Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

How Brazilians Used Media To Cope With The Issues Brought By The Covid-19 Pandemic, Vivian De Melo Campos

Theses and Dissertations

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the world faced lockdown and quarantine restrictions that encouraged or forced people to stay home. Along with the rest of the world, Brazil faced many difficulties during this period and it became one of the countries that lost more lives due to the Coronavirus infection worldwide. This study focuses on showing how people in Brazil coped with the challenges brought by the pandemic. It also focuses on showing if and how participants used media as a coping mechanism. The research was done through qualitative methods with semi-structured interviews with 25 adults who were living in …

First Fictional Crush: Effects Of Parasocial Attachments On Female Adolescent Relationships, Emily J. Burnham

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

Romantic movies, TV shows, and mature novels are endorsed and consumed by many individuals in society—particularly women. However, media may not always portray reality accurately, which might mislead adolescent females who are still developing socially, sexually, emotionally, and cognitively. Studies have indicated that young women may naturally turn to parasocial romantic relationships (PSRRs)—one-sided emotional attachments to fictional characters in media—to explore their developing romantic expectations and sexuality in a way that appears to be harmless and free of consequence (Erickson et al., 2018). However, several effects of PSRRs may have a detrimental impact on adolescent females whose emotions become extremely …

Domestic Bliss, Or Technological Diss? Problematic Media Use, Attachment, And Relationship Outcomes, Mccall A. Booth

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine how problematic media use (technoference, internet gaming disorder symptoms, and pornography use) predicted later partner relationship outcomes, operating through the mediator of attachment behaviors. Participants (N = 1039) were from Waves II–IV of the Couple Relationships and Transition Experiences (CREATE) study, a nationally representative quantitative study on marriage relationships across the United States. Both spouses completed surveys reporting problematic media use, attachment behaviors, and relationship outcomes at three separate time points each spaced a year apart. In order to test the hypotheses, three longitudinal actor-partner interdependence models with indirect paths were estimated, …

Mirror, Mirror On The Wall: The Effect Of Listening To Body Positive Music On Implicit And Explicit Body Esteem, Sarah M. Coyne, Emilie J. Davis, Wayne Warburton, Laura Stockdale, Imogen Abba, Dean M. Busby

Faculty Publications

The current article used 3 studies to examine the impact of listening to body positive music on both explicit and implicit measures of body esteem in women. Study 1 found that women who viewed a mainstream popular body positive music video reported higher levels of body esteem than those who viewed a popular body objectifying music video. In Studies 2 and 3, we wrote and recorded our own songs to keep the musical features apart from the lyrics constant (e.g., rhythm, melody, and singer identity). Study 2 also found that women showed higher levels of implicit (but not explicit) body …

Media And The Formation Of Scottish Parliament, Emily Ashcraft

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The thesis explored how media interacts with politics, specifically the Scottish Parliament, by considering the representation of the Scottish Parliament in newspapers from the time the Scots voted for a parliament (1997) through the years following the beginning of the Scottish Parliament (1999-2003). It compared various newspapers from Scotland and the United Kingdom during this time and examined their reporting on the parliament. It also evaluated specific differences between the UK and Scottish Parliaments, where they originated and how newspapers and other media were involved in the conversation. This research found that press representation and media framing is important in …

Media And Parents: Socializing Factors Of Relational Aggression, Kjersti Maye Summers

Theses and Dissertations

Exposure to relational aggression in various contexts has been found to predict relationally aggressive behavior in adolescents. Past research has examined socializing factors of relational aggression separately. The current study expounds upon this research by looking at three important contexts for socialization of relational aggression during adolescence together: media relational aggression, parental psychological control, and couple relational aggression. Specifically, this study looked at how these different socializing factors combine to predict relational aggression. Participants consisted of 423 adolescents and their parents. A person-centered approach was used to determine different profiles. Latent profile analysis found three profiles, including "average" (78%), "high …

Contributions Of Mainstream Sexual Media Exposure To Sexual Attitudes, Perceived Peer Norms, And Sexual Behavior: A Meta-Analysis, Sarah M. Coyne, L. Monique Ward, Savannah L. Kroff, Emilie J. Davis, Hailey G. Holmgren, Alexander C. Jensen, Sarah E. Erickson, Lee W. Essig

Faculty Publications

Purpose: Decades of research have examined the impact of exposure to nonexplicit portrayals of sexual content in media. There is only one meta-analysis on this topic, which suggests that exposure to “sexy media” has little to no effect on sexual behavior. There are a number of limitations to the existing meta-analysis, and the purpose of this updated meta-analysis was to examine associations between exposure to sexual media and users' attitudes and sexual behavior.

Methods: A thorough literature search was conducted to find relevant articles. Each study was coded for associations between exposure to sexual media and one of six outcomes …

A Content-Analytic Meta-Analysis Of Gender Stereotyping In Screen Media, Lee Whitney Essig

Theses and Dissertations

Thousands of studies have investigated the gendered portrayals in various forms of media. Researchers believe that considering gendered media content is important, as gender stereotypes have been found to influence development, often with adverse outcomes. Although a vast body of research on gender stereotypes has accumulated, little effort has been made to synthesize this literature. The purpose of this paper is to collect and analyze the results of content-analytic studies of gender portrayals across several forms of media including television, television commercials, movies, video games, music videos, and various forms of print media into a comprehensive paper on gender stereotypes …

A Content-Analytic Meta-Analysis Of Gender Stereotyping In Screen Media, Lee Whitney Essig

Theses and Dissertations

Thousands of studies have investigated the gendered portrayals in various forms of media. Researchers believe that considering gendered media content is important, as gender stereotypes have been found to influence development, often with adverse outcomes. Although a vast body of research on gender stereotypes has accumulated, little effort has been made to synthesize this literature. The purpose of this paper is to collect and analyze the results of content-analytic studies of gender portrayals across several forms of media including television, television commercials, movies, video games, music videos, and various forms of print media into a comprehensive paper on gender stereotypes …

A Meta-Analysis Of Prosocial Media On Prosocial Behavior, Aggression, And Empathic Concern: A Multidimensional Approach, Sarah M. Coyne, Laura M. Padilla-Walker, Hailey G. Holmgren, Emilie J. Davis, Kevin M. Collier, Madison K. Memmott-Elison, Alan J. Hawkins

Faculty Publications

Studies examining the effects of exposure to prosocial media on positive outcomes are increasing in number and strength. However, existing meta-analyses use a broad definition of prosocial media that does not recognize the multidimensionality of prosocial behavior. The aim of the current study is to conduct a meta-analysis on the effects of exposure to prosocial media on prosocial behavior, aggression, and empathic concern while examining multiple moderators that the prosocial behavior literature suggests are important to our understanding of why individuals voluntarily help others (e.g., target, type, coast). Results from 72 studies involving 243 effect sizes revealed that exposure to …

Mirror, Mirror On The Wall: An Experimental Study Examining The Relationship Between Music Lyrics And Body Satisfaction In Emerging Adult Women, Emilie Jill Davis

Theses and Dissertations

Over the past decade, there has been an increase in academic research on media and its influences on body satisfaction. To date, the majority of body image literature focuses on low body satisfaction. While low body satisfaction leads to negative outcomes, high body satisfaction leads to a host of positive outcomes. Further, in a non-academic domain, it would seem that even some media icons are starting to take part in the effort to try to promote positive appearance messages. Singers like Christina Aguilera, Colbie Caillat, and Alessia Cara have begun writing songs like Beautiful, Try, and Scars To …

Walid & Rahima, Walid, Rahima, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Walid worked as a police officer inBaghlan County,Afghanistan, where hedid many operations with NATO and US forces. Walid was responsible for recordingoperations and distributing copies to the media. Being part of the operations was dangerous, and Walid lost many of his friendsto the Taliban.Theyevenskinned afriend for cooperating with the government. The violenceled him to say, “The terrorists have no religion.” The Taliban began entering homes and killing government officials,and paid assassinations happened in public. Walidknew he was in danger.After losing a dear friend, Walid knew then that he had lost all he was willing to lose.He fled to Pakistan where …

Withdrawing To A Virtual World: Associations Between Subtypes Of Withdrawal, Media Use, And Maladjustment In Emerging Adults, Larry J. Nelson, Sarah M. Coyne, Emily Howard, Brandon N. Clifford

Faculty Publications

An approach-avoidance model of social withdrawal (Asendorpf, 1990) identifies 3 types of social withdrawal including shyness, unsociability, and avoidance. Each appears to be uniquely associated with varying indicators of maladjustment in emerging adulthood (Nelson, 2013) but little, if any, work has been done to see how they might be linked to media use in the third decade of life. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine longitudinally the links between subtypes of social withdrawal, connective media (e.g., e-mail, social networking) and problematic (forms of media such as violent video games that, when used in high amounts, have been …

Pregnancy, Media, And Body Image, Madison Memmott, Sarah Coyne

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Research shows that exposure to certain portrayals of women in media can influence women’s body image (Grabe, et al., 2008), self-esteem (Groesz, et al., 2002), eating behaviors and beliefs, as well as the tendency to have an eating disorder (Holmstrom, 2004). Accordingly, research shows that the effects of body disturbances are particularly salient in regards to women who have been exposed to various portrayals of celebrities (Krisjanous, et al., 2014; Hopper & Aubrey, 2013; Sumner, et al., 1993); this link is consistent across culture (Chae, 2014). Though these studies exist, almost no research focuses on media’s effects on the pregnant …

The Association Between Time Spent Using Entertainment Media And Marital Quality In A Contemporary Dyadic National Sample, Jeffrey P. Dew, Sarah Tulane

Faculty Publications

This study used the Actor Partner Interdependence Model and a national sample of married couples (N = 1368) to explore the relationship between entertainment media use and marital satisfaction, conflict, and perceived marital instability. Entertainment media-use included newer types of media (e.g., social networking websites) as well as traditional media (e.g., television). A number of negative relationships between media use and wives’ and husbands’ marital quality emerged. Husbands’ use of social networking websites, in particular, was associated with many of the marital quality variables. The effect sizes of media use were small, however. We also explored whether the relationship …

Pregnancy, Media, And Body Image, Sarah Coyne

Journal of Undergraduate Research

We are happy to report on our study “Pregnancy, media, and body image” which received a MEG grant two years ago.

Physiological Indicators Of Pathologic Video Game Use In Adolescence, Sarah M. Coyne, W. Justin Dyer, Rebecca Densley, Nathan M. Money, Randal D. Day, James M. Harper

Faculty Publications

Purpose: Pathologic video game use (PVGU) has been associated with a host of negative psychological, physical, and social outcomes during adolescence; however, little research has examined physiological predictors of such use. The purpose of the study was to examine physiological predictors of the development of PVGU across adolescence.

Methods: The article involves a 1-year longitudinal study across midadolescence. Participants were 374 adolescents and their parents from a large metropolitan area in the Northwest United States. PVGU was assessed via questionnaire, as were a number of control variables. A number of physiological indicators including respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and galvanic skin …

Rugby's Rise In The United States: The Impact Of Social Media On An Emerging Sport, Benjamin James Kocher

Theses and Dissertations

In this study, the grounded theory approach was used to conduct a qualitative study about the effects the media has on rugby players in the United States. This study involved in-depth interviews with American-born-and-raised rugby players from the top rugby colleges and universities in the United States. These interviews helped identify the role played by traditional and social media in encouraging new players to begin playing the sport of rugby. Results showed that traditional media did not play a large role in bringing out new players in the United States. However newer, social media played a much larger role. New …

It’S A Bird! It’S A Plane! It’S A Gender Stereotype!: Longitudinal Associations Between Superhero Viewing And Gender Stereotyped Play, Sarah M. Coyne, Jennifer Ruh Linder, Eric E. Rasmussen, David A. Nelson, Kevin M. Collier

Faculty Publications

Although content analyses have found that superhero programs in the media portray strong gender stereotypes of masculinity, little research has examined the effects of viewing such programs. In the current study, 134 mothers of preschool children (from the Western and Northwestern United States) reported their child’s superhero exposure in the media, male-stereotyped play, weapon play, and parental active mediation of the media at two time points (1 year apart). Results revealed that boys viewed superhero programs more frequently than girls, with nearly a quarter of boys viewing superhero programs at least weekly. Analyses revealed that superhero exposure was related to …

Blogging In Defense Of Themselves: Social Media Implications For Rhetorical Criticism And The Genre Of Apologia, Ramona Dee Wheeler

Theses and Dissertations

The advent of social media has provided an arena where barriers to entry are low. Individuals may persuade, question others and defend both their philosophies and their actions. This study examines the classic role of rhetorical criticism as it may apply in new media venues. A blog written by a public figure was examined through a synthesis of rhetorical criticism analyses derived from Ware and Linkugel, Vartabedian, and Downey. Four strategies and associated positioning in the practice of apologia were identified in selected blog posts, indicating the genre of apologia applies to social media apologies and extends the genre of …

The Forgotten Medium: The Impact Of Reading Violent Literature On Aggressive Thoughts, Mckay Robert Stevens

Theses and Dissertations

Media violence in television, film, video games, and music has been linked to increased aggression. Only in recent years have researchers begun to investigate the impact that reading violent literature can have on individuals. The present study exposed individuals to either a violent or nonviolent story and measured aggressive cognitions. No significant effect was found for story type on aggressive cognitions but a gender effect for aggressive word completions was found. Discussion centers on possible differences between media types as well as future suggestions for investigations into violent literature.

Gay Marriage In The Utah And California Media: A Content Analysis Of Newspaper Frames Used In The Coverage Of Proposition 8, Michael Todd Hollingshead

Theses and Dissertations

This study is a content analysis of news frames used in the coverage of Proposition 8 by newspapers in Utah and California, spanning the three months prior to its passage in November 2008, to the three months after its passage. A total of 401 news stories from five newspapers were analyzed to examine which of five news frames (attribution of responsibility, human interest, conflict, morality, and economic consequence) were used most predominantly and if the use of those frames varied by newspaper. Conflict was the most predominantly used frame, followed by attribution of responsibility, morality, economic consequence and human interest. …

Television Media Consumption: Measuring Attitudinal Levels Towards Capital Punishment, Bryson D. Jones, Stephen J. Bahr

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

This study argues that the frequency of consumption and type of television media that one views is indicative of attitudinal formation on sensitive Political Science issues such as executing convicted murderers. In this setting, I investigate whether Americans who watch more television, and those who watch prime-time dramas or comedies or national or world news programs are more likely to support the death penalty. I hypothesize that such viewing habits increases ones likelihood for supporting punitive punishment like the death penalty because of the type of media messages they are exposed to such as violence, criminal dramas, law enforcement, and …

Two Sides To The Same Coin: Relational And Physical Aggression In The Media, Sarah M. Coyne, Laura Stockdale, David A. Nelson

Faculty Publications

Purpose - This review aims to examine how aggression is portrayed in the media and how it can influence behavior and attitudes regarding aggression.

Design/methodology/approach - The authors reviewed the relevant literature and examined both physical and relational forms of aggression in multiple media forms (television, film, video games, music, books).

Findings - Across media types, evidence is found that both physical and relational aggression are portrayed frequently and in ways that may contribute to subsequent aggression. Furthermore, though there are studies finding no effect of exposure to media aggression, evidence is found that watching physical and relational aggression in …

Profanity In Media Associated With Attitudes And Behavior Regarding Profanity Use And Aggression, Sarah Coyne, Laura Ann Stockdale, David A. Nelson, Ashley Michelle Fraser

Faculty Publications

We hypothesized that exposure to profanity in media would be directly related to beliefs and behavior regarding profanity and indirectly to aggressive behavior.

Time Out For Women Magazine: A New Magazine Prospectus Informed By A Historical Review And Qualitative Study On The Media Uses Of Mormon Women, Maurianne Dunn

Theses and Dissertations

This project uses a qualitative research approach to understanding Mormon women's uses and gratifications of magazines. The first study provides a retrospective look at the uses and gratifications of readers of the Relief Society Magazine (1915–1970) in order to understand where media targeted to Mormon women has been. Through interviews, focus groups and questionnaires, the study finds the main reasons Mormon women read the Relief Society Magazine was to provide (a) a handbook for daily life, (b) a community, (c) intellectual stimulation, (d) an aspirational ideal, and (e) an escape from daily life. When the magazine ceased publication, readers felt …

Learning Languages Through The Media: Toward An Understanding Of The Mediated Language Acquisition Process And The Motivation Cycle Of Mediated Language Acquisition, Kenneth F. Trent

Theses and Dissertations

Utilizing in-depth interviews and constant comparative analysis through a qualitative approach, this research study examined the development of second language acquisition of US immigrants via the mass media as a part of the acculturation process. Nine international students (or international spouses of students) of a major midwestern university participated in 25-60 minute interviews. Based on participant responses, the author formulated the mediated language acquisition process, or the process by which the participants acquired English as an additional language with the help of the mass media. Additionally, motivation was found to be the primary indicator of the rate of language acquisition. …

Emulating Gossip Girl: Aggressive And Prosocial Material In Adolescent Novels And Associations With Behavior, Laura Ann Stockdale

Theses and Dissertations

Decades of researchers have found that exposure to aggressive content in multiple forms of media is associated with both physically (Bushman & Anderson, 2001) and relationally (Coyne, Nelson, Graham-Kevan, Keister, & Grant, 2010) aggressive behavior. Similarly, other researchers have found that exposure to prosocial content in multiple forms of media is associated with increased prosocial behavior (Mares & Underwood, 2008). While these associations have been studied in a variety of media, books as a form of media have received less research attention. The current study examined the associations between the content of adolescents' favorite novels and their normative beliefs about …

Media Use And Body Image Among Senior Participants Of The World Senior Games, Lisa Nicole Harding

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between media use and body image in senior citizens. This study specifically targeted older people who participate in regular physical activity. Seniors participating in the 2006 Huntsman World Senior Games in St. George, Utah were surveyed concerning current body image and total media use. The sample included 691 participants. Lower body image scores were recorded among seniors who watched greater amounts of television. Magazine readership and body image displayed no relationship among men or women. Total media use did not influence body image scores among seniors. Male participants exhibited a …

Characteristics Of Contemporary Gag Order Requests In Media Law Reporter Volumes 19 Through 33, Brad Leavitt Clark

Theses and Dissertations

The conflict between the First Amendment and the Sixth Amendment is not new nor is it easily decipherable. Both amendments appear to have absolute priority, yet they appear to conflict (Erickson, 1977). The First Amendment declares unequivocally, "Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press[,]" while the Sixth Amendment states with equal force, "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed..." (U.S. Constitution, Amendment I, Amendment VI). Free speech and an unrestricted …