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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Communication

University of Mary Washington

Theses/Dissertations

COVID-19

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Get The Jab Or Else: Examining The Role Of Fear Appeals In The Herman Cain Award Subreddit Using Protection Motivation Theory, Julia May Apr 2023

Get The Jab Or Else: Examining The Role Of Fear Appeals In The Herman Cain Award Subreddit Using Protection Motivation Theory, Julia May

Student Research Submissions

In 2021, I conducted participant observation research on the Herman Cain Award subreddit, examining the effectiveness of fear appeals on social media. In that research, I determined that fear appeals on social media platforms are just as effective as when used on mass media platforms. The research also showed that the fear appeals in the subreddit worked to appeal to the unvaccinated users’ fear of online ridicule rather than a fear of bodily harm. I found this finding interesting and worked to expand my research, now two years later, by further investigating the platform using Protection Motivation Theory, a health …


Social Media, Humor, And Crisis Health Communication: Humor Used To Inform Over Social Media During Covid-19, Sally Burkley Apr 2022

Social Media, Humor, And Crisis Health Communication: Humor Used To Inform Over Social Media During Covid-19, Sally Burkley

Student Research Submissions

With the recent events of COVID-19, it is necessary to examine how everyday citizens responded to the public health messages delivered by The Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. government and how these responses revealed and impacted the effectiveness of the organization’s messages. Furthermore, it is important to consider the potential humor has as an information spreading tool within the collaborative medium of social media. This study analyzes three different digital humor artifacts using a chronological rhetorical analysis in order to understand how we communicate health crisis initiatives over social media. The research findings show the change …