Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Terror Management And The News: An Exploration Into The Effects Of Framing On Mortality Salience, Peter Montwill

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The present study explores the link between Terror Management Theory and the use of its principles within news media. Political news media in the digital age undergoes a variety of framing effects, more specifically episodic and thematic frames of stories. To induce mortality salience, college-aged participants were presented with stories framed from the perspective of an individual’s experience or a general theme of experiences regarding the controversial pro-life topic and a non-controversial hiking topic. These stories are presented in the style of Instagram posts to mirror how college-aged people consume news media. The stories also contain wording designed to induce …

Engagement Behaviors On Social Media In Higher Education: Content Analysis Study On Facebook Pages Of 12 Universities, Caroline E. Jessup

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

This study provides insight into factors that influence audience engagement behaviors on the official Facebook pages of higher education institutions. Many current and prospective students at universities, as well as recent alumni, are looking at Facebook as a way to gather information and build trust with colleges. Similarly, organizations such as universities see social media as the most effective way to reach their publics and build relationships with them. However, there is little literature that illustrates what factors such as inclusion of pictures, hashtags, hyperlink and even size and region of university affect audience engagement on Facebook. A content analysis …

Assessing The Utility Of A Brief Abstinence Test To Reduce Smartphone And Social Media Use, Taylor B. Stanley

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The purpose of the current study is to investigate the efficacy of implementing a Brief Abstinence Test (BAT) for reducing smartphone and social media (SM) use among college students. A BAT is a temporally condensed version of contingency management (CM), a reinforcement-based behavioral intervention. Participants (N = 32, males = 6) self-reported using an iPhone updated to iOS 12 and using SM on their iPhones for at least two hours per day. Once enrolled, participants completed an online battery of health-related questionnaires and learned how to capture electronically their smartphone-use data. Participants experienced a BAT for one week, during …

The Evolution Of Computational Propaganda: Trends, Threats, And Implications Now And In The Future, Holly Schnader

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Computational propaganda involves the use of selected narratives, social networks, and complex algorithms in order to develop and conduct influence operations (Woolley and Howard, 2017). In recent years the use of computational propaganda as an arm of cyberwarfare has increased in frequency. I aim to explore this topic to further understand the underlying forces behind the implementation of this tactic and then conduct a futures analysis to best determine how this topic will change over time. Additionally, I hope to gain insights on the implications of the current and potential future trends that computational propaganda has.

My preliminary assessment shows …

Constant Connection: College Students’ Smartphones Attachment And Close Relationship Attachments Across Domains, Angela M. Pezzella

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

This study aims to conceptualize the way individuals, more notably college students and emerging adults, use their smartphones, applying an attachment framework. Recently, research has shifted from using vocabulary akin to addiction, and researchers are beginning to see similarities and consistencies in how individuals relate to their phones and how attachment was originally conceptualized in the infant-mother relationship. Moreover, research is moving away from considering attachment as categorical, and is instead considering it continuous, and as varying in domains from individual to individual. This research used a new assessment tool (the YAPS) to assess college students’ attachment to phones, their …

"All The World's A Stage:" A Social Media Project For The American Shakespeare Center, Lauren D. Ambrose

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

As the nation’s only original re-creation of Shakespeare’s indoor theater, The American Shakespeare Center plays a lead role in its local area of Staunton, Virginia. The organization boasts a prominent following in the theatre and on Facebook; however, its remaining social media accounts have been stuck in the Renaissance. In November 2014, the ASC got an update in the form of a new cast member—the “What’s Your Shakespeare Personality?” quiz and web based application. Using extensive research into local demographics, audience and arts trends and social media usage, this project sought to assist the organization in the application’s launch and …

Wired To Bond: The Influence Of Computer-Mediated Communication On Relationships, Jennifer Lynn Cline

Dissertations, 2014-2019

The purpose of this study was to examine young adults’ use of social media, qualities of their interpersonal relationships, and the intersection of the two. This primarily qualitative research study set out to investigate the qualities of relationships under the theoretical umbrellas of attachment, existentialism, and neuroscience. In particular, this grounded theory study examined how relationships might differ in on-line and face-to-face interactions, and answered the broad question, “What is the impact of increased engagement with others through computer-mediated communication, which involves less sharing of physical space and real time, on one’s perception of others and self?” The research design …