Communication Research recent issues

Adolescents' Exposure to Sexually Explicit Internet Material, Sexual Uncertainty, and Attitudes Toward Uncommitted Sexual Exploration: Is There a Link?

Peter, J., Valkenburg, P. M. — 2008-09-03

The link between adolescents' exposure to sexual media content and their sexual socialization has hardly been approached from an identity development framework. Moreover, existing research has largely ignored the role of adolescents' exposure to sexually explicit Internet material in that association. This study introduces two characteristics of adolescents' sexual self—sexual uncertainty and attitudes toward sexual exploration—and investigates these characteristics as potential correlates of adolescents' exposure to sexually explicit Internet material. Drawing from a sample of 2,343 Dutch adolescents aged 13 to 20, the authors find that more frequent exposure to sexually explicit Internet material is associated with greater sexual uncertainty and more positive attitudes toward uncommitted sexual exploration (i.e., sexual relations with casual partners/friends or with sexual partners in one-night stands). The findings call for more attention to adolescents' exposure to sexually explicit material on the Internet and identity-related issues.

Digital Inequality: Differences in Young Adults' Use of the Internet

Hargittai, E., Hinnant, A. — 2008-09-03

This article expands understanding of the digital divide to more nuanced measures of use by examining differences in young adults' online activities. Young adults are the most highly connected age group, but that does not mean that their Internet uses are homogenous. Analyzing data about the Web uses of 270 adults from across the United States, the article explores the differences in 18- to 26-year-olds' online activities and what social factors explain the variation. Findings suggest that those with higher levels of education and of a more resource-rich background use the Web for more "capitalenhancing" activities. Detailed analyses of user attributes also reveal that online skill is an important mediating factor in the types of activities people pursue online. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for a "second-level digital divide," that is, differences among the population of young adult Internet users.

Validation and Application of Electronic Propinquity Theory to Computer-Mediated Communication in Groups

Walther, J. B., Bazarova, N. N. — 2008-09-03

This research presents an experiment based on the theory of electronic propinquity, testing how the presence of alternate communication media, media bandwidth, information complexity, and users' communication skills affect propinquity (the psychological feeling of nearness) and satisfaction that communicators experience using different communication channels. Groups communicated using one or two of several different channels, including face-to-face, desktop video, audio, and text-based chat, with channel differences between members in some groups. Predicted effects of bandwidth, information complexity, communication skills, and comparative media availability on propinquity and satisfaction were observed. These findings demonstrate a confound in previous research on propinquity theory, suggest newfound validity, and extend the model to interactive computer-mediated communication channels unanticipated by the original theory. Implications include the potential of electronic propinquity to account for discrepancies in the research on computer-mediated communication that have been generated by other theories.

When Are Strong Arguments Stronger Than Weak Arguments?: Deindividuation Effects on Message Elaboration in Computer-Mediated Communication

Lee, E.-J. — 2008-09-03

The present experiment examined how the lack of individuating information affects message elaboration and conformity to group norms in text-based computer-mediated communication. Participants made decisions about choice dilemma scenarios and exchanged their arguments with three ostensible partners via computer. Consistent with the social identity model of deindividuation effects, those who had exchanged personal profiles with their partners prior to the discussion were better able to differentiate between strong and weak arguments and were more likely to make conformity decisions based on the message content than those who had not. On the other hand, those who had no identity cues were more likely to factor in group identification for their conformity decisions. Results suggest that less systematic message processing and greater reliance on normative considerations account for how deindividuation moderates the effects of argument strength on group conformity.

Testimonials Versus Informational Persuasive Messages: The Moderating Effect of Delivery Mode and Personal Involvement

Braverman, J. — 2008-09-03

This study aims to test the relative effectiveness of testimonials compared to simple informational health messages, presented both through different modalities and to recipients with different levels of involvement. Results of the three independent experiments demonstrate that testimonials are more persuasive when presented through the audio mode rather than when presented through the written mode. Also, the informational messages are more persuasive when perceived by individuals characterized by high rather than low involvement and high rather than low need for cognition. The results are explained in terms of the Elaboration Likelihood Model. The interactive effect of transportation and involvement on persuasion is further examined. The findings help in the development of more efficient message targeting. The highest level of efficiency can be achieved if the appropriate media modality and message format are used for recipients with certain initial involvement or need for cognition.

Framing Policy Debates: Issue Dualism, Journalistic Frames, and Opinions on Controversial Policy Issues

Lee, N.-J., McLeod, D. M., Shah, D. V. — 2008-09-03

This study examines how the news frames that journalists use to present contentious policy debates shape reasoning processes and opinion outcomes. Drawing on the notion that framing is a cognitive process in which the message affects how individuals weigh existing considerations (i.e., political orientations and relevant attitudes/beliefs) to make a judgment, the authors conducted two experiments in which they presented participants with news stories in which policy conflicts were described as either a clash of underlying values and principles (i.e., a value frame) or as a clash of political interests and strategies (i.e., a strategy frame). The results suggest that the framed news stories failed to change issue opinions directly but did alter the importance of the considerations used to make judgments on relevant issues. Specifically, individuals tend to react to strategy frames by discounting partisan affiliation as a primary consideration, turning to other salient alternatives when making judgments.

Political Ads and Citizen Communication

Cho, J. — 2008-07-10

This study explores the role that political advertising plays in the democratic process by examining whether and how political ads encourage citizens to engage in communication activities in the campaign process. To examine this question, political ad tracking data were combined with a national daily survey collected during the 2000 election campaign cycle. The resulting ad volume data and individual communication behavior by geographic location and date allowed examination of how political advertising contexts influenced citizen communication. Results show that, in response to an influx of local political advertising, people sought more political information through television news programs, the Internet, and social networks. Theoretical and methodological implications of these findings are discussed.

Strategy Versus Understanding: How Orientations Toward Political Conversation Influence Political Engagement

Rojas, H. — 2008-07-10

This study combines empirical political communication research models with theoretical accounts provided by the theory of communicative action to expand the understanding of how communication matters for democratic political functioning, particularly under conditions of social instability. Building on the Habermasian distinction between strategic orientations versus understanding orientations in conversation, the author explores the role of conversation orientations as antecedents to political engagement. Examination of conversation orientations in Colombia, a society characterized by social conflict, provides evidence of the democratic benefits of orientations toward reaching understanding and the deleterious effects of strategic orientations for political involvement, associational membership, and ultimately participation, as well as the importance of including conversation orientations as explanatory factors in models that seek to explain political involvement. These findings speak to the potential for communicative rationality to transcend the use of force and bring about action coordination based on understanding in communities experiencing civil strife.

Agenda Setting in Civic Development: Effects of Curricula and Issue Importance on Youth Voter Turnout

Kiousis, S., McDevitt, M. — 2008-07-10

This study examines the role of agenda setting in affecting voter turnout using panel data of adolescents in Arizona, Florida, and Colorado from 2002 and 2004. Specifically, a model is developed probing the multiple influences of interactive civic instruction, media attention, and discussion on the following sequence of outcomes: perceived issue importance, opinion strength, political ideology, and finally voter turnout. The results suggest that agenda setting serves as a critical intrinsic process in political socialization contributing to the crystallization of political predispositions, which lead to electoral participation. The implications of the findings are discussed.

The Influence of Liking for a Public Service Announcement on Issue Attitude

Xiaoli Nan, — 2008-07-10

This research investigates the influence of an individual's general liking for a public service announcement (PSA) on his or her attitude toward the advocated issue. Drawing up the attitude toward the ad theory, this research argues that one's liking for a PSA or, in other words, one's attitude toward a PSA (A_PSA), exerts a significant positive impact on issue attitude and that the strength of this positive effect varies as a function of a variety of individual and situational factors. Through two studies involving a total of 230 participants, the effect of attitude toward a PSA on issue attitude is shown to be strong and positive. As expected, the effect tends to be stronger when a message recipient's perceived issue relevance is low versus high, when his or her issue knowledge is low versus high, and when the tone of the message is positive versus negative. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Revisiting Interpersonal Media Competition: The Gratification Niches of Instant Messaging, E-Mail, and the Telephone

Ramirez, A., Dimmick, J., Feaster, J., Lin, S.-F. — 2008-07-10

The theory of niche proposes that a new medium competes with older, more established media to fulfill users' needs. This study uses niche theory, a macrolevel theory, as well as social information processing theory and the theory of electronic propinquity, both microlevel theories, to examine the niche of instant messaging (IM) in providing general gratifications. Results indicate that IM is characterized by a broad niche, surpassed only by that of the cell phone. IM had substantial niche overlap with e-mail and the cell phone, indicating a degree of substitutability between them; the least overlap was with the landline telephone (LLP). The hierarchy that emerged indicated that the cell phone was superior to IM, which was superior to e-mail, followed by the LLP for providing general gratifications. Finally, displacement tests indicated that IM use displaced e-mail and LLP but not cell phone use. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Collaborative Information Seeking in Intercultural Computer-Mediated Communication Groups: Testing the Influence of Social Context Using Social Network Analysis

Cho, H., Lee, J.-S. — 2008-07-10

This article examines the process of collaborative information seeking in intercultural computer-mediated communication (CMC) groups. The authors conducted a field experiment in which 86 students from three distant universities (one in the United States, two in Singapore) participated. The students participated in a collaborative learning practice in which they socially recommended information using a CMC system. The results demonstrate that the social context—that is, preexisting social networks, groups, and intergroup boundaries—significantly constrained the flow of information across intercultural CMC groups. The authors also found that the influence of the social context on CMC collaboration could be moderated by other contingent factors such as national culture and individuals' outcome expectancies of Internet use. The authors present the results from testing their hypotheses using multivariate p* and Quadratic Assignment Procedure network regression analyses and conclude with a discussion of the findings and implications for future research.

Health at High Speed: Broadband Internet Access, Health Communication, and the Digital Divide

Rains, S. A. — 2008-05-07

The study reported here explored the broadband digital divide in the context of Internet-based health communication. Inequities in the adoption of broadband technology were examined and the comprehensive model of health information seeking (CMIS) was used to make predictions about the implications of broadband Internet for personal health. Data from a population-based survey conducted by the National Cancer Institute in 2005 (N = 5,586) were analyzed. Results showed that those who were younger, more educated, and lived in an urban area were more likely to have a broadband Internet connection in their home. Furthermore, consistent with the CMIS, those with a broadband connection were more likely to use the Internet for health-related information seeking and communication than those with a dial-up connection.

The Role of Ambivalence in College Nonsmokers' Information Seeking and Information Processing

Xiaoquan Zhao, , Xiaomei Cai, — 2008-05-07

The abundant prosmoking influences in college can cultivate a sense of ambivalence about smoking among many nonsmoking students. In this study, the authors investigated the role of ambivalence in college nonsmokers' seeking and processing of smoking-related information. Three hundred ninety-six nonsmoking college students participated in an online study. Hypotheses were built into a predictive model and tested using structural equation modeling. Higher ambivalence was found to be associated with greater information seeking in the past 30 days. Past information seeking, in turn, was associated with deeper processing and greater acceptance of new antismoking information. Implications of the results for smoking prevention on college campuses are discussed.

Explaining Effects of Sensationalism on Liking of Television News Stories: The Role of Emotional Arousal

Vettehen, P. H., Nuijten, K., Peeters, A. — 2008-05-07

This study investigates the appeal of sensationalist television news. News stories were content analyzed to measure the presence of sensationalist features. In addition, the stories were watched and evaluated by participants to measure the degree to which the items elicited emotional arousal and the degree to which the items were liked. As predicted, the findings showed that emotional arousal mediates effects of sensationalist features on liking and that the relationship between emotional arousal and liking takes the shape of an inverted U.

Appraisals and Distancing Responses to Hurtful Messages

McLaren, R. M., Solomon, D. H. — 2008-05-07

The goal of this article is to clarify the conditions under which intensity of hurt influences how much people distance themselves from hurtful friends or dating partners. This article draws on appraisal theories of emotion, which explain both the causes and consequences of emotions, to derive predictions about the role of variables relevant to hurtful episodes. The authors replicate previous research designs for the study of hurtful messages to test the hypotheses and research questions. Results reveal significant main effects for intensity of hurt, perceived intentionality, relational quality, and frequency of hurt on relational distancing. Additionally, perceived intentionality and frequency of hurt moderated the association between intensity of hurt and relational distancing, contingent on the respondent's sex and the type of relationship. The discussion highlights the utility of appraisal theories of emotion as a framework for the study of hurtful experiences.

Interplay of Negative Emotion and Health Self-Efficacy on the Use of Health Information and Its Outcomes

Sun Young Lee, , Hwang, H., Hawkins, R., Pingree, S. — 2008-05-07

During the course of illness, people diagnosed with cancer need information to cope with cancer. Despite the crucial role of information, little is known about why some people with cancer choose to seek further information about their illness and why others do not. This study investigates the interplay of two psychological factors, negative emotion and health self-efficacy, on patients' health information use. Using the data collected from 122 women diagnosed with breast cancer, the authors found that negative emotions and health self-efficacy jointly affect the use of health information. Among patients with high health self-efficacy, negative emotions were positively related to the amount of information sought, whereas among those with low health self-efficacy, negative emotions were negatively related to the amount of information sought. The results also show that there are significant increases in patients' health self-efficacy after the use of health information for 2 months.

Who's Afraid of Reality Shows?: Exploring the Effects of Perceived Influence of Reality Shows and the Concern Over Their Social Effects on Willingness to Censor

Cohen, J., Weimann, G. — 2008-05-07

This study explores the dynamics of social concern over reality shows. Couched in the theory of the influence of presumed influence, it is argued that the degree of concern over the effects of media mediates between beliefs in media power and people's responses to such beliefs. Survey data show that perceived influence is distinct from concern over effects. Furthermore, the authors show that perceived influence predicts willingness to censor reality shows but that, in addition to this direct effect, there is an indirect effect through the degree of concern over the effects of reality shows. This indirect effect adds to the overall predictive value of the model. Results are discussed in terms of their contribution to explaining the influence of presumed influence.

Dynamics of Entertainment and Affect in a Super Bowl Audience: A Multilevel Approach

David, P., Horton, B., German, T. — 2008-05-07

Entertainment was modeled as a nested temporal process using ecological momentary assessments. In natural viewing conditions, participants watched a Super Bowl game on television and answered a brief questionnaire via the Internet at the beginning of commercial breaks. Multilevel data analytic techniques were employed to analyze the longitudinal data from these assessments. After controlling for individual differences, such as gender, fandom, and team support, affect played a critical role. Average positive affect, averaged over the course of the game, and situational positive affect during specific moments in the game had a significant impact on entertainment, suggesting a baseline level of entertainment that is associated with the ritual of watching the event and added situational entertainment that is tied to the events in the game. Interestingly, situational negative affect was also significant and seemed to work in concert with positive affect.

News on the Net: Credibility, Selective Exposure, and Racial Prejudice

Melican, D. B., Dixon, T. L. — 2008-03-05

An online survey was conducted to assess the perception of credibility of various forms of news media, including Internet news sites associated with traditional forms of media and nontraditional Internet news sites. The survey also explored a possible link between news media credibility and scores on a modern racism scale. This study found that people held differential perceptions of Internet news credibility. Specifically, nontraditional Internet sources were perceived as far less credible than all other news sources. After controlling for a number of factors, the results suggest that those who view nontraditional Internet news sources as more credible than traditional media also score higher on a modern racism scale. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed, with a focus on the Internet as a safe haven for divergent, even racist, beliefs.

First and Third Person Perceptions on Anti-Drug Ads Among Adolescents

Cho, H., Boster, F. J. — 2008-03-05

The perceived as well as actual (in) effectiveness of anti-drug ads has been prominent in public discourse and concern. Using the third person effect hypothesis, this study examined adolescents' perceptions on the effect of anti-drug ads and the perception's relationship to attitudes and intentions concerning drug use. The results suggested that adolescents estimated the anti-drug ad effect on the basis of their behavioral experience, the self-anchored expectancy of a pro-social media effect: Those who had used drugs anticipated the effect of anti-drug ads to be smaller than those who had not used drugs. The perceived informative realism of anti-drug ads influenced the perceived message quality, which in turn influenced the perceived effect on self. The perceived effect on self was positively associated with anti-drug attitudes and intentions. The implications on future third person perception research and anti-drug campaign efforts are discussed.

Social-Psychological Influences on Opinion Expression in Face-to-Face and Computer-Mediated Communication

Ho, S. S., McLeod, D. M. — 2008-03-05

This study used an experiment embedded within a Web-based survey to examine the influence of contextual (i.e., face-to-face vs. online chat room discussion) and social-psychological factors on individuals' willingness to express opinions. In this experiment, respondents were asked whether they would be willing to express an opinion if they were placed in a face-to-face discussion group in one condition and in an online chat room discussion group in the other condition. Results indicate that print news use, fear of isolation, communication apprehension, future opinion congruency, and communication setting significantly predict willingness to speak out. In addition, not only did fear of isolation have a negative main effect on opinion expression, but this effect was significantly attenuated by computer-mediated discussion. Findings suggest that computer-mediated communication may avoid some of the dysfunctional social-psychological influences found in face-to-face interactions and create a forum conducive for public deliberation.

Adolescents' Identity Experiments on the Internet: Consequences for Social Competence and Self-Concept Unity

Valkenburg, P. M., Peter, J. — 2008-03-05

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of adolescents' online identity experiments on their social competence and self-concept unity. An online survey was conducted among 1,158 Dutch adolescents between 10 and 17 years of age. Using structural equation modeling, the authors investigated the validity of four opposing effects hypotheses in an integrative antecedents-and-effects model. Adolescents who more often experimented with their identity on the Internet more often communicated online with people of different ages and cultural backgrounds. This communication, in turn, had a positive effect on adolescents' social competence but did not affect their self-concept unity. In particular, lonely adolescents used the Internet to experiment with their identity. The social competence of lonely adolescents benefited significantly from these online identity experiments.

A Changing View: Representation and Effects of the Portrayal of Women of Color in Mainstream Women's Magazines

Covert, J. J., Dixon, T. L. — 2008-03-05

This research involved a content analysis of mainstream women's magazines in 1999 and 2004 and an experiment designed to examine the effect of counterstereotypical portrayals on readers. White women were overrepresented while Latina and Black women were underrepresented in mainstream women's magazine articles in 2004 compared to U.S. Census data, although not as much as in 1999. Representation of women of color as professionals also increased. The experiment found that exposure to articles featuring counterstereotypical depictions of women of color tended to elevate the occupational expectations of women of color among White readers but not people of color. The theoretical implications are discussed in light of subgrouping and exemplification.

On the Behavioral Component of the Third-Person Effect

Ye Sun, , Lijiang Shen, , Zhongdang Pan, — 2008-03-05

This article examines the behavioral hypothesis of the third-person effect. It argues that self-other disparities in perceived message effects lead to specific rectifying behaviors due to, presumably, a recognition of the problematic situation defined by perceived effects. Such behaviors would be aimed at restricting messages with negative influence, correcting messages with ambiguous influence, and amplifying messages with positive influence. The hypothesis was tested with models specified through "the diamond method." These models allow for estimating effects of perceptual disparity while controlling for overall perceived message effects. Results from Web-based survey data showed that the third-person perception (i.e., greater effect on others than on self) was a robust and significant predictor across all three messages. But the directions of such effects differed across messages with desirable or undesirable presumed influence. Theoretical and methodological implications for future research on the behavioral hypothesis of third-person effect are discussed.