Effect of Consideration of Future Consequences • Yulei Feng, Shanghai Jiao Tong University • The development of HPV vaccine has made cervical cancer the only one cancer that can be prevented medically to some extent. Given that more and more information related to HPV vaccines has appeared on media platforms, whether media exposure will affect parents’ perception of HPV vaccine risks and further influence their decisions becomes a topic of concern. This paper proposes a consideration of future consequences moderating effect model on media exposure, risk perception and parental support based on theoretical analysis, and validates the data collected through questionnaire surveys. Studies have found that media exposure can reduce the risk perception of HPV vaccine and promote parental supportive decision. At the same time, low-risk perceptions have a positive correlation with parental decisions, and consideration of future consequences has a moderating role between media exposure and risk perception. This study provides preliminary evidence for the interrelationships between media use, personality traits, and healthy behavioral decisions.

Stay socially distant and wash your hands: determining intent for COVID-19 preventive behaviors • Jeanine Guidry, Virginia Commonwealth University; Nicole O’Donnell, Virginia Commonwealth University; Lucinda Austin, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Ioana Coman, Texas Tech University • COVID-19 has spread quickly across the globe, and since there are currently no vaccines or treatments available, understanding the beliefs and perceptions about COVID-19 preventive behaviors is of utmost importance. This study surveyed 500 U.S. individuals in March 2020 and asked about their perceptions and beliefs about COVID-19 and the recommended preventive actions for this disease. Findings indicate a different in adherence intent by gender, as well as by Health Belief Model constructs.

* Extended Abstract * (Extended Abstract) Mother Earth, Memes, and Multi-Modality: Expressive Depictions of Climate Change on TikTok • Samantha Hautea, Michigan State University; Perry Parks, Michigan State University; Bruno Takahashi, Michigan State University; JING ZENG • The microvideo-sharing platform TikTok has emerged as a popular hub for self-expression, particularly for youth. This paper offers an inductive multimodal analysis of climate change-tagged TikTok videos to examine how creators are engaging with broader social issues through their content. We find TikToks are complex creative communicative expressions that display patterns of repetition and variation, message ambiguity, and depict climate change as a cultural zeitgeist.

When a Story Contradicts: Correcting Misinformation on Social Media Through Different Message Formats and Mechanisms • Yan Huang, University of Houston; Weirui Wang, Florida International University • The study tests the effects of message format (story vs. nonstory) and correction mechanisms (social vs. algorithmic correction) in correcting e-cigarette related misinformation on social media. Two experiments were conducted in which correction messages were delivered with either explicit or implicit endorsement through correction mechanisms. Findings suggest that narrative correction may have merit when it is prompted by the algorithm with explicit endorsement; nonnarrative correction is more effective when suggested by social contacts.

Transforming science information via person-to-person communication: Insights from experimental transmission chains and eye movements • Austin Hubner; Jason Coronel; Jared Ott; Matthew Sweitzer, Ohio State University; Samuel Lerner • Person-to-person communication plays an important role in explaining how people learn about science in their everyday lives. In study 1, we examine how science messages are transformed via the serial reproduction paradigm. Specifically exploring whether individuals are able to distinguish between information associated with an expert compared to a nonexpert. Study 2 uses eye monitoring to examine whether our findings from study 1 are evidence of credibility effect or a primacy effect.

Extending the mood management theory: How entertainment and informational television viewing moderates the effects of anxiety on smoking behavior • Juwon Hwang; Porismita Borah • “According to statistics from CDC, smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. Multiple studies have linked mental health issues such as anxiety with smoking. Moreover, there is plenty of research that has studied the impact of television genres on moods. But to the best of our knowledge no study has examined the impact of the relationship between anxiety and television viewing on risky behaviors such as smoking. We set out to examine the relationship between anxiety, television viewing, and smoking behavior. To do so, we use national U.S. survey data and concepts from mood management theory. Our main contributions are to 1) extend the mood management theory to test the impact on actual behavior 2) as well as to examine the nuances of television genres by dividing entertainment television into excitement-valanced and ambiguously-valanced entertainment programs, along with information programs. The primary findings show that individuals with anxiety are more likely to smoke and this association is significantly attenuated when they watched cartoon, sports, and health information programs but the positive association between anxiety and the extent of smoking intensified when they watched drama, music, sci-fi and TV news. Implications are discussed.

Social Media Use for Health, Cultural Values, and Demographics: A Survey of Pakistani Millennials • Muhammad Ittefaq, University of Kansas; Hyunjin Seo, University of Kansas; Mauryne Abwao, University of Knasas; Annalise Baines, University of Kansas • Over the last 10 years, an extensive body of literature has been produced to investigate the role of social media in health communication. However, little is known about the impact of cultural characteristics (e.g., masculinity, collectivism, & uncertainty avoidance) on social media use regarding health related information, especially in developing countries such as Pakistan. The present study employed Hofstede’s cultural characteristics and uses and gratification theory to examine how Pakistani millennials’ demographic characteristics and cultural values are associated with their social media use for health-related information. Our survey with 722 Pakistani adults ages between 18 to 35 living in Pakistan showed that cultural values—masculinity, collectivism, and uncertainty avoidance—are strongly related with their perceptions of social media importance, usefulness, and perceived ease of access for health-related information even when controlling for demographic characteristics. Age and gender are also significantly associated with their perspectives on social media for health. In addition, results show that communicating and sharing information is the most important motivation for them to use social media in the area of health with WhatsApp and YouTube being most preferred social media sites for health-related issues. The scholarly and practical implications of the study are discussed.

Understanding the lay audiences’ science decision-making: The role of moral foundations • Jiyoun Kim, University of Maryland; John Leach, University of Maryland; Yuan Wang, The University of Maryland; Saymin Lee • While not inherently an issue of politics, science is often judged by the public through political ideology or party. With the application of moral foundations theory, this study sought to how moral foundations can affect science decision-making. Our survey data (n = 384) reveal the functional part of the moral foundation (individualizing and binding-morality) in public judgment and decision-making about scientific issues. Theoretical implications on morality and practical applications regarding scientific acceptance are discussed.

Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Patient-Provider Communication and the Role of E-Health Use • Hyang-Sook Kim, Towson University; Hee Jun Kim, Towson University • Although the healthcare industry has strived to address racial/ethnic disparities in health communication, the gaps persist. Previous findings suggest that communication technology might help narrow the gaps; however, they do not how or why. According to data from a recent national survey (N = 3,504), Asians and Hispanics reported lower levels of perceived quality of communication with health care providers. While the adoption of communication technology is relatively high across minority groups, its use might play different roles (i.e., complementing or replacing traditional patient-provider communication) in different racial/ethnic populations.

An eye tracking approach to understanding misinformation and correction strategies on social media: The mediating role of attention and credibility to reduce HPV vaccine misperceptions • Sojung Kim, George Mason University; Emily Vraga; John Cook • This study uses an unobtrusive eye tracking approach to examine understudied psychological mechanisms—message attention and credibility—when people are exposed to misinformation and correction on social media.  We contrast humor versus non-humor correction strategies that point out the rhetorical flaws in misinformation regarding the HPV vaccine, which was selected for its relevance and impact on public health.  We randomly assigned participants to one of two experimental conditions: rhetorical humor correction versus rhetorical non-humor correction.  Our analyses revealed that the humor correction increased attention to the image portion of the correction tweet, and this attention indirectly lowered HPV misperceptions by reducing the credibility of the misinformation tweet.  The study also found that the non-humor correction outperformed the humor correction in reducing misperceptions via its higher credibility ratings.  Practical implications for correcting misinformation on social media are discussed.

The psychology of social media communication in influencing prevention intentions during the 2019 U.S. measles outbreak • Sojung Kim, George Mason University; Katherine Hawkins, George Mason University • This study investigates beneficial effects of social media communication on encouraging positive health prevention behaviors among U. S. parents. The ongoing 2019 U. S. measles outbreak was the topical focus due to its urgency, highly contagious nature, societal impact, and high relevance to public health. Applying the Extended Parallel Process Model as a theoretical framework, social media expression and reception effects on different prevention intentions were examined along with self-efficacy, perceived susceptibility, and perceived severity as potential mediators. The study found that both social media expression and reception were effective in encouraging preventive hygiene intention, but only through improved self-efficacy and perceived severity. For information seeking intention, both social media expression and reception were effective directly and indirectly through increased susceptibility and severity perceptions of measles infection on their child. Practical implications and study contributions are further discussed.

* Extended Abstract * Media trust, risk, and social capital during hurricane: Media dependency approach • Hyehyun Julia Kim, University of Florida; Sylvia Chan-Olmsted, University of Florida • This paper explores media trust and perceived risk using Media Dependency Theory (MSD) to better understand the relationship between people and media during hurricanes. Relationship between social capital and demographic variables are also examined, as social capital acts as important resource in low-income communities. With data collected from 2,015 participants, study findings identify statistically significant relationships between different media outlets and media trust, as well as between demographic variables and social capital in hurricane context.

The urban-rural divide and Americans’ trust in scientists • Nicole Krause, University of Wisconsin – Madison • Poll data suggest that Americans’ trust in scientists follows an “urban-rural divide,” but it is unclear if the divide is simply a reflection of correlating factors such as religiosity and conservativism. Using attitudinal measures from the 2016 American National Election Studies combined with ruralness scores from United States Department of Agriculture, this paper finds a unique, negative effect of ruralness on warmth toward scientists, even with controls for political views, religion, conspiracism, and media attention.

* Extended Abstract * Twitter Conversation Around COVID-19 During Pre-Pandemic Period: Stigma and Information Format Cues • Sushma Kumble, Towson University; Hyang-Sook Kim, Towson University; Pratiti Diddi, Lamar University • As of March 11, 2020, WHO has declared COVID-19, which also goes by a general name Coronavirus, as a global pandemic (World Health Organization, 2020). This study explored the role of twitter in disseminating stigma messages around the disease and the country wherein the virus originated. In particular, the study explored four stigma related cues and information related cues in content. Preliminary results indicate that in the data-subset, 41.2% of the messages had stigma cues present, 45.78% of the messages had information cues. Additional analysis including social network analysis will be included in the subsequent full paper.

This Could Be Us: The Effects of Narratives and Disclosure Timings on Reducing Stigma and Implicit Bias against People Suffering from Mental Illness • Sushma Kumble, Towson University; Fuyuan Shen • One in five Americans is living with some form of diagnosable mental illness. The stigma surrounding mental illness can prevent patients from seeking necessary help. Narrative communication can engross an audience in a story, thereby reducing the tendency to argue with the message. While scholars have examined how narratives encourage empathy for and favorable attitude toward the stigmatized, little is known about building characters and timing the narrative reveal of a stigmatized condition to facilitate de-stigmatization. In order to test these effects, we conducted a between-subjects online experiment (N = 290) using narratives and disclosure timing in the context of mental illness. Results indicate that overall, narratives aided in de-stigmatization of the individual or group on an explicit level but did not significantly reduce implicit bias.

Beneath our feet: Risk, dread, and the future in coverage of enhanced geothermal energy • Catherine Lambert, Cornell University • Enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) are a renewable energy technology that can generate both low-emissions power and heating. As an emerging technology that also has the potential to cause induced earthquakes, EGS represents a major public acceptance challenge, but little research has considered the risk messages emerging around EGS, including media depictions of risks, benefits, and other narratives. This study analyzes news media coverage of EGS in major world publications from 2006–2019 and finds that while news articles typically devoted limited attention to risks in favor of technological and environmental benefits, they consistently acknowledge financial and technological uncertainties involved. News coverage contained few elements of dread, but a consistent association with extractive processes such as mining and hydraulic fracturing. Rather than depictions of a remote underground, coverage framed geothermal energy as close and accessible, “right beneath our feet.” EGS was depicted as a component of three energy imaginaries: as part of a general vision of renewable energy transitions, as part of visions of world leadership in energy innovation, and as a pathway to national energy security. A lack of dread connotations and an association with minimal visual impact suggests that EGS may be less susceptible to processes of risk amplification, but an overall lack of risk information, particularly regarding induced earthquakes, indicates the need for further research on the gap between media coverage and public concerns.

The Effects of Interface Modality on Persuasive Outcomes in Food Safety Communication • Dingyu Hu; Roselyn Lee-Won, The Ohio State University; Sung Gwan Park, Seoul National University • The present research examined the effects of interface modality on persuasive outcomes in food safety communication by comparing mouse-based and touchscreen-based interaction. A laboratory experiment showed that participants who used touchscreen interface, compared to those who used mouse interface, reported greater fear after viewing food safety messages. Furthermore, fear significantly mediated the effects of interface modality on behavioral intentions. Implications for understanding the persuasive potential of interface modalities in health and risk communication are discussed.

* Extended Abstract * Polarization of Public Trust in Scientists: Insights from a Cross-Decade Comparison Using Machine Learning, 1978-2018 • Yachao Qian; Nan Li, Texas Tech University • Americans’ trust in scientists has been divided along ideological lines and polarized in the past decades. However, empirical evidences characterizing the polarization trend are mixed. This study seeks to elucidate the phenomenon with insights gained from a secondary analysis of General Social Survey data using machine learning. Results show that while conservatives initiated the polarization trend by moving asymmetrically to the extreme since 1990s, liberals played a more critical role in exacerbating it post 2008.

* Extended Abstract * Interactive Data Visualizations as Persuasive Devices for Climate Change Communication • Nan Li, Texas Tech University • Interactive data visualizations (IDVs) have been increasingly used to convey evidences regarding the risks associated with climate change. However, little is known regarding how such interfaces can help non-experts overcome their defensive responses to identity threatening messages and update opinions. Following the Elaboration Likelihood Model, this study proposed a model explaining the potential effects of IDVs on message elaboration and acceptance. Results of a pilot study were discussed to propose directions for future research.

Social media use and Chinese young people’s exercise behavior:  An extension of the theory of planned behavior • Ruoheng Liu; Nainan Wen • This study employed the theory of planned behavior to explain the relationship between use of exercise-related social media and intention and behavior of exercise among Chinese young people. Results of a survey using a stratified quota sample in a Chinese university showed that the TBP was able to explain the effect of social media use on intention to exercise and exercise behavior, while the model needed revisions to better predict the behavioral outcomes and better fit with the data. Particularly, informational and social use of exercise-related social media directly and indirectly predicted exercise behavior. The indirect paths were mediated by subjective norms and perceived behavioral control. Implications of these findings were also discussed.

Information seeking and sharing during the coronavirus outbreak: An application of the Risk Information Seeking and Processing model • Zhuling Liu; Janet Yang; Jody Chin Sing Wong; Zhiying Yue; David Lee • “This study applies the risk information seeking and processing model (RISP) to examine the US public’s information seeking and information sharing during the early stage of the coronavirus outbreak. Further, we investigate how these communication behaviors affect Americans’ willingness to provide aid to China before community spread became prevalent in the US. Consistent with previous research, results show that information subjective norms are a significant predictor of both information seeking and information sharing. In addition, sympathy and information sharing are positively related to willingness to aid. An important discovery is that perceived information gathering capacity moderates the relationship between people’s attitude towards information on social media and information sharing. The RISP model posits this relationship, but it has rarely been tested in empirical studies. In terms of practical implication, this study shows that perceived credibility influences people’s motivation to share information, especially for those who have higher perceived ability to gather information on a risk topic.

Seeking information about an emerging technology: Fairness, uncertainty, systematic processing, and information engagement intentions • Hang Lu, University of Michigan; Hwanseok Song, Purdue University; Katherine McComas, Cornell University • Skeptical about emerging technologies, the public is often motivated to perform information engagement behaviors. We conducted an experiment in which participants (N=1,042) received information varying in degrees of uncertainty and fairness about an emerging technology. Subsequently, participants performed an information seeking task. We found that predictors, such as affect, norm, and information need, explained information engagement intentions, which further predicted actual seeking behaviors. Moreover, systematic processing of the initial information also predicted seeking behaviors.

Cultural Differences in Cancer Information Acquisition: Testing Perceived Cancer Risks and Cancer Fatalistic Beliefs as Predictors of Information Seeking and Avoidance in the U.S. and China • Linqi Lu, Zhejiang University; Cornell University; Jiawei Liu, Cornell University; Connie Yuan, Cornell University • This study investigates the associations between cancer beliefs/perceptions and cancer information seeking in China and the United States. Results showed that perceived cancer risks were negatively related to cancer information avoidance in the U.S. but positively related to information avoidance in China. Whereas cancer fatalistic beliefs were positively associated with cancer information seeking in the U.S., they were not associated with information seeking in China. Implications for cancer communication in different cultures are discussed.

The effects of patient-provider communication on cancer patients’ depression and anxiety: The uncertainty reduction and expectancy violations approaches • Fangcao Lu; Jeffry OKTAVIANUS; Yanqing Sun • Cancer patients’ depression and anxiety have raised considerable concern. Therefore, this research examines the associations among cancer patients’ communication with health professionals, self-efficacy, information expectancy, depression, and anxiety to help cancer patients cope with adverse mood disorders. A cross-sectional survey of 593 cancer patients was administered. Findings indicate that patients’ information expectancy moderates the indirect effect of patient-centered communication on depression and anxiety, through the mediator of self-efficacy. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

* Extended Abstract * Extended Abstract: Gender Inclusion in Science Podcasts: A Case Study Content Analysis of StarTalk Radio • Robert Lull, California State University, Fresno • Proliferation of new media has created opportunities to increase diversity and inclusion in science communication. Yet recent work suggests that gender gaps that have long characterized science media persist in new media (Amarasekara & Grant, 2019; Mitchell & McKinnon, 2019). This study analyzes the science podcast StarTalk Radio to determine 1) whether representation of female scientists has increased in the five most recent seasons and, 2) unpack how female scientists are treated on the program.

From divergence to convergence: A longitudinal network agenda-setting study of online GMO discussions in China • Chen Luo, Tsinghua University; Anfan Chen; Yi Kai Aaron Ng • Using the framework of Network Agenda Setting (NAS), we investigated how the three groups, including official institutions, influencers, and ordinary netizens, portray and discuss the genetically modified organisms (GMO) issue on Chinese social media. By examining relevant posts on Weibo platform (the Chinese equivalent of Twitter) under the guidance of NAS, the evolution of topic homogeneity on the GMO issue across a period of ten years was investigated. Results of social network analysis suggest that each group differ from the others in their ranking of different attributes surrounding the GMO issue. However, shifts in ordinary netizens’ and influencers’ attribute agendas were generally closely related across time. In particular, two major events clearly shaped agenda relationships among the three groups, with influencers strongly setting the agendas after the first event while official institutions mainly set the agendas of the other two groups after the second event. Even though the attribute agendas were markedly different among the three groups at the start, the two major events resulted in the occurrence of attribute network setting, causing the initial state of attribute agenda divergence to later convergence gradually, thus increasing the homogeneity of GMO related discussions on Chinese social media.

The Need for Social Media “Influectuals” in Science Communication • Stephanie Madden, Penn State University; Nahyun Kim, Pennsylvania State University; Jason Freeman, Pennsylvania State University; Christen Buckley • This paper explores how social media influence can potentially be harnessed for science communication issues. This study focuses on the issue of climate change and qualitatively analyzed 212 public Twitter profiles and selected tweets of climate scientists. This paper proposes a unique model of social media influencers relevant to science communication based on level of expertise and influence and introduces the concept of a social media “influectual.”

ADHD is for Kids: An Outdated Medical News Frame Supported by Medical Genre News Outlets • Daisy Milman, Texas Tech University • A content analysis of headlines, pictures and teasers was performed on a Google news query to determine the extent to which frames of ADHD patients being children continued after adults were included into the DSM-V. Results indicated that the updated frame was present, but the outdated frame held significantly greater frequency. The news genre (major, local, medical, blogs, other interests, press releases, business, or peer reviewed) with the greatest relative frequency was medical.

* Extended Abstract * Communicating Benefits and Risks about Carbon, Capture and Storage (CCS) • Rachel Esther Lim; Lucy Atkinson, The University of Texas at Austin; Won-Ki Moon, The University of Texas at Austin; Lee Ann Kahlor; Hilary Olson; Emily Moskal • The current research explores stakeholder perspectives regarding the benefits and risks of CCS technology in Southeast Texas, an area where oil-and-gas industries are key economic players. The study conducted 27 in-depth interviews with key stakeholders of a CCS project in the Gulf of Mexico. The findings show stakeholder perspectives on the benefits and risks related to CCS technology unique to this area. These findings offer important insights into best practices for communication messaging regarding CCS.

When the Public Avoids Risk Information During an Election: The Roles of Emotion and Attention Appraisal • Won-Ki Moon, The University of Texas at Austin; Lee Ann Kahlor; Hayoung Sally Lim, the University of Texas at Austin • An election cycle is full of uncertainty as voters consider their nation’s and their own future. As a result, the voter decision-making process offers an interesting context for studying risk-related information behaviors. In an election context, it is likely that individuals seek some types of risk information, but avoid other types of risk information, depending on their situation. The risk information literature to date has dedicated a great deal of attention to information-seeking behaviors, but comparably less attention to information avoidance. To shed light on information avoidance in an election context specifically, we propose and test a structural equation model based on the protective action decision model. The specific context is information behaviors during 2016 U.S. presidential election. We base our analysis on survey data from 512 U.S. adults collected one month prior to the election. The results are consistent with prior research, suggesting that issue involvement, knowledge about risks, attention appraisal, and risk perception influence risk information avoidance through the emotions felt towards the risks. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

“I just saw on Twitter that Tom Hanks has coronavirus”:  A mixed method examination of a theoretical model of celebrity illness disclosure effects • Jessica Myrick, Penn State University; Jessica Willoughby, Washington State University • On March 11, Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks announced via his social media platforms that he had been diagnosed with COVID-19, the novel coronavirus. An online survey (N = 682) was launched the next day to test a conceptual model of how such an announcement can shape individual COVID-19 prevention behaviors as well as information seeking and perceptions of society’s role in combating the spread of infectious disease.

Virtual Reality Intervention for Safety Education: Unveiling the immersive media effects on agricultural injury prevention behaviors • Kang Namkoong, University of Maryland; Junhan Chen, University of Maryland, College Park; John Leach, University of Maryland; Stacy Vincent; Yongwook Song; Brett Wasden • This study examines the effect of a VR intervention on behavioral intentions for safety, as identifying psychological mechanism that shows how the immersive technology works. To that end, we developed and tested a VR intervention for safe tractor operation with 291 high school students. Findings show the mediating roles of experience of immersion and perceived threat in the VR intervention effect process. Findings shed light on the potential of a VR intervention in safety education.

* Extended Abstract * Six months of media and COVID-19: A national longitudinal study tracking risk perceptions and trust in government since first U.S. death • Ronald Yaros, University of Maryland-College Park; Hoa Nguyen • Seven national online experiments, each with 750 participants, began after the first U.S. COVID-19 death on February 29th and continuing through August 2020. The Risk Information Seeking and Processing Model or RISP (Dunwoody & Griffin, 2015) measure if media use, risk perceptions, and trust in government change as news about the virus changes. Preliminary findings from the first two are summarized here but the proposed paper will include comprehensive analyses from all seven.

Vaping in Today’s World: Do Fear Appeals and Message Framing Change the way E-Cigarette Users View Their Habit? • Chris Noland, University of South Carolina • This study used an experiment to examine fear and message framing and how they interact to influence attitudes and behaviors toward e-cigarette use. Fear was found to be a mediator for the effects of the stimuli on outcome variables such as state reactance, perceived risk of e-cigarettes, and e-cigarette use cessation. Low fear levels generated higher perceived risk when state reactance is low. Gain-framed messages led to more positive attitudes when state reactance was low.

Beyond personal responsibility: Analyzing how fear appeals and attribution frames affect behavioral intentions and policy information seeking • Nicole O’Donnell, Virginia Commonwealth University; Jeanine Guidry, Virginia Commonwealth University • Who is responsible for protecting water resources? This study combines positions from the extended parallel process model and attribution theory to test how visual frames (fear/non-fear) and attribution frames (personal/government) affect intentions related to three pro-environmental behaviors. A 2×2 between-subjects controlled experiment was conducted with 504 adults from a specified U.S. watershed. Overall, findings indicate the need to move beyond emphasizing personal responsibility frames when promoting pro-environmental behaviors. Implications for environmental communication are discussed.

“That’s Some Positive Energy”: How Social Media Users Respond to #Funny Science Content • Liane O’Neill; Meaghan McKasy, Utah Valley University; Leona Yi-Fan Su; Michael Cacciatore, University of Georgia; Sara Yeo; Qian Sijia • Scientists have been adopting social media and humor to improve relationships with publics. This study investigates the effects of different types of science humor shared by a scientist on Twitter. We identified an indirect relationship between exposure to humor and leaving relevant and positive comments, mediated by mirth, as well as a direct path between the humor types and leaving relevant, positive comments. Individuals’ social media use moderated the relationship between humor exposure and mirth.

Traits, Situational Primes, and Message Frames: Regulatory Focus, Self-Construal, Authoritarian Orientation, and Influencing Climate Change Perception and Policy Support • S. Senyo Ofori-Parku, University of Oregon • Three studies were conducted to examine how self-construal and regulatory focus— as traits, situational primes, and message frames— plus authoritarian orientation influence public support for climate change. We found that: (a) independent self-view and promotion focus traits, (b) telling people to think about their aspirations (promotion-focus priming), and (c) emphasizing climate change mitigation benefits (promotion-focused framing) are linked to increased risk perception/policy support. Further moderation analyses showed that promotion-focused and interdependent self-view frames were more persuasive, especially among those who have high authoritarian inclinations.

* Extended Abstract * Risk and Efficacy Uncertainty as motivators of Information Seeking and Protective Behaviors When Facing COVID-19 • MENGXUE OU • By conducting a 2 X 2 X 2 online factorial experiment, this study seeks to investigate the role of risk, uncertainty, and efficacy in messages on COVID-19 in motivating individuals to seek information and perform protective behaviors against COVID-19. Results revealed that the risk and uncertainty of messages on  COVID-19 have much to do with individuals’ affective responses, information-seeking intentions, and protective behavioral motivations. Whilst, the presentation of response efficacy in messages on COVID-19 has little to do with individuals’ affective responses, information-seeking intentions, and protective behavioral motivations. Implications of this study will be discussed in the formal paper.

Brokerage Combating Misinformation:  Examinations of Health Discussion Networks and Attitude toward Child Vaccination • Mina Park, Washington State University; Yingchia Hsu, Washington State University; Shawn Domgaard, Washington State University; Wenqing Zhao, Washington State University; Christina Steinberg • When members in social networks are closely connected, shared misinformation within the networks can lead to risky health decision making. This study investigates how social networks providing bridging and bonding social capital affect perception of child vaccine-related misinformation. A sequential mediation model reveals that bridging social capital from network brokerage indirectly increases positive attitude about child vaccination by enabling individuals to gather diverse knowledge and ensuring response efficacy of vaccinations.

Expensive medication or misinformation: The influence of competing frames and appeals on perceptions of DTCA and support for its regulation • Ayellet Pelled, University of Wisconsin – Madison; Juwon Hwang; Hyesun Choung; Jiwon Kang; Yuanliang (leo) Shan, University of Wisconsin – Madison; Moonhoon Choi, University of Wisconsin – Madison • “The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) gradual relaxation of federal restrictions on direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) for prescription drugs over the past several decades has fueled a long-standing debate on whether these ads are more advantageous or pernicious. While proponents advocate for patient empowerment and improved health awareness, opponents caution against information distortion and the promotion of expensive or unnecessary medications. Via the theoretical lenses of gain-loss appeals and the negativity bias, this study examines the influence of mixed message appeals on perceptions of DTCA for prescription medications. The stimuli addressed potential monetary consequences–rise or decrease in medications cost–and informational consequences–consumer knowledge or misinformation. We assess whether individuals are more influenced by (a) positive, negative or mixed appeals, and by (b) monetary or informational consequences. In a second step we assess whether these concerns influence tendencies to support stricter regulation of DTCA. Our data suggest that informational consequences are more influential than the monetary consequences on perceptions of DTCA, especially concerning negative consequences such as misinformation and promotion of unnecessary medication. Paternal and maternal views were significant predictors of perceived effects such as whether DTCA informs or confuses people and whether it leads them to take better care of their personal health. However, when predicting support for regulation of DTCA it was the political predispositions that were key, and they seem to outweigh the persuasive appeals. Further findings and implications are discussed in the manuscript”

* Extended Abstract * Extended Abstract: Effects of narrative and behavioral involvement on adolescents’ attitudes toward gaming disorder • Yuchen Ren; Fuyuan Shen • This paper examines the impact of using narratives to communicate a controversial health issue, gaming disorder, on adolescents’ issue attitudes. In a between-subjects experiment, 115 adolescent participants read narrative and informational messages on gaming addiction. Results indicated that compared to the informational message, the narrative health message generated a more positive attitude toward the medical view of gaming disorder and greater attitude certainty. Transportation mediated narrative effect on attitude valence. Behavioral involvement moderated the narrative effect on attitude valence and attitude certainty.

Fear, Anticipated Regret, and Efficacy Perceptions for Active Depression Coping • Soojin Roh, Peking University HSBC Business School • This study examined how and to what extent different types of emotions – specifically fear and anticipated regret – positively and negatively contributed to individuals’ active depression coping intentions (e.g., seeking medical help and rational thinking), together with threat appraisals (i.e., susceptibility and severity assessments) and efficacy perceptions regarding depression. A two-stage structural equation modeling of a moderated mediation model with data from an online survey (N=1,027) showed that higher levels of perceived susceptibility not only directly led to inactive depression coping but also indirectly did so through the mediation of fear. On the other hand, severity and self- and response-efficacy perceptions all positively predicted active depression coping. While high levels of fear resulted in rather maladaptive responses toward depression (e.g., less intention to actively cope with depression), anticipated regret, as a positive moderator, reduced the negative impact of fear. Theoretical contribution and practical implications for strategic mental health communication message design were provided.

Risky Business? A content analysis of health risk behavior in VOD-content popular among adolescents • Anne Sadza, Radboud University; Serena Daalmans, Radboud University Nijmegen, behavioural Science Institute; Esther Rozendaal, Radboud University Nijmegen, Behavioural Science Institute; Moniek Buijzen, Radboud University Nijmegen, Behavioural Science Institute • Portrayals of risk behavior in media are prevalent and may affect adolescents’ attitudes towards these behaviors. A quantitative content analysis of trending programs (n = 529) from popular video-on-demand platforms investigated how often, by who and in what manner various risk behaviors are portrayed. Our findings indicate risk behavior of especially the substance use variety is prevalent and normalized, and this portrayal is stable across various genres of trending and popular video on demand programs.

Decisional conflict versus informational conflict: Assessing effects of exposure to different types of conflicting health information • Weijia Shi, University of Minnesota • There are two possible ways to conceptualize conflicting health messages: messages about decisional conflict and messages about informational conflict. Although prior research has documented the effects of exposure to conflicting health information (e.g., confusion, ambivalence, backlash), little is known about whether such effects vary across distinct conceptualizations. Informed by construal level theory, this study hypothesizes that decisional conflict may prime a high-level construal whereas informational conflict may prime a low-level construal; as a result, subsequent cognitive outcomes may be different. An online survey experiment was conducted with college students in the context of conflicting information about coffee consumption (N = 115). Results showed that exposure to conflicting information was linked to adverse effects but such effects did not differ significantly across conceptualizations. Theoretical implications and future directions are discussed.

Examining the effects of green cause-related marketing: The moderating role of environmental values and product type • Tsungjen Shih, National Chenghi University; Shaojung Sharon Wang, National Sun Yat-sen University • The present studies investigated the effectiveness of CRM campaigns on perceived corporate image and purchase intentions with product types and environmental values as moderators. Study 1 (N=1,175) found positive effects of CRM messages on corporate image and purchase intentions. However, the effects did not vary depending on the levels of fit between three NPOs and the telecom company. The results also indicated that CRM campaigns indirectly affected purchase intentions through corporate image, and the indirect effect was moderated by product type and environmental values. Study 2 (N=1,448) found positive effects of CRM campaigns on corporate image and purchase intentions, but the effect did not differ by the levels of fit between the causes and the computer company. Besides, corporate image positively mediated the effect of CRM campaigns on purchase intentions, and environmental values moderated this indirect relationship. These results corroborated the findings in Study 1. However, different from Study 1, product type moderated the effect of CRM campaigns on corporate image, but not the indirect relationship between CRM campaigns and purchase intentions.

Understanding the Use of Memes for Targeted HIV/STI Prevention Among Black and Hispanic Young Men Who Have Sex with Men • Jazmyne Simmons; Michelle Seelig; Victoria Orrego • Within the U.S., young Black and Latino men who have sex with men (MSM) experience disproportionate rates of HIV and sexually transmitted infections. Stigma, HIV prevention fatigue, and, safer sex fatigue are contributors to these disparities. This study evaluated the effectiveness of Internet memes in comparison to infographics for relaying sexual health messaging among Black, Latino, and White MSM (N = 260). Findings lend promise to memes as a complimentary tool for health information.

Persuasive effects of outcome frames in waste classification: Moderating role of consideration of future consequences • Meiqi Sun, School of Journalism and Communication, Nanjing University; Xinyao Ma; Lulu Jiang; Nainan Wen • This study investigated the influence of two outcome framings—gain-loss framing and individual-societal framing—and an individual difference—consideration of future consequences (CFC)—on intentions of and public engagement with waste classification. Results of an experiment (N=215) in China demonstrated that the individual framing was more effective than societal framing in promoting intentions of waste classification, while the relative advantage of gain-loss framing was non-significant. Furthermore, the effect of individual-societal framing was moderated by CFC.

Social Media Health Campaigns for Promoting Influenza Vaccination: Examining Effectiveness of Fear Appeal Messages from Different Sources • Hongjie Tang, School of Communication and Design, Sun Yat-sen University;; Shenglan Liao; Yaying Hu, School of Communication and Design, Sun Yat-sen University; Liang Chen • The current study aims to examine the effectiveness of fear-induced health campaigns on social media in promoting influenza vaccination with the focus on information sources. A 2 × 3 × 2 (visible source × receiver source × technological source) factorial online experiment was designed to investigate the effectiveness of fear appeal messages offered by different sources on behavioral intention. A total of 534 college students were recruited to participate in the experiment. The results revealed a significant main effect for the visible source on both vaccination and information searching behavioral intention. Besides, visible source, receiver source and technological source interact to affect flu-related information searching. Theoretical implications for message design and practical implications for health campaign on social media were discussed.

* Extended Abstract * Extended Abstract: Effect of Context on Scientists’ Normative Beliefs and Willingness toward Public Engagement • Leigh Anne Tiffany, Michigan State University; Samantha Hautea, Michigan State University; John Besley, Michigan State University • Past research on the relationship between scientists’ public engagement normative beliefs and willingness to participate could prove misleading if respondents do not consider impacts of engagement activities. This study asks scientists to report normative beliefs and willingness to engage in the context of engagement impacts. Results indicate mentioning positive impacts result in more positive norms, but adding lost research time negatively affects beliefs. However, changing measurement does not affect the non-relationship between norms and engagement.

Mobilizing Users: Does Exposure to Misinformation and Its Correction Affect Users’ Responses to a Health Misinformation Post? • Melissa Tully, University of Iowa; Leticia Bode; Emily Vraga • Misinformation spreads on social media when users engage with it, but replies can also correct misinformation. Using an experiment and content analysis, we examine how exposure to misinformation and correction on Twitter about unpasteurized milk affect what participants would say in response to the misinformation. Results suggest that participants are unlikely to reply to the misinformation. However, content analysis of hypothetical replies suggests they largely do provide correct information, especially after seeing other corrections.

How daily journalists verify numbers and statistics in news stories:  An empirical study • Anthony Van Witsen, Michigan State University • Anthony Van Witsen Statistics are widely acknowledged as an essential part of journalism. Yet despite repeated investigations showing that routine news coverage involving statistics leaves much to be desired, scholarship has failed to produce an adequate theoretical understanding of how statistics are employed in journalism. Earlier research showed many journalists think anything counted or measured and expressed in numbers represents a form of unarguable truth, which may affect whether they think statistical information should be checked or verified. This study examines the verification process for statistics in detail by combining semistructured interviews with fifteen working journalists about their beliefs concerning statistics in the news with structured qualitative interviews concerning specific decisions they made about verifying, or not verifying, individual statistics in a selection of their recent stories. It sought to determine when the subjects looked for corroboration of a statistical truth claim and when and why they concluded statistics needed no checking and could be published as they stood. The results do not disconfirm earlier research about journalists beliefs concerning statistics, but show they operate in more complicated ways than previously suspected. Contrary to earlier research, journalists do not take anything expressed in numbers for granted. Consistent with that research, they rarely question the conceptual (and sometimes political) bases behind the creating of many statistics.

* Extended Abstract * SO ORDERED: A Textual Analysis of United States’ Governors’ Press Release Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic • Taylor Voges, University of Georgia; Matthew Binford, University of Georgia • The COVID-19 pandemic presents a unique environment from which each individual state, in the United States, has been forced to address their publics. In order to understand how each state has engaged with this pandemic, a textual analysis of each state’s governor’s first press release was conducted; five thematic trends were identified. Through use of risk communication, contingency theory (using external threat variables), and utilitarianism framework, the implications of these press releases are discussed.

‘An Incontestable Public Good’—Understanding the Asymmetry of NGO Vaccine Discourse throughout Latin America • Ryan Wallace, University of Texas at Austin • Exploring the increasing globalization of vaccine discourse, this study focuses on the asymmetrical flows of discourse throughout Latin America by key stakeholders in health communication—non-governmental organizations (NGOs). By analyzing the discourse of NGOs, this study seeks to understand how knowledge and power are distribution throughout Latin America and reveal the deeply-embedded histories of dependency that may continue to impact public health efforts throughout the region.

Debunking Health Misinformation on Social Media: Can Heuristic Cues Mitigate Biased Assimilation? * • Yuan Wang, The University of Maryland • This study examines whether source cues and social endorsement cues interact with individuals’ pre-existing beliefs in influencing health misinformation correction effectiveness. Using an experimental design, we find that providing corrective messages can effectively counteract the influence of misinformation, especially when the message is from an expert source and accompanied by high social endorsements. Participants evaluate misinformation and corrective messages in a biased way that confirms their pre-existing beliefs. However, their initial misperceptions can be reduced when receiving corrective messages.

* Extended Abstract * Extended Abstract: Measurement Invariance of the Sex-Related Marijuana Expectancies Scale Across Age and Gender • Jessica Willoughby, Washington State University; Stacey Hust; Jiayu Li; Leticia Couto • As recreational marijuana use continues to be legalized in the United States, there is a desire to examine messages promoting marijuana and the potential effects on adolescents and young adults. However, constructs such as sex-related marijuana expectancies, which have been found associated with intentions to use marijuana, marijuana use, and sexual behavior, have been adapted from research with limited examination of the scales themselves. This paper tests measurement invariance of a sex-related marijuana expectancies scale.

Fast and frugal: Information processing related to the coronavirus pandemic • Jody Chin Sing Wong; Janet Yang; Zhuling Liu; David Lee; Zhiying Yue • “This research focuses on three factors that influence how individuals cognitively process information related to the coronavirus outbreak. Guided by dual-process theories of information processing, we establish how the two different information processing modes (system 1: heuristic processing; system 2: systematic processing) are influenced by individuals’ responsibility attribution, discrete negative emotions, and risk perception. In an experiment, participants were exposed to a news article that either includes explicit attribution of responsibility (n = 445) or without this attribution (n = 498). Results reveal that exposure to the responsibility attribution frame led individuals to engage in more heuristic processing, but it did not influence systematic processing. Discrete negative emotions and risk perception mediated the relationship between responsibility attribution and information processing. The indirect relationships suggest a more intricate process underlying heuristic processing and systematic processing. In particular, information processing styles seem to be determined by social judgment surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.

Which is Better? Theory of Reasoned Action or Theory of Planned Behavior:  A Meta-Analysis of Vaccination Research • Xizhu Xiao; Rachel Wong • Although Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) are often employed as theoretical guidance in vaccination promotion, no research to date has synthesized and compared their predictive validity. Prior studies also documented mixed findings regarding the predictive validity of a central component in TPB—perceived behavioral control (PBC). We searched five databases with relevant keyword combinations without time constraints. A total of 452 peer-reviewed studies were initially identified. After screening, 17 studies (19 independent samples) met our inclusion criteria and were included for final analysis. Results suggest that the sample-weighted average effects were moderate-to-strong. Attitude showed the strongest association with intention (r+ = 0.64), followed by norms (r+ = 0.61) and PBC (r+ = 0.42). Direct predictors of TRA and TPB explained 51.9% and 54.3% of the variance in intention respectively. Albeit small, PBC contributed significantly to the model. Moderator analyses showed that type of recipient significantly moderated attitude-intention and PBC-intention relationships; while norm-intention correlations were significantly moderated by type of norm measures. Despite prior concerns of PBC’s predictive validity, our findings demonstrate strong support for its effectiveness and the utility of TPB in vaccination research. Implications for health interventions are further discussed.

Stigma toward People Who Misuse Prescription Opioid Drugs: An Exploratory Study • Jie Xu, Villanova University; Xiaoxia Cao, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee • Based on the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), this study used a survey to examine personal, behavioral and environmental factors affecting college students’ stigmatic views toward people with prescription opioid drug (POD) misuse. Results indicated that stigmatic perception was negatively related to exposure to news coverage while positively associated with anti-opioid abuse messages. People with more stigmatic views toward POD misuse assigned more blame to individuals in such condition compared to pharmaceutical companies. POD misuse was negatively related to stigmatic, the relation was stronger among people with high self-efficacy compared to those with low self-efficacy. The results provide an interesting glimpse and add to the overall knowledge body of POD-related stigmatic views among college students. It provides initial yet compelling evidence for the diverging media influence, as well as self-efficacy and POD misuse behavior on stigma. The findings also shed lights that may help policymakers and the general public to counter the opioid crisis more effectively.

Effects of Information Veracity and Message Frames on Information Dissemination: Examining Zika Epidemic on Twitter • Qian Xu, Elon University; Shi Chen, University of North Carolina, Charlotte; Lida Safarnejad, University of North Carolina, Charlotte • This research examines how information veracity interacted with four message frames (legislation of funding, election, women’s human rights, and sports) to influence the dissemination of tweets in the 2016 Zika outbreak. We discovered that the retweet networks of misinformation had larger network diameter and higher structural virality than those of true information about Zika. Four message frames differed in their respective capacities of moderating the impact of information veracity on the dissemination of Zika tweets.

Are You Passing Along Something True or False? Dissemination of GMO Messages on Social Media • Qian Xu, Elon University; Yunya Song, Hong Kong Baptist University; Nan Yu, University of Central Florida; Shi Chen, University of North Carolina, Charlotte • Using network analysis, this study investigates how information veracity and account verification influence the dissemination of information about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) on social media. The dissemination networks of misinformation about GMOs were found to have higher structural stability than those of true information, as shown by denser network structure with fewer distinct subgroups. The unverified accounts significantly boosted misinformation dissemination by increasing network density. The unverified accounts received more reposts than the verified accounts.

Using Computational Methods to Examine the Online Media Agenda, Public Agenda, and Framing Related to Climate Change • Zhan Xu, Northern Arizona University; David Atkin; Lauren Ellis • Guided by framing theory, the present study utilizes a quantitative content analysis—including Latent Dirichlet Allocation –applied to online climate change articles posted from 2007-2019. Engagement with media agendas, public agendas and framing related to climate were examined in the online context. Findings suggest that advocacy articles were more engaging than denial articles. Exposure to climate change frames is related to social media engagement. Climate change frames differed in their ability to engage social media users.

If Others Care, I Will Fight Climate Change: Reexamine Influence of Presumed Media Influence in the Context of Collective Actions • Xiaodong Yang, Shandong University; Yijing Li; Zhuoran Li; Ran Wei • To address the flaws of previous studies in examining pro-environmental behaviors, this study incorporates the theory of collective action to reexamine the role of media in promoting pro-environmental behavioral intention. Based on the collective interest model, which emphasizes that individuals’ decision of participating in collective action depends on their perception of others’ performance and individuals’ concern about free-rider would hold them back from taking action, this study employed the influence of presumed media influence (IPI) model to seek an understanding of how perceived effects of environmental messages would affect an individual’s own reasoning for action. Data were collected from a nationally door-to-door survey in Singapore (N= 705). Findings show that people estimate others’ attention to media messages about climate change based on the amount of attention that they pay to these messages. The perception of others’ media attention leads them to develop presumed media influence on others. Further, findings show that the more people believe that others are influenced by media messages, the more likely they would engage in pro-environmental behavior. Attitude, social norms, and collective efficacy enhanced this relationship. Our findings extended the application of the IPI model in the context of environmental communication.

Understanding Science Bloggers’ View and Approach to Strategic Communication:  A Qualitative Interview Study • Shupei Yuan, Northern Illinois University; John Besley, Michigan State University • The current study used qualitative interviews to explore how science bloggers view and practice strategic science communication. Interviews with 20 science bloggers who cover various scientific topics suggest that many bloggers intend to achieve objectives beyond informing the public. Most science bloggers actively apply writing techniques in their articles, which vary in how explicitly connected they are with the objectives bloggers say they want to achieve. The findings demonstrate the value of science blogs from bloggers’ collective impact on science communication and also provided a window to the future development of online science communication.

When Virus Goes Political: A Computerized Text Analysis of Crisis Attribution on Covid-19 Pandemic • Weilu Zhang, School of Journalism, University of Missouri; Lingshu Hu; Jihye Park • As the Covid-19 pandemic crisis evolves, the U.S. is facing an unprecedented public health crisis. It is crucial for us to learn how the general public makes sense of the crisis to carry out appropriate crisis responses in promoting positive coping strategies among them. The current study finds that the public’s attribution and their attitude to the government during the crisis will be influenced by their political identity and the threatening level to their health.

<2020 Abstracts

Commission on the Status of Women

Feminism in unlikely places: Northern Nigeria and the #ArewaMeToo Movement • Olushola Aromona, University of Kansas; Fatemeh Shayesteh, University of Kansas • This study examined how Muslim women in Northern Nigeria leveraged social media to advocate women’s issues through the #ArewaMeToo hashtag on twitter. Thematic analysis of prominent feminist themes demonstrated the multiple and intersectional structural barriers that women experience in conservative cultures. The implications of this research are discussed in the context of hashtag activism for advocating for women’s rights and the role of social media in amplifying the feminist works of women in marginalized communities.

#bossbabe: Women’s Use of Social Media in Multilevel Marketing of Body and Health Products • Lauren Britton, Ithaca Collete; Louise Barkhuus, IT University of Copenhagen • Multi-level marketing companies, like Beachbody, Arbonne, and Rodan and Fields, have taken advantage of ubiquitous social media to generate business. This paper investigates how women, and mothers in particular, are drawn to MLM businesses and how they use and depend on individual social networks, particularly Instagram and Facebook, to run their businesses. We draw upon a feminist media theoretical framework to understand the social implications of these MLM companies and their use of women and social media. Conducting both a visual content analysis of Instagram MLM hashtags and an interview study, we examine how MLM mothers deploy social media functionality to support and grow their #mompreneur businesses. Our findings reveal that MLM companies, through their consultants, rely on a new version of ‘marketplace feminism’ to sell their products through social media (#bossbabe!) while generating a loyal and devoted fanbase.

* Extended Abstract * The Association of Fraternity Membership, Sports Media & Masculinity Norms with College Men’s Acceptance of Rape Myths • Stacey Hust; Soojung Kang, Washington State University, Pullman; Leticia Couto; Jiayu Li • Summary of the extended abstract: The current study conducted a survey with 320 fraternity members to assess their sports media use, conformity to masculinity norms, and acceptance of rape myth. Results suggested that conformity to masculinity, regular exposure to sports media, norms, control over women and playboy behavior were associated with acceptance of rape myth. Fraternity membership moderated the relationship between masculinity norms and rape myth acceptance.

Lusting after Shawn Mendes manly hands: Analyzing postfeminist themes in popular Dutch Girls Magazines. • Marieke Boschma, Radboud University; Serena Daalmans, Radboud University Nijmegen, behavioural Science Institute • The current study analyzes in what manner postfeminist thought is articulated in popular girl’s magazines. To reach this goal, we conducted a thematic analysis of three magazines. The results revealed that the magazines incorporate feminist, antifeminist and as a result a postfeminist discourse in their content. The magazines function as a source of gender socialization, with a large palette of postfeminist themes which articulate what it means to be a girl in contemporary society.

“Love what you DOULA”: An Analysis of Doulas and Doula Care in the News Media • Zehui Dai, Radford University; Dinah Tetteh, Arkansas State University • This study highlights the relationship between society, discourse about doula professionals and doula care in childbirth, and women’s maternal health care in general. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze discourses about doulas, doula care in childbirth and women in different news media internationally. The result suggests that news media sources promote doula support for women in labor and support doula’s advocacy for women’s complex pregnancy experiences. The authors contend that these discourses help to provide a nuanced understanding of women’s maternal health internationally as well as generate a “women-centered approach” in maternity health care.

“Who’s going to be a creep today?” How Gender Influences Audience Interactions with Top Broadcasters • Stefanie Davis Kempton, Penn State Altoona; Colleen Connolly-Ahern, Penn State University • “Audience interaction has become a key metric for the success of broadcast journalists. Social media allow audiences unprecedented access to top broadcast journalists, while also putting pressure on journalists to engage with audience members in more direct ways. However, as this study suggests, most of these interactions are subjected to the same gendered prejudices that have been instilled in the broadcast news industry for decades.

This study explores the role of gender in audience interaction with top broadcast journalists. A mixed method approach combining qualitative interviews and social media discourse analysis helped to uncover the ways in which male and female broadcast journalists interact with audiences, as well as how they negotiate through those interactions. Findings shed light on the gendered, and sometimes dangerous, ways in which these interactions take place.”

“Sluts and nuts”: Symbolic annihilation of women in the Kavanaugh allegation coverage • Danielle Deavours, University of Alabama • Modern American journalism practices rely heavily on the use of expert sources. Historically, white, male officials have dominated as sources in print, television, and online media (Humprecht & Esser, 2017), which means women are not being given an equal opportunity to influence the news. This can be especially troublesome in news coverage of sexual harassment allegations, where both female and male perspectives need to be heard. Symbolic annihilation theory suggests that media largely ignore women or portray them in stereotypical roles (Gerbner & Gross, 1976). This study seeks to expand the use of symbolic annihilation theory in the context of how females are used as sources in sexual allegation coverage. The study utilizes a content analysis of the national coverage of the Brett Kavanaugh sexual assault allegations in print, online, and television outlets. The study finds that journalists used male sources more often than female sources, and that male journalists were more likely to use male sources than female journalists. In addition, the study found that male sources were more likely to support Kavanaugh, less likely to support the accusers, and less likely to mention other victims of sexual assault or the #MeToo movement. These findings suggest symbolic annihilation is present in the coverage of this case, concerning considering the gendered issue of sexual assault allegations against an accused male in a position of power.

* Extended Abstract * “An utter disregard for best practices in supporting survivors:” Social media and ethics policies in the #MeToo era • Bailey Dick, Ohio University • In light of the January 2020 suspension of Washington Post reporter Felicia Sonmez for supposedly violating the paper’s social media policy in her tweeting about sexual assault as a sexual assault survivor herself, this study examines existing social media and ethics policies that in leading American newsrooms. Specifically, this paper examines those codes and policies in light of the #MeToo movement and the existence of policies that pertain to journalists sharing their own experiences with gender-based violence.

She’s a lady; he’s an athlete; they have overcome: Portrayals of gender and disability in the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games • Tracy Everbach, University of North Texas; Karen Weiller-Abels; Andrew Colombo-Dougovito, University of North Texas • This qualitative content analysis of the National Broadcasting Company’s (NBC’s) coverage of 2018 PyeongChang Winter Paralympic Games sought to examine how the broadcasters framed gender and disability. The researchers employed feminist approaches, intersectionality, and hegemonic masculinity to examine the frames used in Alpine skiing coverage from the Paralympic Games. Results showed that women athletes received less airtime than the men, that women athletes were placed into traditional gender role frames, and that women were portrayed in a sexualized manner. The researchers also found that athletes’ disabilities were framed in a medicalized way, as something they should “overcome,” and that Paralympic athletes with disabilities were portrayed as “less than” able-bodied athletes. The researchers discovered that coverage of the Paralympic Games has not changed in the past decade, continuing to oppress women athletes with disabilities by stereotyping and marginalizing them, and stigmatizing both male and female athletes with disabilities by framing them as aspiring to be able-bodied.

“Remember to Breathe (But Don’t Make a Sound!)” Constructions of Childbirth in Post-Apocalyptic Narratives • Katie Foss, Middle TN State University • The rise of post-apocalyptic narratives has introduced a new lens on mediated birthing experiences. This paper uses a narrative analysis of pregnancy, labor, and birth on The Walking Dead (2010- ) A Quiet Place (2018), and Bird Box (2018). Findings suggest that these texts idealize medicalized birth, distort the birthing process, and reinforce the dichotomy of the “good” and “bad” mother – overall, missing their potential as redefined feminist spaces that present birth as natural.

The Syllabus is a Boys’ Club: Examining the paucity of woman authors in course materials at three U.S. journalism schools • Meg Heckman, Northeastern University; Maya Homan • An analysis of 222 journalism school syllabi used by three U.S. journalism schools during the 2018-2019 academic year revealed that the majority of instructional material was created by men. Of the authors listed on the syllabi in our sample, just 34% could be identified as women, although female instructors were somewhat more likely to assign material created by women. Roughly 20% of the syllabi analyzed listed no female authors at all. We argue that a paucity of woman authors in journalism school instructional materials contributes to the symbolic annihilation of women from the profession and may enforce male hegemony in newsrooms. We also discuss the role of groups like AEJMC’s Commission on the Status of Women and the Journalism and Women Symposium might play in encouraging journalism educators to make their syllabi more inclusive.

Media consumption and rape myth acceptance: A meta-analysis • Ashley Hedrick, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • This meta-analysis studied the relationship between media consumption and rape myth acceptance (RMA). Twenty-nine studies (N=3,307) met inclusion criteria. The overall weighted mean effect size was r=0.086 (p<0.001), indicating a small but statistically significant relationship. Sub-analyses indicated that a few media types, especially violent pornography viewing and general pornography viewing, drove this relationship. Also, age was a significant moderator. Adolescents and young adults reported a stronger relationship between media consumption and RMA than adults.

Sexist Events Make It Hurt More: Objectification, Social Comparison, and Disordered Eating among Female Instagram Users • Roselyn Lee-Won, The Ohio State University; Mackenzie Kibbe; Sung Gwan Park, Seoul National University • Image-centric social media platforms such as Instagram are heightening females’ body image concerns. We aimed to extend the objectification theory framework by elucidating the role of social comparison and sexist discrimination experience. This study, conducted with a national sample of adult female Instagram users, showed that the positive relationship between body surveillance and disordered eating was significantly mediated by social comparison on Instagram and body shame; this serial mediation was moderated by sexist discrimination experience.

You can have it all with medicine: A qualitative analysis of gender in DTC advertisements • Hayley Markovich, University of Florida; Amanda Bradshaw, University of Florida; Debbie Treise, University of Florida; Matthew Cretul • Previous studies and reviews have looked at the differences in gender regarding diabetes disease management. This textual analysis looked at direct-to-consumer diabetes medication commercials to understand how these advertisements may influence, and produce gendered understandings of type 2 diabetes. Analysis of 66 direct-to-consumer advertisements, representing 10 brand name medications, found three gender stereotypes and two overall message strategies. The gendered depictions can potentially affect how women with the condition understand the condition and its treatments.

Miscarriage in the Media: Effects of Media Representation of Miscarriage on Knowledge and Attitudes • Zelly Martin • “This survey of 301 adults in the United States examines the effects of exposure to media about miscarriage on knowledge and attitudes about pregnancy loss. Results indicate that exposure to media about miscarriage had a small but significant association with knowledge about miscarriage. Knowledge about miscarriage had a moderate, significant relationship with positive attitudes about women who miscarry. Increased media exposure about miscarriage could lead to more positive attitudes about women who have miscarried.

“I will slap your face with my penis” Slovak female journalists describe their working environment • Simona Mikušová, Comenius University, Department of Journalism • The largest survey of female journalists working in the Slovak mass media was undertaken in 2020 and asked participants to respond to questions about their working conditions and perceived gender discrimination. This article focuses on their responses in relation to the motherhood dilemma, income gender gap, violence and harassment inside and outside of the newsroom and the impact of a predominantly masculine management. The study uses a mixed-methods approach, including an online survey of 150 female journalists and qualitative interviews with 10 female journalists. Most respondents articulated that flirting, sexual jokes, vulgarisms and other forms of sexual harassment are very common in their newsrooms. Surprisingly, few of the respondents reported this kind behavior as inappropriate. Slovak journalists are more concerned about low wages, gender biases that disadvantage mothers and even the absence of an older generation in their newsroom.

Developing new voices: Exploring feminist digital activism in India • Paromita Pain, University of Reno, Nevada • As my analysis of the tweets and interviews with participants and activists of the #MeTooIndia movement in 2018, show, the work of elite activists and the risks they took was critical to the success of the campaign but there was an exclusion of suburban voices and experiences. The onerous and taxing nature of digital labors are an unrecognized feature of women’s activism online, especially in the Indian context, adding more work to women’s already rarely acknowledged and undervalued burdens of labor. Online action here may have been supplemented by offline action, but participants found little support otherwise. Compounding issues, as the interviews reveal, are social media platforms who by nature are sexist and that has negative consequences for online feminist advocacy.

Women in wrestling: The representation of Olympic athletes in traditional media and on personal social media accounts in 2016 • Shannon Scovel, University of Maryland • This study assessed the traditional and social media coverage of U.S. wrestlers during the 2016 Olympic Games. Women’s wrestling articles from the Games aligned with previous research that suggests women are viewed as “other” by traditional press. Reports on Helen Maroulis’ gold medal win also focused on her position as a determined underdog and compared her to successful male wrestlers. Wrestler social media posts on Twitter and Instagram portrayed themes of empowerment and feminism.

Returning to the Digital World: Technology Use and Privacy Management of Women Transitioning from Incarceration • Hyunjin Seo, University of Kansas; Hannah Britton; Megha Ramaswamy; Darcey Altschwager; Matthew Blomberg, University of Kansas; Olushola Aromona, University of Kansas; Bernard Schuster; Ellie Booton; Marilyn Ault; Joi Wickliffe • Through interviews with 59 women transitioning from jails or prisons, our research analyzed barriers facing this population in terms of access to and use of digital communication technologies. We also examined the women’s perspectives on privacy and security online and how their perspectives influence their activities online. Discussions around these topics identified various facets of challenges the women face in returning to a society in which navigating digital information is of great importance. Our findings indicate that precarious situations that most of these women experience affect how they define and operationalize privacy boundaries online. Specifically, precarious housing and financial situations, concerns of ex-partners, mental health challenges, and lack of self-efficacy pose challenges for their digital access and use and influence their online privacy perspectives. Despite increasing rates of women’s imprisonments in the United States and growing importance of digital technologies in almost every aspect of our lives, there is little research examining how this marginalized population accesses and uses digital communication technologies. In this sense, our study fills an important gap in the literature. In addition, findings from this research suggest scholarly and policy implications for those who study or work in the areas of digital inclusion, marginalized women, or reentry education.

The Dragonfly Effect: Analysis of a Social Media Women’s Empowerment Campaign • Aya Shata, University of Miami; Michelle Seelig • This research examines how advocates used social media in advocacy efforts of the “Taa Marbuta” women empowerment campaign in Egypt. In-depth interviews conducted with the National Council for Women, United Nations entities, and SIDA. The campaign was analyzed using the dragonfly effect model as the analysis framework, and found it has clear goals and various techniques for attention and engagement, but ‘call for action’ was absent. Further analysis revealed two emerging themes. Social media transformed the campaign into an icon of women empowerment.

Forming a social-help movement through the efforts of breast cancer survivors in the #WeEightWomen campaign • Fatemeh Shayesteh, University of Kansas • In recent years, eight Iranian breast cancer survivors use the hashtag #WeEightWomen in Farsi to share their cancer-related messages on Instagram. This study aims to explore how #WeEightWomen campaign founders perceive this online social-help groups and examine whether this online social-help group could be considered a social movement. The findings revealed that founders have both positive and negative perceptions of this group. Drawing on Resource Mobilization Theory, this social help group is a social movement.

* Extended Abstract * Who’s Your Daddy? Gender Schema, Hostile Sexism, and Political Orientation as Predictors of Attitude toward “Enlightened Manvertising” • Miglena Sternadori, Texas Tech University; Alan Abitbol, University of Dayton • Results of a survey of U.S. men (n = 285) indicated that participants’ gender schemas, hostile sexism, political orientation, and support for women’s rights influenced their attitude toward “enlightened manvertising,” which refers to campaigns that redefine masculinity by promoting both masculine and feminine traits as a part of manhood. The results suggest a link between men’s views on redefining masculinity and their views on women and women’s roles in society.

* Extended Abstract * Intersectionality and transnational feminism: Breaking boundaries with standpoints of women public relations professionals in United Arab Emirates • Leysan Storie; Katie Place, Quinnipiac University • Feminist scholarship in public relations has illustrated women’s unique experiences and opportunities in the field. However, the majority of feminist research in public relations has remained safely within the Western boundaries, and has been characterized by a simplistic view of women, often considering only gender identity with disregard to other factors. This study applies intersectionality theory to explore the experiences of women PR professionals in the United Arab Emirates through in-depth qualitative interviews.

Angry Gymnastics: Representations of Simone Biles at the 2019 National and World Championships • Carolina Velloso, University of Maryland, College Park • This paper analyzes the representations of Simone Biles in media coverage of two major gymnastics events in 2019. Using the framework of critical feminist and race theories, a textual analysis of 34 articles revealed the pervasive use of gendered and racial codes to describe Biles in competition. The findings reveal a complex, intersectional representation of Biles, and underscore the persistent and systemic presence of these codes in contemporary discourse.

* Extended Abstract * Extended Abstract: Muslim Women: Semantic and Visual Primes, Stereotypes, and Evaluations • Anastasia Vishnevskaya; Heena Khan; Alex Tan • This study tests whether semantic and visual primes can activate stereotypes of Muslim women. We conducted a 4-factor randomized experimental design with adult Americans as participants. Our results show that primes activate two stereotype dimensions – warmth and competence. We also found that competence predicts intent to interview and hire for a university teaching job. Finally, we found that a high intensity prime activated positive evaluation on the competence stereotype dimension but negative evaluations on warmth.

<2020 Abstracts

Advertising Division

Graduate and Undergraduate Student Research
Exploring the Effect of Control on Playable Ad Effectiveness • Xiaohan Hu, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign • The playable ad is a new type of digital advertising that combines interactivity with gamification in brand communication. This study explores the psychological processes and effects of playable ads. Guided by psychological reactance theory, I examine how playable ads influence consumers’ perceptions of control, product attitude and psychological reactance. Findings from an experimental study show that playable ads, compared to video ads, increased consumers’ perceived control, which led to more positive attitudes toward the advertised products. This study also supports psychological reactance theory by revealing that increased perceptions of control diminished perceived freedom threat, and subsequently alleviated consumers’ psychological reactance (both anger and negative cognitions) toward advertising messages. Theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are discussed.

Words Can Tell More than Pictures: Investigating the Role of Presentation Format and Motivation on Consumer Responses to Online Product Information • Xiaohan Hu, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Chen Chen, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign • We describe the results of a study exploring the effect of presentation format and motivation on consumer responses to online product information. We compared the effects of visual and textual online product presentation formats, controlling for the message content participants were exposed to in each condition. We also investigated the effect of consumer motivation (utilitarian and hedonic) in this process. Dependent measures included affective, cognitive, and conative (i.e. search and purchase intention) responses toward the product. Results showed that textual presentation led to increased cognitive and affective responses. We also found that cognitive and affective responses mediated the effect of presentation format on consumers’ search and purchase intentions. These results are discussed in the context of online search advertising and consumers’ product information-seeking behavior.

Effectiveness of Social Media Influencer Advertising: Attachment to Social Media as a Key to Positive Consumer Engagement • Haseon Park, University of Alabama • A growing body of advertising research has revealed that sponsoring social media influencers is effective in generating positive consumer attitudes toward advertising and behavioral intentions. In line with the previous influencer advertising research, this study aims to investigate engagement via social media influencers by taking psychological and behavioral aspects into account. Specifically, psychological attachment to social media (ASM) was examined as a predictor of social media influencer advertising effectiveness. An online experiment was conducted among college student samples by measuring attachment to social media, attachment to influencer, attitudes toward the brand and the influencer. Results indicated that attachment to social media, as a psychological personality trait, had significant, positive influence on behavioral intentions to comment on influencer’s sponsored post and purchase the promoted product. In addition, attachment to social media significantly enhanced attachment to influencer as well as brand trust. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

* Extended Abstract * The Illusion of Gender Diversity Among Advertising Practitioners: A Textual Analysis of Award-Winning Agency Websites • Teresa Tackett, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill • Gender disparity continues to permeate the advertising industry, with only 29 percent of women comprising the role of creative directors in advertising agencies. This research in progress used textual analysis to examine how award-winning agency websites are encoded with messages of deep-level diversity ¬– despite visually exemplifying surface-level diversity – by exploring the rhetorical and emblematic meaning-making processes creative agency practitioners use to position their teams on their websites.

Employee Engagement: How Female Advertising Agency Practitioners Avoid Burnout and Maintain Creativity • Teresa Tackett, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill • This study analyzes women’s creativity and job satisfaction in an advertising agency setting as it relates to the agency’s leadership, culture and workplace processes. Exploring Employee Engagement Theory through 10 semi-structured interviews with female advertising practitioners, the results demonstrate the key role communication plays in determining levels of engagement in the workplace, which is imperative for the recruitment and retention of talent in an industry riddled with burnout.

Product qualities perceptions in online an context: An exploratory study of package design elements’ influence • Jacqui Villarreal • Living in the 21st century is synonymous with living in a digital world, including purchasing goods online, with 79% of Americans reporting doing so (Smith & Anderson, 2016). One of the growing online retailing industries is skincare, an industry in which shoppers tend to evaluate their options online before making a purchase either in store or online (Mintel Academic, 2017). An online experiment was deployed to test the perceptions of skincare products, specifically a moisturizer. Participants were exposed to one of three experimental conditions (a seafoam jar, a glass bottom jar, or a silver capped jar) each compared to a control (an all white plastic jar), and the study measured product perceptions including effectiveness, luxuriousness, quality, attractiveness, price, and purchase intent. Results show that there are significant differences between the glass bottom stimulus and the control condition in terms of all outcomes (p=.018 for effectiveness, and p=.000 for all other outcomes), with the mean scores being higher for the glass jar by >1 point for multiple outcomes. The findings from this study implicate that the packaging of a product may influence consumer perceptions of the qualities of that product.

How Skeptical Are You About This Sponsor? Comparing the Effects of Alcohol Industry Sponsored and Nonprofit Organization Sponsored Anti-Drunk Driving Advertisements on Attitude Toward Drunk Driving • Chung In Yun, Stan Richards School of Advertising and Public Relations at the University of Texas at Austin • This study compared the effects of industry-sponsored and nonprofit organization-sponsored anti-drunk driving advertisements on consumers’ skepticism level and their attitude toward drunk driving. The results showed that the alcohol industry’s advertisement engenders higher consumers’ skepticism than the nonprofit organization’s advertisement. Moreover, among the participants who watched the industry’s advertisement, people with a high level of skepticism are more likely to have negative attitude toward drunk driving behavior than those who have a low skepticism level.

Open Research
Superiority, Comfort and Responsiveness: U.S. Car Ads Take on Japanese Competition, 1965-1977 • Khalid Alharbi, University of South Carolina; Jackson Carter, University of South Carolina; Kenneth Campbell, University of South Carolina • This study explores frames used by U.S. automobile companies in advertisements when Japanese cars entered the U.S. market on a full scale in the mid-1960s to late 1970s. Using a grounded theory approach, an analysis of 200 print advertisements suggests that U.S. auto companies used a frames of superiority at home and abroad, which were direct reflections of the political and cultural changes occurring in the country.

Effects of Brand Feedback to Negative eWOM and Moderating Roles of Product Price • Manu Bhandari, Arkansas State University; Kyung Jung Han, California State University – Bakersfield; Po-Lin Pan, Arkansas State University • This 2 X 2 experiment examined effects of brand feedback (a business’ written response to online reviews/eWOM) and product price (monetary cost) on brand attitudes and purchase intentions. Brand feedback improved brand attitudes and indirectly increased purchase intentions. Higher prices, however, led to brand feedback decreasing purchase intentions. Findings further establish brands’ role in eWOM theory, and, consistent with some past research, suggest brand feedback may not be without its risks.

FoMO and Happiness on Instagram: A serial mediation of social media influencer-related activities and the role of authenticity • Jung Ah Lee; Laura Bright, University of Texas at Austin; Matthew Eastin, University of Texas at Austin • Mounting research shows negative psychological effects for social media and recognizes Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) as a key driver of social media use. This article focuses on social media influencers (SMIs) and investigates potentially positive forms of usage on psychological well-being. A serial mediation model using survey data (N = 617) indicates SMI-related activities are positively associated with subjective happiness. Furthermore, SMI-related activities jointly and positively mediate the relationship between FoMO and subjective happiness.

Time, Space and Convergence in Advertising and Public Relations: Contemporary Analysis of Job Market Trends • Andrew Brown, University of Tennessee; Sally McMillan, University of Tennessee; Alexander Carter, University of Tennessee; Nicholas Sarafolean, University of Tennessee • “The purpose of this research is to explore the influence of time, space and convergence on modern advertising and public relations. Using a media ecology lens, this study explored how technology shifts have impacted traditional advertising and public relations disciplines: are the disciplines converging or moving apart? By employing digital scraping and analysis technologies, researchers pulled 2,609 advertising listings and 2,855 public relations job listings in the fall of 2019 and analyzed the full text of those listings for evidence of convergence and/or divergence. Consideration of five research questions revealed a job market that seeks essential communication skills, digital marketing and social media mastery; while also championing traditional and discipline-specific advertising and public relations core competencies.”

The Short- and Long-term Memory of Brands Co-appearing in Television Programs • Fanny Fong Yee Chan, Hang Seng University of Hong Kong • The proliferation of brand integrations has led to a phenomenon of brand co-appearance which appeared to be an increasingly prevalent trend in television programs. However, the cognitive impact of brand co-appearance has yet to be explored. Three experimental studies were conducted to examine the short-term and long-term recall and recognition of brands co-appeared. The results have important theoretical implications to the field and provide practical insights to brand owners and marketers.

Social Media Influencers’ Disclosures of Brand Relationships on Instagram: Characteristics and Engagement Outcomes • Su Yeon Cho; Shiyun Tian, University of Miami; Xiaofeng Jia; Wanhsiu Tsai • This content analysis presents one of the earliest systemic examinations of social media influencers’ brand-related posts on Instagram by assessing the message characteristics and engagement outcomes of posts with and without disclosures of material connections. Additionally, this study compares posts for endorsed, co-branded, and self-branded products, and evaluates to what extent SMIs comply with the FTC disclosure guidelines. Based on the findings, theoretical and strategic implications were provided for marketers, SMIs, and policymakers.

Brand Message Strategies on Instagram • Jung Hwa Choi • The primary goals of this research are to provide an exploratory analysis investigating how global brands currently use social media, especially Instagram, to share brand messages and build relationships with consumers. Specifically, this study analyzes corporate account marketing messages posted by global brands on Instagram to understand how global brands are using Instagram for purposes of interacting with and building relationships with consumers using a content analysis based on the brand associations by Aarker. Consumers’ reactions to each strategy used in photos and captions – “likes” and comments – were analyzed as indicators of consumer engagement. The overall findings of the study indicated that Instagram marketers often are not using the strategies that generate the highest consumer engagement. Practical guidance on how to tap into the brand potential of marketing communication tools, such as Instagram is provided.

Unbranded and Branded Direct-to-Consumer Advertising (DTCA) Using Social Media Influencers and Effects of Disclosure • Ida Darmawan, University of Minnesota; Jisu Huh, University of Minnesota • “This study examined effects of unbranded and branded DTC social media influencer advertising by pharmaceutical companies on attitude toward the ad and behavioral intentions, and the impact of ad disclosure on the ad outcomes. The underlying mechanism was evaluated by applying the Persuasion Knowledge Model. The unbranded message with ad disclosure resulted in higher persuasion knowledge activation, leading to more positive attitude toward the ad and higher behavioral intentions. Additionally, significant interaction effect was found.”

Consumer Responses to Sponsored Posts on Instagram: The Roles of Selfie, Account Verification, and Valence of Caption • Yang Feng, San Diego State University; Chen Lou, Nanyang Technological University • Marketers continually seek ways to enhance social media users’ empathetic reactions toward a brand endorser who uploads a sponsored post. Given this background, this research examines how three elements (i.e., selfie-posting, account verification, and valence of post caption) affect consumers’ empathetic reactions to sponsored posts on Instagram (operationalized as the number of “likes” a sponsored post receives) using social media data. Our results indicate that the negative valence of a caption impairs the two-way interaction effect between account verification and selfie on users’ empathetic responses. However, the positive valence of the caption does not play a significant role. Implications and future research directions are provided.

Visual Cues in Direct-to-Consumer Advertisements for Healthcare Services • Kylie Hill, University of Nevada, Reno; Sung-Ywon Park, University of Nevada, RENO • The visual cues on healthcare service advertisements can influence consumers’ expectations and attitudes towards healthcare services and providers. In this study, a visual content analysis of digital direct-to-consumer healthcare service advertisements was carried out in order to examine identity characteristics of patients and providers, healthcare interactions, and patient motivators depicted in the advertisements. Subsequently, the content analysis results were compared with the actual preferences of healthcare users identified through interviews.

The Moderating Role of Media Multitasking in the Effects of Message Consistency across Multiple Ads • Se-Hoon Jeong • Using two experiments, the present study examined how message consistency (vs. variation) across multiple ads affects cognitive and attitudinal outcomes and whether media multitasking moderate the effect. Results of Experiment 1 and Experiment 2 showed that the effect of message consistency on cognitive outcomes (brand memory) was moderated by media multitasking such that the positive impact of message consistency on brand memory was found when multitasking, but not when single-tasking. In addition, Experiment 2 showed a significant main effect of message consistency on attitudinal outcomes such that the varied message (vs. consistent message) condition induced more favorable attitudes toward the ad and the brand. The results suggest that the message consistency strategy can be effective in the multi-media environment where media users frequently multitask, yet the strategy needs to be used with caution.

Should Stigmatized Companies Use a high-fit or low-fit Cause in Cause-Related Marketing? • Mengtian Jiang, University of Kentucky; Hyun Ju Jeong • This study investigated the effects of organizational core stigma and company-cause fit on consumer responses to the cause-related marketing campaigns. 272 Mturk workers participated in 2 (stigmatized industry: casino vs amusement park) x 2 (company-cause parings) online experiment. Results showed that socially stigmatized companies should use a high-fit cause in CRM to reduce the negative effects of stigma on perceived social responsibility and company attitudes, which increased purchase intention. Contributions, limitations and future research directions are discussed.

The Determinants of Pre-Roll Ad Skipping and Viewership: Evidence from Big Data • Mi Hyun Lee, Northwestern University; Su Jung Kim, University of Southern California; Sungho Park, SNU Business School, Seoul National University; Sang-Hyeak Yoon • Skippable ads are known to provide a better ad experience by giving viewers sense of control with the ability to skip an ad after watching it for a short period of time. Despite the growing interest, few studies have investigated factors that influence skipping or viewership of pre-roll skippable ads. This study examines the determinants of pre-roll ad skipping and viewing behaviors by using clickstream data of 2,078,090 users’ ad and content viewing behaviors on a popular online video content platform in South Korea. We found that ad skipping and viewing behaviors are influenced by ad viewing habit, age, contextual factors such as when and how they watch online video content, and the congruence between program genre and ad brand category. We conclude with the theoretical and practical implications of the findings.

Do Viewers Really Talk about Ads during Commercial Breaks? Findings from a South Korean Social TV Platform • Kyongseok Kim, Towson University; Hyang-Sook Kim, Towson University; Mun-Young Chung; Yeuseung Kim • As live TV has lost viewers to streaming services and digital videos, live TV producers have strived to bring viewers back to TV screens by integrating social features in programming. Meanwhile, social TV has become a prevalent TV viewing pattern. While previous findings indicate that social TV can help increase engagement with TV programs, whether advertisers can benefit from social TV is uncertain. The aim of this study was to shed more light on this idea by investigating what live TV viewers talk about during commercial breaks. A content analysis was conducted using 4,792 live comments posted on a major social TV platform during the commercial breaks in five episodes of a popular South Korean TV drama. Results indicate (a) that a majority of the live comments pertained to the drama episodes (79.7%) rather than commercials (8.9%) and (b) that the comments related to commercials tended to be negative (50.1%). Overall, the findings suggest that social TV viewers might be program-oriented and, thus, either neglect or unfavorably perceive program-irrelevant tasks (e.g., attending to and processing commercials). Theoretical and practical implications for social TV advertising are discussed.

Internet Users Respond to Relevant and Irrelevant Ads Within Online Paginated Stories Differently When the Ads are Presented at Different Proportions: Application to Programmatic Buying and Contextual Advertising • Anastasia Kononova, Michigan State University; Wonkyung Kim, BNU-HKBU United International College; Eunsin Joo, BNU-HKBU United International College; Kristen Lynch, Michigan State University • Applying the ad-context congruence framework, priming theory, and associative network of memory model, an online experimental study (N = 449) investigated the effects of displaying different proportions of thematically relevant and irrelevant ads in online paginated stories on cognitive load, brand recognition memory (sensitivity and criterion bias), ad and brand evaluations, ad clicking intentions, and brand purchase intentions. The results of the study indicated that the brands advertised in context-irrelevant ads were recognized better than the brands advertised in context-relevant ads. Encoding of irrelevant ads was associated with a conservative criterion bias, especially when these ads were presented in the condition with the high proportion of relevant ads. Ratio of relevant to irrelevant ads affected recognition of these ad types differently. Attitudes and behavioral intentions were more positive toward relevant ads than toward irrelevant ads. Theoretical implications of the study are connected to the advancement of the two-dimensional construct of thematic ad-context congruence. Practical implications are discussed in relation to contextual advertising and programmatic buying.

Associations between Tourist Profiles, Destinations, and Electronic Word-of-Mouth (eWOM) Communications: A Study on TripAdvisor • Say Wah Lee; Ke Xue • Despite abundant research on tourists’ eWOM communications, studies on factors related to their actual eWOM communications remain limited. This research investigates associations between tourist profiles, destinations, and eWOM communications. Review data regarding ten destinations in two Chinese cities were mined from TripAdvisor. One-way and two-way analyses of variance were conducted. Results showed significant differences in ratings and numbers of words in reviews across various tourist profiles and destinations. Implications and future research suggestions were provided.

Traditional Ads versus Host-Read Sponsor Ads: Examining Consumer Response to Advertising in Podcasts • Annika Fetzer Graham, The University of Alabama; Nancy Brinson, The University of Alabama; Laura Lemon, The University of Alabama; Coral Bender, The University of Alabama • The purpose of this study is to understand the effects of traditional ads vs. host-read sponsor ads for the same brand in various podcasts. Specifically examined were respondents’ persuasion knowledge, ad skepticism, and parasocial interaction. This 2 (familiar vs. unfamiliar) x 2 (host-read ad vs. traditional ad) online experiment (n=212) found that familiarity with the podcast and its host increased parasocial interaction, leading to higher perceived ad credibility, and a more favorable attitude toward the brand. The ad type impacted ad credibility and attitude toward the brand when controlling for parasocial interaction.

Irritating or enjoyable? Exploring the effects of soft-text native advertising and social-media engagement level • Kang Li; Fuyuan Shen • Given the proliferation of native advertising, and the limited existing research regarding the persuasion path of native advertisements on social media, the present research aimed to compare the effectiveness of native advertising with that of regular social-media advertising. Specifically, this research focused on one type of native advertising, soft-text native advertising, which has rarely been explored in existing research. In addition, we also examined the effects of engagement levels of social-media native advertising. The results showed that, compared to regular social-media advertising, soft-text native advertising is more effective for inducing favorable attitudes toward ads and products, as well as greater purchase intention. This is achieved through inducing higher perceived entertainment, flow experience, ad value as well as lower perceived irritation. In addition, the existing engagement level (e.g., number of views and comments at the time the user views the ad) can significantly affect viewers’ purchase intentions through influencing perceived ad entertainment. Based on these findings, suggestions regarding means of creating more effective social-media advertising are presented.

Choosing Appropriate Colors for Green Advertising: Perceived Greenwashing through Color Choices • Dongjae (Jay) Lim, University of Georgia; Nah Ray Han, University of Georgia • Many studies found that color delivers meaning and influence consumers’ minds and feelings, yet relatively little empirical findings exist on the topic of green advertising. By drawing on the match-up hypothesis, we aimed to shed light on how different types of color affect consumers’ evaluation of green ads. The study involves a 2 (Environmental performance: fit vs. unfit) × 4 (colors: green vs. blue vs. red vs. gray) experiment and reveals that colors associated with nature imagery lead favorable attitudinal outcome through color appropriateness. Moreover, we found that the role of color appropriateness is moderated when consumers perceive a mismatch between color and the brand’s actual environmental performance. When consumers perceived color that is not associated with the actual environmental performance of the brand, even colors associated with nature (green) was deemed to be a less appropriate choice, which further perceived as greenwashing.

Excellence in Ad Agency Leadership: A Mixed Method Multi-Country Study of Attributes and Styles • Padmini Patwardhan; Sabrina Habib, University of South Carolina; Hemant Patwardhan; Gayle Kerr; Louise Kelly; Kathleen Mortimer; Sally Laurie • “Unlike the extensive body of leadership research in related disciplines, research on advertising leadership is almost non-existent. Effective leadership is central to negotiating changes and stimulating creativity in new and different ways. The study examines agency leadership in global contexts. It fills a gap by examining leadership styles and qualities from the perspective of practitioners in the US, UK and Australia. Using GLOBE’s Culturally Endorsed Leadership Theory framework and adopting a mixed method approach – survey and in-depth interviews – data were collected from advertising executives and leaders in the three regions. In all three regions, perceptions of excellent leadership were fairly similar with some nuanced differences. Findings suggest that top desired qualities for agency leadership were integrity, vision, inspiration and collaboration. Overall, Collaborative, Performance oriented and Humane styles were viewed as most effective. Ideal leaders for today’s agencies should be future-focused with the vision and knowledge to re-imagine the nature of the agency business, present-focused and collaborative in implementation and action, and people-focused and empathetic in times of change and churn.”

A History of Content Marketing: The Ancient Origins of Marketing Communication’s Newest Discipline • Brian Petrotta, University of Oklahoma; Fred Beard, University of Oklahoma; Ludwig Dischner, University of Oklahoma • Much like advertising’s practitioners, practitioners of content marketing suggest their discipline is an ancient one, although most trace its origins to custom-published magazines of the late 1800s. This paper reports a systematic synthesis of the many definitions of content marketing and the first scholarly history of its development and practice. Findings support two conclusions: content marketing (1) existed much earlier than previously recognized and (2) objectives, strategies, and tactics have been consistent across the millennia.

* Extended Abstract * Comparing Expectancy Violations Committed by Influencer Advertising Sources on Social Media • Marilyn Primovic, University of Georgia; Joe Phua, University of Georgia • Advertisers select influencer sources to promote brands on widely followed social media accounts. This sponsored content is integrated into the content already being posted by an influencer source, which advertisers do not have control over. This study applies parasocial theory and the source credibility model to examine expectancy violation theory for two types of influencer sources, traditional influencers and celebrities. This study may inform advertisers in the process of selecting an influencer source.

Effects of placing a front-of-pack label on print food advertisements on consumer attitudes • Sumin Shin, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater; SangHee Park, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater • A typical front-of-package nutrition label shows one serving size, calories, saturated fat, sodium, and sugar. This study applies a front-of-package label to the advertising context. The results indicate that the presence of the label increases the ad effectiveness, and healthier nutrient content listed on the label negatively affects the ad effectiveness. The degree of nutrient content influences purchase intention directly and indirectly via perceived healthfulness, ad attitude, brand attitude, and healthy brand image sequentially.

How multitasking during video content decreases ad effectiveness: The roles of task relevance, video involvement, and visual attention • Shuoya Sun; Bartosz Wojdynski, University of Georgia; Matthew Binford, University of Georgia; Charan Ramachandran, University of Georgia • In a 3 (secondary task: none, related, unrelated) x 2 (ad-video congruence: high/low) between-subjects eye-tracking experiment, participants (N = 151) watched a 9-minute video documentary segment containing one mid-roll video ad while their visual attention to the screen was recorded. Participants in two-thirds of the conditions also read two online articles on a mobile device during the video. Results show effects for both multitasking and task relatedness on attention to the ad and attitudes toward the ad, through distinct pathways.

* Extended Abstract * Engagement Effects and Recall: A Multi-Year Analysis of Brand Communication in Social Media • Kristen Sussman, The University of Texas at Austin; Laura Bright, University of Texas at Austin; Gary Wilcox • This study examines single and multimodal effects of social media engagement on recall. Using longitudinal data associated with 46 businesses and over 21,000 ads, the analysis provides empirical findings revealing how various factors associated with online behavioral engagement lead to recall on a social networking site. Through initial modeling, comments and post shares explain about 36% of the variance associated with a person’s ad recall while impressions and engagement explain about 80% of the variance.

* Extended Abstract * Do Graphic Cues on Food Packaging and the Flavor of a Food Product Influence Perceptions of Product Characteristics? Results from an Experiment • Chan Thai, Santa Clara University; Hayley Trillo, Santa Clara University; Jacqui Villarreal • Most regulations on food packaging are focused on text-based package elements (explicit cues) that make claims about the product, while non-verbal package elements (subtle cues) have largely been ignored. This study hypothesizes that subtle cues on food packaging, such as graphics and flavor, influence perceptions of the food product. Utilizing a 4×4 online experiment, we test the influence of two types of subtle cues on the front of food packages, graphics (drawing, photograph, farmland scene, control) and flavor (kale, strawberry, orange, snap pea) of the product, on perceptions of taste, healthfulness, eating intentions, and purchase intentions. Data were gathered from two convenience samples: University students (n=100) and Amazon MTurk workers (n=200). One-way ANOVA tests showed no significant differences for graphic type. For the flavor, kale flavored products scored significantly higher on the perceived healthfulness outcome (5.51) compared to the snap pea (4.85), strawberry (4.81), and orange (4.49) products (p<.001). For eating/purchasing intention, kale flavored products scored significantly lower (3.07/3.39) compared to snap pea (3.83/3.94), strawberry (4.65/4.74), and orange (4.44/4.67; p<.001). For taste, kale flavored items scored lower (2.53) than the other flavors (3.83, 3.88, 3.17, p=0.19). Our results suggest that the flavor of a food product can exert influences on people’s perceptions of how healthy the product is, what the product might taste like, and intentions to eat or purchase these products.

Meaning Transfer in Celebrity Endorsement: Meaning Valence, Association Types, and Brand Awareness • Shiyun Tian, University of Miami; Wanhsiu Tsai; Weiting Tao; Cheng Hong, California State University, Sacramento • This study examined how meaning transfer influences brand image beliefs and brand attitudes. The moderating roles of association types and brand awareness were also investigated. The results confirmed the transfer of meanings. The change in attitudes was consistent with the valence of the celebrity’s meanings, as a function of the post-conditioning brand image belief. Furthermore, the effects increase when less-known brands were associated with celebrities via co-branding. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

The Role of Guilt, Shame, and Social Distance in Bystander-Focused Prevention of Campus Sexual Violence: A Construal Level Theory Approach • Shiyun Tian, University of Miami; Queenie Li, University of Miami • Guided by the Appraisal-Tendency Framework and Construal Level Theory, this study investigates how emotional appeals (guilt vs. shame) and social distance frames (distant vs. proximal) influence college students’ attitudes toward bystander action campaign and behavioral intention. The findings indicated a two-way interaction effect between these two message factors on campaign attitude and behavior intention. Additionally, self-efficacy was found to be the mediator that underlying the match-based effects. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

Spreading the Tingles: An Investigation into the Use of Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) Triggers in Advertising • Tianjiao Wang, Bradley University; Quan Xie; Rachelle Pavelko • Through the lens of embodied cognition and mental simulation theories, this study examined the use of ASMR triggers in advertising and the mechanism underlying the impact of ASMR experience on ad attitudes. The study conducted an online experiment of 539 participants and adopted an ASMR trigger (3: host-focused, object/task-focused, control) x ASMR trait (2: ASMR group vs non-ASMR group) x brand repetition (4) between-subjects factorial design. Results suggest that ads with ASMR triggers generated more tingling sensations compared to those without ASMR triggers. It also reveals that the tingling experience can directly improve ad attitudes, as well as via increased levels of mental simulation. Moreover, the ASMR group reported more positive ad attitudes compared to the non-ASMR group, regardless of the type of ads watched. Theoretical and marketing implications for ASMR advertising and directions for future research are discussed.

Competent and Warm? Examining Asian Stereotypes in Advertising • Buduo Wang, The University of Texas at Austin; Lucy Atkinson, The University of Texas at Austin; Angeline Scheinbaum; Siyan Li, The University of Texas at Austin • “According to the stereotype content model (SCM), competence and warmth are the two key dimensions of stereotype content (Fiske, Cuddy, Glick, & Xu, 2002). Intelligent but nerdy, Asians and Asian Americans have been stereotyped as high in competence but low in warmth. The purpose of this study is to examine whether consumers perceive Asian endorsers in advertising as more competent but less warm than white endorsers and how endorser’s race interacts with perceived warmth/competence to impact advertising effectiveness. Hypotheses are tested with a 2 × 2 between-subjects experiment (n=136). The findings reveal that Asian endorsers are perceived as both more competent and warmer, regardless of product category. The interaction between endorser’s race and perceived competence/warmth is also observed and discussed. Ads featuring white endorsers are more likely to be affected by perceived warmth/competence than ads with Asian endorsers. Both theoretical implications and managerial implications are provided.”

Carousel Advertising for Public Health: Effects of Narrative and Involvement • Lewen Wei, Pennsylvania State University; Guolan Yang; Heather Shoenberger, The Pennsylvania State University; Fuyuan Shen • An online experiment was conducted to examine the effectiveness of carousel advertising for public health on social media. We found when communicating about health issues, carousel advertising conditionally increased message engagement among highly involved individuals when the content was composed as a narrative instead of statistics. This in turn, fostered more favorable responses towards the advertising practice. Implications for interactive advertising in the carousel format are discussed.

Building Brand Authenticity on Social Media: The Impact of Instagram Ad Model Genuineness and Trustworthiness on Perceived Brand Authenticity and Consumer Responses • jing yang, Loyola University Chicago; Camila Teran, Loyola University Chicago; Ava Francesca Battocchio, Loyola University Chicago; Shannon Wrzesinski, Loyola University Chicago; Ebbe Bertellotti, Loyola University Chicago • This study explores the impact of expressive facial and visual aesthetics of Instagram images on consumers’ evaluation of the source and the brand, using computational image analysis method. Following the theoretical rationale of meaning transfer model, our findings revealed positive effect of perceived source genuineness on the endorsed brands’ perceived authenticity, through the mediation of the perceived source trustworthiness. Moreover, the positive effect of model genuineness also carried over to brand attitude and behavioral intention.

Effects of Transparent Brand Communication on Perceived Brand Authenticity and Consumer Responses • jing yang, Loyola University Chicago; Ava Francesca Battocchio, Loyola University Chicago • This study explores the influence of transparent brand communication on consumers’ perception of brand authenticity, and its further impact on consumers’ attitude, trust, and behavioral intention towards the brand. Through a 2×2 online experiment design, this study examined the variation in consumers’ perception and responses, while connecting the literature of brand transparency and authenticity. Individuals’ difference in moral identity centrality was examined as a moderator in the study.

Why People Watch TikTok Influencer Videos and How They Are Influenced by Social Media Influencers: A National Survey of Chinese College Students • Yang Yang; Louisa Ha, Bowling Green State University • The purpose of this study was to explore TikTok (Douyin) influencers’ persuasion power over their followers. A national survey of 382 college students in China showed that entertainment gratification is the most common motivation in using Douyin. Those who have high parasocial relationship with the influencer have higher purchase intention of the recommended products when they have high persuasion knowledge of the influencers than those who have low persuasion knowledge. Implications on influencer marketing are discussed.

Millennials’ environmental involvement and their responses toward sustainable products and green advertising • Jason Yu • This article conceptualizes two types of environmental involvement, outcome-relevant (OREI) and value-relevant (VREI) environmental involvement, and presents two studies that use survey and experimental data to examine their effects on attitude toward green products and green purchase behavior as well as the two-dimensional Aad, Ab and purchase intention. In short, VREI, rather than OREI, dominates the effects of environmental involvement on green consumerism and consumer response toward green advertising. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

A Cross-Cultural Examination of CSR Advertising: The effects of negative moral emotions on information processing • Wen Zhao, Fairfield University • The goal of this study was to examine the persuasive influences of moral emotions on younger consumers’ judgments and decision-making, and the roles of culture and self-construal in processing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) advertising. This study employed a between-subjects online experiment where American and Chinese participants viewed one of the two CSR advertisement designed with ego-focused (e.g., an ad-elicited anger emotion), and other-focused appeals (e.g., an ad-elicited guilt emotion). The results indicated that negative moral emotions had significant positive influences on attitudes toward the ads and purchase intention through the peripheral route, for the negative affective responses showed simple cue effects on judgments without influencing validation of the thoughts. In addition, results revealed the interaction effects between guilt emotion and culture values (i.e., country) on attitudes. This study also examined the moderating role of self-construal in the relationship of guilt emotion and attitude formation.

Social and temporal distance and message concreteness: A study of Facebook advertising • Fei Xue; Lijie Zhou • The current study examined the effects of social distance, temporal distance, and message concreteness on Facebook users’ response to News Feed advertising. It was found that social distance moderated the congruency between temporal distance and message concreteness. When the ads were affiliated with close friends (low social distance condition), concrete messages lead to stronger purchase intention for a near future event, while abstract messages generated stronger purchase intention for a distant future event.

Special Topics in Advertising
Effects of Consumers’ Affective States on Ad Attention and Evaluation: A Hybrid Research Approach • Maral Abdollahi, University of Minnesota; Debarati Das, University of Minnesota Twin Cities; Xinyu Lu; Jisu Huh, University of Minnesota; Jaideep Srivastava, University of Minnesota Twin Cities • This study examined the effects of consumers’ affective states on selective attention to different types of ads and evaluation of the ads. Applying an innovative hybrid research approach using survey and computational methods, this study analyzed real-time affective states of TV viewers during the 2020 Super Bowl broadcast, ad-related tweets, and self-reported attention measures. The results demonstrate significant effects of consumers’ affective states on their selective attention to different ads and ad evaluation.

Consumers’ Perception on Artificial Intelligence Applications in Marketing Communication • Huan Chen, University of Florida; Sylvia Chan-Olmsted, University of Florida; Julia Kim; Irene Sanabria • A qualitative study was conducted to examine consumers’ perception of AI and AI marketing communication. Twenty in-depth interviews were conducted to collect data. Findings suggest that 1) consumers’ interpretation of AI is multidimensional and relational focusing on functionality and emotion, as well as comparison and contrast between AI and human being; 2) consumers’ perception of voice assisted AI concentrates on different aspects including function, communication, adaptation, relationship, and privacy; and, 3) consumers consider AI marketing communication is unavoidable and acceptable but limited in its effect on influencing their evaluation of products and brands as well as shaping their consumptive behaviors.

Your Ad Here: The Influence of Mobile Advertising Type and Placement • Yunmi Choi, Indiana University Southeast; Todd Holmes, California State University Northridge • As the market for smartphones grows globally, studying how to utilize mobile pages as an advertising platform is becoming critical. This experimental study was conducted to examine the impact of different ad types (still-image, animated, and video ads) and ad placement (pre-text and mid-text) on smartphone users’ irritation, intrusiveness, attention, memory, and attitudes. The results of the research revealed that mid-text ads receive higher perceived intrusiveness compared to pre-text ads. Also, video ads produced more positive attitude toward the ad and brand than the still image or animated banner ads. In this study, the animated ad received significantly less positive attitude toward the brand compared to the video pre-text ad.

Exploring Factors Influencing Ad Recognition on Social Media • A-Reum Jung, Sejong University; Jun Heo, Louisiana State University • This study aims to examine native ad recognition by disclosure explicitness. Further, this study examined native ad effects in relation to personalization and ad clutter. In order to fulfill these purposes, an eye-tracking experiment with participants’ Facebook page was conducted. Findings indicated that consumers need longer time to figure out native ads, but disclosure has no influence on the ad recognition. Personalized native ads could be a promising solution to break ad clutter.

Investigating the Impact of Immersive Advertising on Attitude toward the Brand: The Mediating Roles of Perceived Novelty, Perceived Interactivity, and Attitude toward the Advertisement • Jihoon (Jay) Kim, University of Alabama; Joe Phua, University of Georgia; Nah Ray Han, University of Georgia; Taeyeon Kim • Although immersive advertising has emerged as a new persuasion tool in digital media environments, unanswered questions about its effectiveness remain. A between-subjects experiment (N = 127) with three levels of immersion (i.e., low, medium, high) tested whether greater levels of immersion led to more favorable attitude toward the advertisement and the brand. The results not only confirmed this hypothesis but also revealed the mediating roles of perceived novelty, perceived interactivity, and attitude toward the ad. Details about the effects of immersive advertising on consumer responses are presented, and theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

Am I Being Watched? The Role of Perceived Surveillance and Privacy Cynicism in Synced Advertising Effects • Claire M. Segijn, Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Minnesota; Eunah Kim, University of Minnesota • Technological advancements have made it possible to personalize messages across media in real-time (i.e., synced advertising). Our online experiment (N = 527) showed that the more ads were synced, the higher consumers’ unaided recall became. Also, the more ads were synced, the more perceived surveillance, which led to less positive brand attitudes. However, consumers high in privacy cynicism had more positive brand attitudes. These results advance theories on the direct effects, underlying mechanisms, and boundary effects of synced advertising.

* Extended Abstract * CSR Virtual Reality Campaigns by Alcohol Companies: The Role of Self-Value and Prior Drinking Experiences • Yoon-Joo Lee; Wen Zhao, Fairfield University; Huan Chen, University of Florida • This study’s goal is to explore factors influencing immersive experiences in the context of corporate social responsibility (CSR) virtual reality (VR) campaigns. The findings revealed that different types of self-value (social-CSRO) and prior experiences with alcohol products (alcohol consumption levels) interact in immersing into VR video contents and forming more positive attitude toward the video. This study implies that advertising practitioners may need to find important consumer values and prior experiences that are specifically relevant to a CSR VR as campaign.

Synced advertising and chilling effects: change in media diet as a result of corporate surveillance • Joanna Strycharz; Claire M. Segijn, Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Minnesota • Synced advertising is one of the most recent developments in the advertising practice and concerns personalizing messages based on people’s current offline media behavior. While this strategy promises to enhance advertising efforts, it comes with a number of threats as it raises ethical questions and may lead to unintended side-effects for consumers. In particular, data collection techniques used for synced advertising purposes require further attention since they extend the so-called corporate surveillance to consumers’ offline sphere. The current study investigates to what extent data collection for synced advertising causes so-called chilling effects, i.e. a change in consumers’ media diet. To explore the mechanisms behind such chilling effects, the current study builds on personalized advertising theories and psychological ownership theory and focuses on both advertiser- (data collection technique and location) and consumer-controlled (attitude towards personalization and need for self-presentation) factors. The findings show that indeed, data collection technique and need for self-presentation have an impact on chilling effects regarding consumers’ media diets. The findings carry implications for both the advertising industry and the regulators as chilling effects resulting from synced advertising can be seen a threat to consumer identity and autonomy.

Teaching and Pedagogy
* Extended Abstract * Curriculum drives everything: Advertising curriculum in ACEJMC programs • Sheri Broyles, University of North Texas • For those in advertising education the curriculum is the heart of each of our programs. This paper dives into the curricula across 50 advertising programs at U.S. universities and colleges accredited by ACEJMC, looking at both required courses and electives that might be of value to other programs. NOTE: Brief findings will be added here indicating big points made and a closing statement from discussion for why this is important.

* Extended Abstract * Best Practices in Online Course Development and Instruction: Targeting Advertising Students in a Post COVID-19 World • Betsy DeSimone, University of Tennessee; Courtney Carpenter Childers • The global COVID-19 pandemic led to dramatic shifts within higher education. None greater than the transition to remote instruction and online learning. Advertising courses are greatly impacted by this change as most require group work activities and creative challenges. This study highlights best practices for taking classes to an online delivery method via qualitative questionnaire exploring advertising student experiences. Phase 1 of data collection (N=61) took place late 2019, and phase 2 of data collection starts in late April 2020 for comparison.

Diversity and Inclusion in Advertising: What do Students Think? • Pamela Morris • The advertising industry has long been criticized for its lack of diversity. This exploratory investigation surveyed advertising and public relations students for perceptions of diversity in advertising. Students say they are confident in working with diverse teams, value inclusiveness, and want a wider meaning of diversity and for the industry to be more inclusive. Findings suggest incorporating diversity exercises into multiple parts of the advertising process can help motivate student to change the industry.

Incorporating Ethics into Introductory Advertising Courses: Student Perspectives • Pamela Morris • This introductory study reviewed how workshops and assignments built into introduction to advertising could impact students’ perceptions of ethics specific to advertising. The method of investigation was a survey at the semester’s beginning and end after structured engagement with ethics, including creating an ethics statement and incorporating ethics into the campaign process and pitch. Findings indicate that exposure and engagement of ethics made students more aware and articulate for the concept of ethics in advertising.

* Extended Abstract * Prepping (for) the Ad Industry: Understanding Personality and Career Adaptability of First- Generation College Students in Strategic Communication • Katie Olsen, Kansas State University; Alec Tefertiller, Baylor University; Danielle LaGree • Frequently coming from diverse and lower income backgrounds, first-generation college students (FGCS) may be a key demographic capable of improving the general lack of diversity that plagues the advertising industry. As such, understanding and supporting FGCS within collegiate strategic communication programs is increasingly important. Using a mixed method approach through two studies, the current investigation seeks to understand how personality differences, career adaptability, and diverse backgrounds influence career preparedness.

A Survey of Faculty Advisers at Student-Run Agencies • Brooke Borgognoni, University of Arkansas School of Journalism and Strategic Media; Jan Wicks, University of Arkansas School of Journalism and Strategic Media • This survey of faculty advisers examined major variables and findings of past research on student-run agencies using organizational theory. Larger agencies appeared to offer training in more formalized business procedures among a more diverse client base, found in previous research to be helpful to student-run agency graduates now on the job. Hopefully results will help future researchers identify which factors may best facilitate specific student performance outcomes at agencies of all types and sizes.

<2020 Abstracts

2020 Abstracts

AEJMC 2020 Conference Paper Abstracts
Virtual Conference • August 6 to 9

The following AEJMC groups will conduct research competitions for the 2020 conference. The accepted paper abstracts are listed within each section.

Divisions:

• Advertising
• Communicating Science, Health, Environment, and Risk (ComSHER)
• Communication Technology (CTEC)
• Communication Theory and Methodology
• Cultural and Critical Studies
• Electronic News
• History
• International Communication
• Law and Policy
• Magazine Media
• Mass Communication and Society
• Media Ethics
• Media Management, Economics, and Entrepreneurship
• Minorities and Communication (MAC)
• Newspaper and Online News
• Political Communication
• Public Relations
• Scholastic Journalism
• Visual Communication (VisCom)

Interest Groups:

• Community Journalism
• Entertainment Studies
• Graduate Student
• Internships and Careers
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer
• Participatory Journalism
• Religion and Media
• Small Programs (SPIG)
• Sports Communication (SPORTS)

Commissions:

• Status of Women

<< AEJMC Abstracts Index

Statement on arrests and violence toward journalists covering protests across the country June 2020

CONTACT: ">James Stewart, Nicholls State University, 2019-20 ASJMC President and ">David Perlmutter, Texas Tech University, 2019-20 AEJMC President | June 9, 2020

Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication (ASJMC)
and Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC)

“Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as
outraged as those who are.” — Benjamin Franklin

We the Boards of Directors of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication (ASJMC) and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) present this joint statement to condemn arrests and violence toward journalists covering widespread citizen protests for racial justice.

The protests and demonstrations across the U.S. are meant to call attention to the brutal treatment that communities of color, especially Black Americans, endure. The majority of these demonstrations are peaceful; however, there have been numerous instances where citizens have been injured in clashes with police wielding batons, rubber bullets and tear gas in their efforts to dismantle crowds.

Among the injured and arrested this time are working journalists, predominantly Black journalists such as CNN’s Omar Jimenez, and later his colleagues Bill Kirkos and Leone Mendez while working in Minneapolis; Branden Hunter at the Detroit Free Press; and Tyler Blint-Welsh at the Wall Street Journal, all of whom were detained while reporting from the field. News photographer Linda Tirado was shot in the face with a rubber bullet while photographing protests in Minneapolis; doctors have determined that she is blind in her left eye as a result.

One of the canons of the U.S. Constitution is the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of the press and the right to assembly. These are bedrocks of Americans’ freedoms. When the Kerner Commission Report was released in 1968, it pointed to the need for more minorities working in newsrooms to provide accurate and sensitive coverage of people of color and their communities. More than 50 years later, we see targeted arrests of journalists of color who seek through reporting to provide inclusion and perspective for all communities, and do so at great peril.

Journalists in Minneapolis, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Houston, and other communities are there to bear witness; they are there to capture and report the voices, sights and sounds of individuals who are not just protesting, but want people to listen to their reality. Listen to the pain and loss caused by the violent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, and so many more Black lives taken by police brutality and misconduct.

America must address its societal issues from racism and discrimination, to #MeToo, LGBTQ+, immigration, the haves and have nots, the COVID-19 pandemic, and, of course, the political partisanship across the nation that has fueled national division. Journalists must be able to report freely if we have any hope of understanding and addressing the issues that ail our nation.  Journalists should not face arrest and physical injury for doing their jobs. As journalism educators, we oppose violence of any type, particularly against working journalists who are covering the important stories as they happen.

Journalists are our watchdogs; when news reporting is carried out with professionalism, keen insight and inclusion, it doggedly seeks to capture all voices. Those in higher education who prepare journalists to undertake professional work support and encourage journalists of all hues to look for the underlying story to give context to people’s lives and communities.

ASJMC and AEJMC are here to spotlight that moment where preparation (education and training) meets application – no greater example exists right now than the protests spreading across the nation. The vast majority of academics in communication and journalism schools are former journalists and media professionals, with many still in practice. The work of journalists matters in capturing history as it unfolds. Higher education challenges and prepares journalists to do this well. Whether by pen and paper, camera or cell phone, legacy media or new media, when history unfolds the Fourth Estate is there to tell the story. ASJMC and AEJMC unequivocally support this First Amendment right, and we stand in support of journalists doing their work to tell the stories that need to be told.
________________________________________

Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication (ASJMC)
ASJMC is a non-profit, educational association composed of some 190 JMC programs at the college level. The majority of the association’s members are in the United States and Canada. ASJMC promotes excellence in journalism and mass communication education. Founded in 1917, ASJMC works to support the purposes of schools of journalism and mass communication in order to achieve the following goals: to foster, encourage and facilitate high standards and effective practices in the process and administration of education for journalism and mass communication in institutions of higher learning; to cooperate with journalism and mass communication organizations in efforts to raise professional standards and promote a public understanding of the role of journalism and mass communication in a democratic society; and to support and participate in the accreditation process of journalism and mass communication units through the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC).

Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC)
The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) is a nonprofit organization of more than 3,700 educators, students and practitioners from around the globe. Founded in 1912, by Willard Grosvenor Bleyer, the first president (1912-13) of the American Association of Teachers of Journalism, as it was then known, AEJMC is the oldest and largest alliance of journalism and mass communication educators and administrators at the college level. AEJMC’s mission is to promote the highest possible standards for journalism and mass communication education, to encourage the widest possible range of communication research, to encourage the implementation of a multi-cultural society in the classroom and curriculum, and to defend and maintain freedom of communication in an effort to achieve better professional practice, a better informed public, and wider human understanding.

From the AEJMC President: 2020 Conference Statements

LATEST STATEMENT:

May 18, 2020

Dear AEJMC Colleagues:

We hope you, your families, and your friends and associates are staying safe and healthy amid the COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying dislocations. This is certainly a year when the terms “extraordinary” and “unprecedented,” when applied to almost everything in academia, including national conferences, seem like understatements.

I write to share key updates and details about the AEJMC 2020 virtual conference August 6–9 and pre-conference events on August 5. (You will find additional information on the conference FAQ page.)

The 2020 conference, although different in format from any previous AEJMC event, promises exciting prospects both familiar and innovative. If you are presenting a paper or poster or serving on a panel, you will still interact. We have a compelling keynote panel headlining the conference theme of “Saving the Planet through Better Media and Communication” and featuring viewings of and discussion about the stunning documentary on modern science communication, Science Friction. Our Cornerstone Session is particularly relevant, addressing the topic of teaching during the pandemic. Overall, we will offer opportunities for intellectual stimulation, social engagement, exchange of teaching and research ideas, and career development that you’ve always counted on in early August.

Registration for AEJMC 2020 opens May 22. We have reduced registration rates to benefit our attendees. “Early bird” rates, valid until July 9, have been reduced by $50 for regular members and lowered by $40 for student and retired members. Click here to view registration rates.

We expect the costs for the virtual conference to total $273,000. We have projected that about 1,070 people will register for the conference. So, to meet the costs of the conference, we need to charge an average of $255 per registrant in registration fees – which also allows a margin for extra, unanticipated costs. You may view the original conference budget for the in-person event here and the new approved budget for the virtual conference here.

Conference costs currently include $90,000 paid to vFairs, which will operate the conference virtual site; costs for the All-Academic submission and review software; costs of building the conference website; the registration portal; bank charges; and the cost of the printing of the conference program, which will be mailed to you. Conference expenses also include some items AEJMC has already paid for like Guidebook (app), and professional headshots, which will both be set up for the 2021 conference.

The decisions leading to setting these rates have not been easy.

Part of our charge as a board and staff is to ensure the fiscal health of our organization for now and the future. In previous years, the conference provided income for the AEJMC budget. However, faced with the challenges for academics during the COVID-19 pandemic, the reduced registration rates for AEJMC 2020 will allow us only to break even. Nevertheless, we will continue to subsidize member assistance programs, such as free registration for up to three top-paper-winner graduate students per division. As many as 75 graduate students will benefit.

We believe that AEJMC 2020 will bring together an engaging array of sessions on current developments, research, teaching, professional freedom and responsibility, and jobs and career mentoring in a format that, by default, will be live, synchronous, and recorded. (So, for the first time, you won’t have to worry about missing a session you want to see because you’re presenting at another session!) We also will host social events for you to network and connect with colleagues. We want your experience to be as “normal” as possible through the new modality while at the same time providing new features.

Besides this overview, I want to offer some personal context and perspectives, based on my involvement with AEJMC as a graduate student starting in the 1990s through my participation on the Research and Finance Committees, and now as president and a member of the Board of Directors.

First, AEJMC is a remarkably democratic organization. Elected officials, or those appointed by them, make most decisions. The AEJMC staff advises and executes, but the final responsibility for direction rests with the leadership you elect. The AEJMC Board of Directors works with its various constituencies and represents them well. Over the past months, every one of our discussions has been a robust exchange with dissenting ideas, but eventually resulting in near-unanimous votes for action.

Second, due to my almost 20 years of writing for The Chronicle of Higher Education and my general interest in how academia works, I have had the opportunity to compare and contrast AEJMC with many other professional associations. I have concluded that we run a lean operation. We have a small staff with many responsibilities that operates in an efficient manner on a small budget. The organization doesn’t strive for “big profits,” nor does it carry a weighty bureaucratic apparatus. We commend the AEJMC staff for accomplishing the miracle of successful conferences, year after year, in addition to all the other services they provide. It is a tribute to their work ethic, integrity, and commitment to cause.

Third, we are heartened to learn from the positive experience of the virtual format of the AEJMC Southeast Colloquium 2020 in March. We have adopted best practices from peer groups such as the American Academy of Advertising (AAA), which ran its San Diego conference in March virtually as well. We also intend to study the plans and/or actions of the International Communication Association (ICA), Broadcast Education Association (BEA), National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), National Communication Association (NCA), and other peer organizations. We urge you to share your experiences or knowledge with us and each other as you design your individual or group sessions.

Indeed, I think AEJMC 2020 will be a learning experience for all of us. AEJMC was founded in 1912 and has evolved into a global association of 3,700 members from 50 nations. AEJMC has weathered trials and tribulations in our rich history of 108 years. There will be other crises, global and local, in future years. We can now appreciate and script how to get things right and impart our insights to our successors—which, after all, is what education is all about.

In sum, I hope the conference planning and the event itself will be an exemplar of how disparate individuals and interests can sustain a common goal: the continued success of AEJMC and impact on all members. Each session will succeed through the talents and cooperation of the people involved. We rely on your ideas, ingenuity, and compassion. Thank you for supporting and contributing to our scholarly and professional community. AEJMC has thrived and will continue to thrive because of you.

See you at AEJMC 2020 in August!

David D. Perlmutter, Ph.D.
2019-2020
President, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication

April 30, 2020

Dear AEJMC Members,

I hope this note finds you, your families, and your colleagues healthy and accomplishing your professional goals.

I write to report that in light of the health, travel safety, access, and funding concerns affecting you, our members, the AEJMC Board has voted unanimously to “go virtual” for our 2020 conference (retaining the same August 6-9 dates and related pre-conference events on August 5). We feel this is the safest and best decision for our attendees, their families, and staff. As many of you realize, we have been in talks since mid-February with our board of directors, staff, members, and the hotel with which we are contracted to explore all potential options for the 2020 conference. AEJMC just this week completed negotiations with the San Francisco hotel to move our 2020 contract to 2025 with no penalty. (Cancelling the contract sooner would have incurred for the association an almost $700,000 penalty.) We also feel we have learned much from our discussions with and observations of other professional associations that have offered or are about to offer virtual conferences.

Our intention is to provide our AEJMC community with a rich, valuable, and engaging experience.

We look forward to sending you a more detailed update on the AEJMC 2020 Virtual Conference within the next three weeks.

So thank you for your patience and support. There were 1,617 total submissions (1,166 full papers and 451 extended abstracts) to the All-Academic site for the 2020 competition. This is higher than the last two conferences.

See you at AEJMC 2020 in August!

Note: What if you have already booked a hotel room?
Don’t worry – you may cancel:
MARRIOTT MARQUIS CANCEL POLICY
You must call 72 hours prior to the day of your arrival to cancel your room reservation to avoid a one-night room and tax penalty. This information should be included in your reservation confirmation also.
888-236-2427 or 888-575-8934

Thank you for being a member of the AEJMC Community!

David D. Perlmutter, Ph.D.
2019-2020
President, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication

March 27, 2020

Dear AEJMC Colleagues,

AEJMC will have a 2020 conference! The questions the Board will resolve are: What does it look like and when and where it will be? Currently, we are looking at many options and also talking to our peers in other organizations who have gone through or are facing some of the same choices we need to make. We have found that engagement to be extremely fruitful. The staff are also working hard to make sure that we are fully informed about all costs, trade-offs, and details. With all this in mind, our intention is to make a final decision around the first week of May. We cannot make a final decision at this time, because the penalty amount (right now) would be cost prohibitive to the organization. That said, again, the AEJMC Conference 2020 will occur! Conference details may be found on the conference website: http://aejmc.org/events/sanfrancisco20/.

David D. Perlmutter, Ph.D.
2019-2020
President, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication

March 9, 2020

Dear AEJMC Colleagues,

We wanted to let you know that we are proceeding as normal for planning the AEJMC 2020 Academic Conference in San Francisco.

We have not received any information that would lead us to alter our planning or programming besides the obvious recommended safety and security measures.

We will issue further updates if there are any changes.

David D. Perlmutter, Ph.D.
2019-2020
President, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication

Tips from the AEJMC Teaching Committee

Service Learning in Journalism & Mass Communication

By Emily T. Metzgar
AEJMC Standing Committee
on Teaching
Indiana University

(Article courtesy of AEJMC News, March 2020 issue)

Of the fifteen institutions included in Gallup’s annual Confidence in Institutions survey in 2019, only Congress ranked lower (15th) than television news (14th). Newspapers didn’t fare much better (12th), although they did rank one step above big business (13th).  The bottom line? Americans just don’t hold contemporary media in very high regard.

No doubt the contemporary political environment contributes to the media’s ranking here, but these institutions have been in the poll’s basement for years as public concern about media credibility, accountability, and objectivity has settled in. Methinks there’s more going on here. What about public perceptions of journalists’ empathy (or lack thereof)? Could that be a contributing factor to the profession’s decline in the public’s estimation?

Consider a video that made the rounds in late January. CNN anchor Don Lemon was hosting an on-air discussion during which he laughed repeatedly while a guest mocked the supposed ignorance of conservative voters. Making fun of half the American electorate probably isn’t a winning strategy for regaining the public’s confidence or reclaiming lost market share. But what does it suggest about the state of journalism in the United States?

It suggests a growing chasm between the professionals who produce the news and the audiences that professional journalists purport to serve. It suggests that we, as instructors in journalism and mass communication, must ensure that students don’t leave our classrooms without installation and testing of a “sensitivity chip.” And the best way to do this is to put students into contact with people, environments, and situations to which they might not otherwise be exposed.

This is not a call for political indoctrination. It’s a call for teaching our students how to develop empathy for people who are unlike them. It’s a call for getting our students out of the classroom and into the communities where they live and study. It’s a call for the infusion of more service-learning opportunities into our classes.

When Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans, the storm’s destruction laid bare the gaps between the “haves” and “have nots” in the city. When Tulane University reopened after dealing with its own flood damage, it decreed that all its students – indisputably among the “haves” — would thereafter perform service in the community as a requirement for graduation. Our own institutions may not have similar requirements, but we can – and I believe we should — build concern for and interaction with our communities into our classes. Journalism and mass communication courses are perhaps better suited than most for application of student skills in the service of community organizations and in response to community needs. We should exploit that advantage — for our students and for ourselves.

How do I make the leap from taking a swipe at a thoughtless segment on a major cable news network to calling for students to storm our communities with service on offer? Here’s the logic: First, if “information is the currency of democracy” then teaching future journalists and communication professionals to learn about and be engaged in their communities can be an inherently political – and hopefully empathy-inducing — act. Second, we all understand the role of framing in the media and we know that the way a story is told not only allocates blame for problems, it limits the range of possible solutions. If we don’t ask students to leave their comfort zones they may not otherwise encounter people different from themselves and may not recognize opportunities to tell stories in new ways. Dearth of exposure is not a recipe for thoughtful reporting or empathy promotion.

Finally, as future journalists and media professionals, our students will bear the burden of helping to restore the professions’ reputation among the American public. Beyond their college careers our students will increasingly be expected to play roles described by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel as investigators, witnesses, role models, empowerers [sic], and facilitators of public debate. Without connections to or curiosity about their communities, our students will be ill-equipped to serve in many of these roles. And a certain degree of empathy is required to perform well in each.

How to teach empathy? Service-learning is an excellent place to start.

Emily T. Metzgar is an associate professor in The Media School @ Indiana University where she also serves as the School’s director for undergraduate studies. She is a member of AEJMC’s Standing Committee on Teaching.

<Teaching Corner

AEJMC 2020 Conference Paper Call

Tips from the AEJMC Teaching Committee

Make the 2020 Election a Teachable Moment

By Marcus Messner
AEJMC Standing Committee on Teaching
Virginia Commonwealth University

(Article courtesy of AEJMC News, January 2020 issue)

It’s 2020 and this year’s presidential election promises to become one of the hardest fought in the nation’s history. The presidential primaries are about to begin and the road to November will be long with many opportunities for students to get involved.

There will be days when your students will talk about nothing else. So why not make the election a teachable moment in your classes?

Now is a good time to get your colleagues together to make a plan for the fall semester. Here are a few projects that you   can plan on your own or as a team for your school or department:

Get-Out-the-Vote Campaign
Offer a course or class project that designs and carries out a non-partisan campaign to get students to the polls. It’s a great experiential learning opportunity, especially for public relations and advertising students. Put students in the driver seat and let them design campaign materials and social media strategies that will engage their peers.

Start out with a voter registration drive on campus. If students are registered at all, many of them will be registered in their hometowns. They need to either newly register, change their registration or vote absentee. Your campaign can tell them how to do that.

Then turn your attention to the get-out-the-vote effort and go beyond just the horse race. Prepare detailed materials that show the policy positions of all presidential candidates, so that students can make sophisticated decisions at the polls. Focus especially on the issues that are top of mind for your students (a survey can help). If preparing the materials is too time consuming, you can contact one of the many non-profit organizations with voter-turnout operations who are always willing to share their materials.
Also prepare instructions for students on how to get to the polls in your city, if your campus does not have its own polling station. Increase your campaign’s presence on central places around campus on a daily basis between October and November.

Your student affairs unit might have extra dollars to spend for your campaign’s social media advertising during the final days.

Mock Debate
Only very few universities get to host presidential debates with the actual candidates. If yours is not one of the lucky four, it does not prevent you from holding your own mock debate. Put your debate team or communication studies majors in charge of organizing a panel discussion by inviting representatives of the Young Democrats and Young Republicans to debate the policy positions of the presidential candidates on your campus (of course invite third parties representatives as well, if they are available).

Alternatively invite local party politicians to engage in a debate about national issues. It will be a great showcase of what the election is truly about and which choices students face. It will also contribute to a civilized discourse about the election on your campus.

Speaker Series
Bring engaging speakers to your school or department between Labor Day and Election Day. There are many opportunities to bring your students together for speaker events without going through an expensive speaker’s bureau.

Invite some of your alumni, who work in political campaigns or cover politics for a news organization, to talk about their work. You might also have a professor on your faculty who has done so in the past. Ask a historian or a political scientist at your university to bring some perspective on the race unfolding in the fall. Invite international students to discuss difference to elections and political systems in other countries. Hold an open forum with a moderator at which students can share their views.

Election Coverage
Journalism classes can already get a head start by covering the primary election in your state this spring semester. During the fall semester, the general election will be a great testing ground for students to put their reporting skills to use by covering the candidates and the most important issues for voters at your university and in your community.

Partner a journalism class with a local news organization to add student reporting and perspective to their coverage. Let the reporting efforts during the fall culminate in an Election Day project that covers voters at the polls in the morning and provides live updates on the election results in the evening. It’s a great opportunity to give your students a chance to work in a newsroom-like setting and to sharpen all of the skills they learned your previous classes during a breaking news situation.

Creating an engaged campus during a presidential election is a great contribution you can make to our democracy. While the presidential election will likely lead to more political division this year, making it a teachable moment in your classes will not only engage your students, but allow them to have an impact with their coursework by helping their peers make informed decisions at the polls.

<Teaching Corner