Communication Research current issue

Language Style Matching as a Predictor of Social Dynamics in Small Groups

Gonzales, A. L., Hancock, J. T., Pennebaker, J. W. — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:00:24 PST

Synchronized verbal behavior can reveal important information about social dynamics. This study introduces the linguistic style matching (LSM) algorithm for calculating verbal mimicry based on an automated textual analysis of function words. The LSM algorithm was applied to language generated during a small group discussion in which 70 groups comprised of 324 individuals engaged in an information search task either face-to-face or via text-based computer-mediated communication. As a metric, LSM predicted the cohesiveness of groups in both communication environments, and it predicted task performance in face-to-face groups. Other language features were also related to the groups’ cohesiveness and performance, including word count, pronoun patterns, and verb tense. The results reveal that this type of automated measure of verbal mimicry can be an objective, efficient, and unobtrusive tool for predicting underlying social dynamics. In total, the study demonstrates the effectiveness of using language to predict change in social psychological factors of interest.

Expertise Directory Development, Shared Task Interdependence, and Strength of Communication Network Ties as Multilevel Predictors of Expertise Exchange in Transactive Memory Work Groups

Yuan, Y. C., Fulk, J., Monge, P. R., Contractor, N. — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:00:24 PST

Building on Kozlwoski and Klein’s emergence framework, this research developed and tested a set of multilevel hypotheses regarding individual and team transactive memory processes in work teams. Literature from social psychology suggested hypotheses on how shared task interdependence influences individual expertise exchange. Social network theory suggested hypotheses that individual expertise exchange is channeled according to communication tie strength. Using data collected from 218 individuals from 18 organizational teams, the proposed hypotheses were tested using hierarchical linear modeling techniques. The results showed that at the individual level the relationship between directory development and expertise exchange was mediated by communication tie strength and moderated by shared task interdependence.Team-level variables also were significantly related to individual-level outcomes such that individual expertise exchange happened more frequently in teams with well-developed team-level expertise directories, as well as with higher team communication tie strength and shared task interdependence.

Relational Messages, Perceptions of Hurt, and Biological Stress Reactions to a Disconfirming Interaction

Priem, J. S., McLaren, R. M., Haunani Solomon, D. — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:00:24 PST

This study examines relational messages as predictors of hurt, using both self-report indicators of hurt and biological markers of stress reactivity to a hurtful interaction. Hypotheses predict that perceptions of involvement, composure, and receptivity increase feelings of hurt, whereas perceptions of similarity, affiliation, and informality decrease hurt. Participants (N = 91) engage in two 5-minute conversations with a romantic partner about core traits and values. The partner is coached to be disconfirming and hurtful during the second conversation about the participant’s core traits or values. Following the interaction, participants report their level of hurt and their perceptions of the conversation and give saliva samples to measure cortisol. The hypotheses are partially supported, such that perceptions of affiliation and informality are negatively associated with hurt feelings. Furthermore, self-reported hurt feelings are positively associated with increases in salivary cortisol. Affiliation and receptivity also have direct effects on the stability of cortisol change.

Evidence in Support of a Strategy to Target Authoritarian and Permissive Parents in Antidrug Media Campaigns

Stephenson, M. T., Quick, B. L., Hirsch, H. A. — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:00:24 PST

Using a theoretical model of parenting, this study assessed the differential effects of parental antidrug ads on parents who have adopted an authoritarian parenting style and on those who use a permissive parenting style. The effects of two types of ads were studied. One ad type featured parental monitoring and the other ad type featured nurturing parent practices. An ad type by parenting style interaction was predicted on cognitions, attitudes, and behavioral intent to monitor or engage in positive involvement parenting. Two data analytic strategies provided moderate support for the hypothesis. The results suggested that a targeting approach using parenting styles is viable for future research.

Effects of Online Health Sources on Credibility and Behavioral Intentions

Hu, Y., Shyam Sundar, S. — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:00:24 PST

Online health information comes from a variety of online sources. Based on a typology of online sources, this research examines the direct and combined influences of original sources (doctors vs. laypersons) and selecting sources (Web sites vs. bulletin boards vs. blogs vs. personal home pages vs. Internet) on perceived credibility of—and behavioral intentions toward—health information. A large 2 (message) x 2 (original source) x 5 (selecting source) full-factorial online experiment revealed that respondents (N = 555) were more likely to take action based on the information sourced from a Web site than from a blog or a personal home page. The effect was mediated by perceived level of gatekeeping and perceived information completeness. The analysis also yielded a three-way interaction between message, original source, and selecting source on perceived credibility, suggesting the operation of an appropriateness heuristic when evaluating source combinations for less relevant health topics. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed, leading to the proposal of a new online source typology.

Pathways to Persuasion: Cognitive and Experiential Responses to Health-Promoting Mass Media Messages

Dunlop, S. M., Wakefield, M., Kashima, Y. — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:00:24 PST

The experience of transportation—being absorbed in a narrative—and its relationship to persuasion were considered in two studies exploring responses to health-promoting mass media messages. Following Epstein’s (1994) cognitive-experiential self-theory, two pathways to persuasion were considered: cognitive and experiential. In Study 1 ( n = 121), smokers who experienced increased transportation in response to antismoking messages reported that they would make a greater effort to quit smoking, and this effect was mediated by both experiential (emotional and self-referencing) and cognitive responses to the messages. In Study 2 (n = 110), experiential responses to magazine messages promoting skin protection were related to intentions to protect oneself, and this effect was mediated by feelings of risk.The implications of these results are discussed in terms of principles for effective health communication campaigns as well as theoretical advances in narrative persuasion in the context of health communication.