Other Communication Commons^™

A Mixed Methodological Examination Of Older Adults’ Psychological Reactance Toward Caregiving Messages From Their Adult Children, Hannah Ball, Keith Weber, Alan K. Goodboy, Christine E. Kunkle, Christa L. Lilly, Scott A. Myers

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

This study extends psychological reactance theory (PRT) to family caregiving by exploring autonomy-threatening messages adult child caregivers use to gain compliance from older adult parents. Results of focus groups and interviews with older adult care recipients (Study One) and caregivers (Study Two) corroborated three types of autonomy-threatening messages, which were used to test PRT (Study Three). Older adults (N = 281) were randomly assigned a caregiving message and answered reactance-related survey questions. Results supported serial mediation: relative to an autonomy-supporting message, two types of autonomy-threatening messages (i.e., offering directives, expressing doubt) triggered greater freedom threat, which amplified reactance. In …

Burnout In The Nursing Profession: Extant Knowledge And Future Directions For Research And Practice, Sara Labelle

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Burnout is a psychological state resulting from prolonged psychological or emotional job stress, and is a culmination of three factors: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. Due to the nature of the “people-work” they must constantly perform, along with a highly stressful and unpredictable work environment, nurses have alarmingly high rates of burnout among members of their profession. Given the importance of research on burnout to understanding the context-specific stressors and challenges of nursing, this review offers a synthesis of research published in the last decade in both nursing and communication journals, with an emphasis on discussing opportunities for …

Online Daters’ Sexually Explicit Media Consumption And Imagined Interactions, Megan A. Vendemia, Kathryn D. Coduto

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Individuals oftentimes turn to interpersonal and mass media content to cope and satisfy their sexual needs in absence of offline interpersonal connection. Online dating platforms enable virtual and physical connections between users. The literature on imagined interactions suggests that people may play out these interpersonal scenarios in their minds; however, it is less clear the role sexually explicit media exposure and sexual mediated interactions may serve in facilitating imagined interactions. We conducted a survey to examine U.S. online daters’ relationship preferences, sexually explicit media consumption practices (pornography and sexting), and imagined interactions with potential mates focusing on three primary functions: …

How Music Awakens The Heart: An Experimental Study On Music, Emotions, And Connectedness, Rebecca N. H. De Leeuw, Sophie Janicke-Bowles, Qihao Ji

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Many studies in the field of positive media psychology have investigated the effects of meaningful film on viewer’s feelings and openness to others, all the while music is the number #1 media source for feeling moved, touched or inspired. Therefore, the current study examined the role of meaningful compared to pleasurable music on listeners emotional experiences, feelings of connectedness, and altruistic behaviors. In a pre-posttest experiment, 105 participants (M_age = 23.800; SD = 6.082; 77.3% female) listened to either their favorite meaningful music or their favorite pleasurable music. Findings revealed that listening to meaningful music leads to stronger …

Visual Framing Effects Of News Coverage Of Police Use Of Deadly Force On Intergroup Relationships, Lucile Henderson, Riva Tukachinsky Forster, Leora Kalili, Simone Guillory

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

The study examines the effects of visual framing in news coverage of law enforcement use of lethal force. In a 2X2 online experiment, participants read one of four versions of a news story that included visual racial cues (images depicting a Black vs. a White victim) and a delinquent/normative frame—depicting the victim wearing attire that signifies either normative or delinquent behavior (regalia vs. a hooded sweatshirt). Both race and delinquency framing influenced the readers’ stereotype endorsement and feelings toward Black Americans. However, judgment of the police officer’s behavior solely depended on the victim’s race. These findings demonstrate the importance of …

Introduction To The Special Issue: Relationships In The Time Of Covid-19, Jennifer L. Bevan, Pamela J. Lannutti

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

This introduction describes the background for the special issue entitled “Relationships in the Time of COVID-19: Examining the Effects of the Global Pandemic on Personal Relationships.” It also examines reasons for conducting interdisciplinary research on COVID-19 and personal relationships, and previews first articles published in the special issue.

Why Do Some Americans Resist Covid-19 Prevention Behavior? An Analysis Of Issue Importance, Message Fatigue, And Reactance Regarding Covid-19 Messaging, Hannah Ball, Tayah Renea Wozniak

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Despite the rapid transmission of and death toll claimed by COVID-19, there is evidence of resistance toward behaviors shown to effectively prevent and slow the spread of the disease, such as mask wearing and social distancing. This study applies psychological reactance theory to examine COVID-19 message factors (i.e., message fatigue, issue importance) that may be linked to nonadherence to CDC recommendations via the experience of reactance. Participants (N = 268) were current U.S. residents over the age of 18 who completed an online survey about their perceptions of COVID-19 messaging in general as well as toward a specific COVID-19 …

Us Media’S Coverage Of China’S Handling Of Covid-19: Playing The Role Of The Fourth Branch Of Government Or The Fourth Estate?, Wenshan Jia, Fangzhu Lu

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

The present study is an analysis of a sample of reports on China’s handling of COVID-19 by several major US media with a focus on a controversial op-ed by the Wall Street Journal. It is found that instead of covering it objectively as a public health crisis, these media reports tend to adopt the strategy of naming, shaming, blaming, and taming against China. In other words, they seize the outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan as an opportunity to serve Trump’s “America First” doctrine by a coordinated attempt to destroy the Chinese dream and arresting China’s ascendency. First, the naming/shaming …

Self-Centeredness As A Response To Narratives With Few Self-Transcendent Elicitors, Sophie Janicke-Bowles

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Recently scholars argued to broaden the concept of eudaimonic entertainment experiences and introduced two conceptualizations: 1. self-focused experiences, including mixed affect, contemplation and need satisfaction, and 2. other-focused experiences, including self-transcendent emotions and prosociality. The goal of the study was to investigate how the two dimensions of meaningful media experiences (self-focused vs. other-focused) are elicited from inspiring films that contain self-transcendent elicitors and explore the connection and differentiation between the two. Results of a Qualtrics experiment (N = 328) revealed that films with a large amount of transcendent portrayals lead to greater experiences of mixed affect and less self-centeredness than …

Playing A Bad Character But Endorsing A Good Cause: Actor-Character Fundamental Attribution Error And Persuasion, Riva Tukachinsky

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

The study examines the implications of fundamental attribution error, wherein viewers misattribute qualities of the fictional characters onto the actors who portray them. In an experiment, individuals watched an actor playing a role of either a hero or a villain. Then, participants watched the same actor in a public service announcement. In line with the attribution theory, viewers rated the actor’s personality less positively, reported a weaker parasocial relationship with the actor, and listed more negative thoughts about the advertisement after exposure to the actor playing a villain.

The Influence Of Self-Generated And Third-Party Claims Online: Perceived Self-Interest As An Explanatory Mechanism, David C. Deandrea, Megan A. Vendemia

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Over the past two decades, communication technology scholars have examined how viewers evaluate the authenticity of information online, with particular attention given to how self versus third-party claims differ in their degree of influence. We examine how self-interest perceptions serve an important explanatory function in the logic of warranting theory and help account for how people evaluate content online. Our results document how the source and valence of a message can interact to affect perceptions of source self-interest, which, in turn, affect perceptions of source trustworthiness, message accuracy, and, ultimately, evaluations of an online target. The findings establish boundary conditions …

A Meta-Analytic Examination Of The Continued Influence Of Misinformation In The Face Of Correction: How Powerful Is It, Why Does It Happen, And How To Stop It?, Nathan Walter, Riva Tukachinsky

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

A meta-analysis was conducted to examine the extent of continued influence of misinformation in the face of correction and the theoretical explanations of this phenomenon. Aggregation of results from 32 studies (N = 6,527) revealed that, on average, correction does not entirely eliminate the effect of misinformation (r = –.05, p = .045). Corrective messages were found to be more successful when they are coherent, consistent with the audience’s worldview, and delivered by the source of the misinformation itself. Corrections are less effective if the misinformation was attributed to a credible source, the misinformation has been repeated multiple …

An E-Learning Adaptation Of An Evidence-Based Media Literacy Curriculum To Prevent Youth Substance Use In Community Groups: Development And Feasibility Of Real Media, Anne E. Ray, Kathryn Greene, Michael L. Hecht, Sarah C. Barriage, Michelle Miller-Day, Shannon D. Glenn, Smita C. Banerjee

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Background: There is a need for evidence-based substance use prevention efforts that target high school-aged youth that are easy to implement and suitable for dissemination in school and community groups. The Youth Message Development (YMD) program is a brief, four-lesson, in-person curriculum that aims to prevent youth substance use through the development of youth media literacy. Specifically, YMD aims to increase understanding of advertising reach and costs, along with the techniques used to sell products; develop counterarguing and critical thinking skills in response to advertisements; and facilitate application of these skills to the development of youth-generated antisubstance messages. Although …

The Adoption Of Collaborative Robots Toward Ubiquitous Diffusion: A Research Agenda, Yuhua (Jake) Liang, Seungcheol Austin Lee

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

This paper proposes a framework to study the adoption of collaborative robots (co-robots or cobots) as an innovation and their diffusion into the larger population. Collaborative robots are only starting to appear in our society, yet challenges such as fear and distrust may impede their further adoption. This paper discusses the foundational work necessary to understand collaborative robot adoption and the core elements to achieve ubiquitous diffusion, with a focus on human users and the communication processes.

Theorizing Development Of Parasocial Engagement, Riva Tukachinsky, Gayle S. Stever

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

The article proposes a theoretical model of the development of parasocial relationships (PSRs) building on Knapp’s model of relationship development. Through synthesis of research across disciplines, the model conceptualizes the relational goals and parasocial interactions (PSIs) specific to the PSR. The model identifies variables that predict engagement at that level, describes the stage’s outcomes/effects, and considers the utility of existing measures to assess these stages. The conceptualization of PSRs as a dynamic process rather than intensity of a monolithic experience offers new directions worthy of empirical examination.

Spreading The Good News: Analyzing Socially Shared Inspirational News Content, Qiaho Ji, Arthur A. Raney, Sophie Janicke-Bowles, Katherine R. Dale, Mary Beth Oliver, Abigail Reed, Jonmichael Seibert, Arthur A. Raney Ii

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Past research indicates that people often share awe-inspiring news online. However, little is known about the content of those stories. In this study, more broadly defined “inspirational” articles shared through The New York Times website over a 6-month period were analyzed, with the goals of describing the content and identifying characteristics that might predict inspirationality and measures of retransmission. The results provided a snapshot of content found within inspirational news stories; they also revealed that self-transcendent language use predicted the inspirationality of a news story, as well as how long an article appeared on a most shared list.

Meta-Analysis Of Anger And Persuasion: An Empirical Integration Of Four Models, Nathan Walter, Riva Tukachinsky, Ayellet Pelled, Robin Nabi

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Despite the increasing use of anger in persuasive messaging, such as political ads and health campaigns, very little is known about when and how anger affects persuasion. Building on theoretical propositions derived from four theoretical models that have addressed the link between anger and persuasion, the current meta-analysis (k = 55, N = 6,805) finds a weak impact of anger on behavior (r = .15, p = .04) and nonsignificant effects on attitudes (r = −.03, p = .30) and intent (r = .06, p = .13). Yet a closer look reveals a more complicated reality, where positive effects are …

Social Media For Good? A Survey On Millennials’ Inspirational Social Media Use, Sophie Janicke-Bowles, Ava Nayaran, Anja Seng

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

There is no doubt about the extensive use of social media by the millennial generation, but the study of the effects of such use is only in its infancy. Though most studies so far focus on the negative effects of overall time spent on social media, the current study investigated the relationship between exposure to a specific type of content on social media and well-being outcomes: namely, inspirational content. Results of an online survey with a total of 146 students revealed that inspiring social media and online video use, but not overall time spent on social media was related to …

Parasocial Romantic Relationships, Romantic Beliefs, And Relationship Outcomes In Usa Adolescents: Rehearsing Love Or Setting Oneself Up To Fail?, Riva Tukachinsky, Sybilla M. Dorros

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

The study examines the associations between adolescents’ emotional and physical aspects of parasocial romantic relationships with media figures, idealized romantic beliefs, perceptions of a current dating partner, and relationship satisfaction. A two-study design included concurrent data from 153 adolescents ages 13–17 (55.6% female), and retrospective data from 274 college students ages 18–22 (79.8% female). Across both samples, emotional involvement in a PSRR was related to more idealized romantic beliefs. The intensity of emotional involvement with the media figure during adolescence was associated with lower relationship satisfaction and less favorable perceptions of a current romantic partner in college students. However, there …

Trends Of Parent-Adolescent Drug Talk Styles In Early Adolescence, Youngju Shin, Jonathan Pettigrew, Michelle Miller-Day, Michael L. Hecht, Janice L. Krieger

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

The present study seeks to understand how parents as prevention agents approach substance use prevention messages during the period of early adolescence. Students (N = 410) in a drug prevention trial completed surveys from 7th to 9th grade. Using longitudinal data, a series of latent transition analyses was conducted to identify major trends of parent–adolescent drug talk styles (i.e., never talked, situated direct, ongoing direct, situated indirect, and ongoing indirect) in control and treatment conditions. Findings demonstrate a developmental trend in drug talk styles toward a situated style of talk as youth transitioned from 7th grade to 9th grade. …

Differential Effects Of Parental “Drug Talk” Styles And Family Communication Environments On Adolescent Substance Use, Youngju Shin, Michelle Miller-Day, Michael L. Hecht

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

The current study examines the relationships among adolescent reports of parent–adolescent drug talk styles, family communication environments (e.g., expressiveness, structural traditionalism, and conflict avoidance), and adolescent substance use. ANCOVAs revealed that the 9th grade adolescents (N = 718) engaged in four styles of “drug talks” with parents (e.g., situated direct, ongoing direct, situated indirect, and ongoing indirect style) and these styles differed in their effect on adolescent substance use. Multiple regression analyses showed that expressiveness and structural traditionalism were negatively related to adolescent substance use, whereas conflict avoidance was positively associated with substance use. When controlling for family communication …

Finding Meaning At Work: The Role Of Inspiring And Funny Youtube Videos On Work-Related Well-Being, Sophie Janicke-Bowles, Diana Rieger, Winston Connor Iii

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Watching online videos on social media is a common activity in today’s digital age, but its’ impact on employee well-being at work has not been investigated yet. The current study tried to fill this gap by investigating the role hedonic and eudaimonic online videos play on employee’s stress levels and well-being at work. An online experiment with 200 full time employees in the US was conducted exploring the role of inspiring affect and positive affect on three distinct well-being outcomes: subjective well-being, psychological well-being and social well-being at the workplace. A path model suggests unique effects for inspiring videos on …

The Psychology Of Marathon Television Viewing: Antecedents And Viewer Involvement, Riva Tukachinsky, Keren Eyal

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

This study focuses on the expanding trend of marathon (“binge”) television viewing. It examines the personality antecedents of such media consumption (attachment style, depression, and self-regulation deficiency) as well as the psychological experiences of marathon viewers relative to the narrative (transportation, enjoyment) and its characters (parasocial relationship, identification). In a two-study design, theoretical models of media use and involvement, on one hand, and models of media addiction, on the other hand, are applied to predict the extent of marathon viewing and to compare it with “traditional” viewing. Results advance understanding of enjoyment and involvement theory and support cognitive theories of …

Watching Online Videos At Work: The Role Of Positive And Meaningful Affect For Recovery Experiences And Well-Being At The Workplace, Sophie Janicke, Diana Rieger, Leonard Reinecke, Winston Connor Iii

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

This study extends research on the relationship between hedonic and eudaimonic entertainment and its potential for recovery experiences and aspects of well-being (e.g., Rieger, Reinecke, Frischlich, & Bente, 2014). With the broad notion of what hedonic and eudaimonic media can entail, this research focused on unique affective experiences—namely, positive affect—and an expanded concept of meaningful affect (including elevation and gratitude). An online experiment with 148 full-time employees in the United States was conducted to investigate the unique role of positive and meaningful affect eliciting YouTube videos (compared to neutral control video) on recovery experiences and vitality and work satisfaction in …

Entertainment-Education Videos As A Persuasive Tool In The Substance Use Prevention Intervention "Keepin' It Real", Youngju Shin, Michelle Miller-Day, Michael L. Hecht, Janice L. Krieger

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Based on social cognitive theory and narrative engagement theory, the current study examined hypothesized indirect effects of engagement with keepin’ it REAL (kiR) curriculum entertainment–education (E–E) videos on youth alcohol use via youth drug offer refusal efficacy. Students in 7th grade (N = 1,464) at 25 public schools in two Midwestern states were randomly assigned to one of the two versions of the kiR curriculum, the kiR urban version and the kiR rural version. Each version had their own set of five culturally-grounded E–E videos depicting communicative skills to refuse drug offers. Differential effects for engagement components …

Spiritual Media Experiences, Trait Transcendence, And Enjoyment Of Popular Films, Sophie Janicke, Srividya Ramasubramanian

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Recent scholarship on media psychology acknowledges that media entertainment offers not only purely hedonistic enjoyment but also meaningful experiences. This study expands our understanding of media enjoyment by exploring the role of media entertainment in evoking spiritual emotions and beliefs, such as those related to connectedness, blessedness, and transcendence. Results from an online survey (N=220) indicate that media entertainment elicits meaningful as well as spiritual emotions and increases the saliency of spiritual beliefs as related to self-actualization and spiritual experiences in everyday life. Furthermore, trait transcendence and eudaimonic media motivations add to the explanation of audiences’ mediated spiritual experiences. Open-ended …

A Longitudinal Study Of Parental Anti-Substance-Use Socialization For Early Adolescents’ Substance Use Behaviors, Youngju Shin, Michelle Miller-Day

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

The present study examines the role of communication in shaping norms and behaviors with significant personal and societal consequences. Based on primary socialization theory and the general theory of family communication, parental anti-substance-use socialization processes were hypothesized to influence early adolescents’ substance use norms and behaviors. Using longitudinal data (N =1,059), the results revealed that parent-adolescent prevention communication about substance use in the media and parental anti-substance-use injunctive norms were positively associated with early adolescents’ personal anti-substance-use norms, which, in turn, led to decreases in recent alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use. It was also found that family expressiveness and structural …

Narrative Persuasion 2.0: Transportation In Participatory Websites, Yuhua (Jake) Liang, Riva Tukachinsky

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

This research applies narrative persuasion theory to participatory websites. Specifically, the study examines the joint effect of online review structure (narrative/nonnarrative) and source attributes (expert/nonexpert) on attitude strength (attitude certainty and intensity). Results demonstrate that source attributes moderate the relationship between transportation and attitude intensity but not attitude certainty. These findings advance transportation theory by illuminating that readers glean source attributes on participatory websites, and these attributes modify transportation effects. The findings offer implications for participatory websites and design features that may facilitate or hinder readers in their quest to make decisions based on the reviews they read.

Parental Messages About Substance Use In Early Adolescence: Extending A Model Of Drug-Talk Styles, Jonathan Pettigrew, Michelle Miller-Day, Young Ju Shin, Janice L. Krieger, Michael L. Hecht, John W. Graham

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

This study extends a typology of parent-offspring drug talk styles to early adolescents and investigates associations with adolescent substance use. Data come from a self-report survey associated with a school-based, 7th grade drug prevention curriculum. Mixed-methods were used to collect data across four measurement occasions spanning 30 months. Findings highlight frequencies of various drug-talk styles over time (i.e., situated direct, ongoing direct, situated indirect, ongoing indirect, never talked), messages adolescents hear from parents, and comparisons of alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use by drug talk style. This study advances understanding of parent-adolescent communication about substances and holds practical implications for drug …

Chinese Communication Studies: Three Paths Converging, Wenshan Jia

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

This contribution presents the possibilities for anthropological and neo-Marxist media within the hugely expanding sector of Chinese communication studies. China has sourced mostly from the American positivist tradition but is increasingly ­taking on board European critical thinking but it also needs to absorb some of the depth and diversity of indigenous scholarship existing in Chinese.

Jia, Lu, and Heisey (2002) presented an influential meta-analysis of every ­example of communication studies in China at that time. The book chapter which talks about the rise of the discipline and scholarship of Chinese communication as an academic discipline (Jia et al., 2014) summarises …