Showing papers in "Media Psychology in 2004"

Contributions of Psychophysiology to Media Research: Review and Recommendations

Abstract: Despite the increasing use of psychophysiological measures in various research areas, there is a relative paucity of studies on communication, media, and media interfaces that have taken advantage of this approach. This article provides an overview of the use of psychophysiological measures of attention and emotion in media research with the focus on 3 most commonly used measures: heart rate, facial electromyography, and electrodermal activity. Selected media studies that have used psychophysiological methods to test theory-based predictions regarding the role of attentional and emotional factors in message processing are critically reviewed. The article also highlights some methodological and other issues critical for the successful application of psychophysiological methods to problems in media research. In particular, respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), a selective index of parasympathetic nervous system activity, is introduced as a measure that holds particular promise for media research, given that R...

Information Sufficiency and Risk Communication

Abstract: In an effort to better understand individuals' use of information in risky situations, in this article we propose a new variable, information sufficiency, as an important component of people's information-seeking behaviors. We surveyed residents of 2 Great Lakes cities to test the ability of a group of factors often employed in risk communication studies to predict information sufficiency, defined as a person's sense of how much information he or she needs to cope with a risk. We found that 2 predictors of this perceived gap in information were an individual's worry about the risk and the perception that others would expect one to keep abreast of information about the risk.

Developing a Typology of Humor in Audiovisual Media

Abstract: The main aim of this study was to develop and investigate a typology of humor in audiovisual media. We identified 41 humor techniques, drawing on Berger's (1976, 1993) typology of humor in narratives, audience research on humor preferences, and an inductive analysis of humorous commercials. We analyzed the content of 319 humorous television commercials to investigate (a) whether and how humor techniques cluster into higher order humor categories and (b) which humor techniques and categories characterize commercials aimed at different audience groups. From principle components analysis, 7 categories of humor emerged: slapstick, clownish humor, surprise, misunderstanding, irony, satire, and parody. Our findings showed some marked differences in the humor techniques and categories in commercials aimed at different age and gender groups.

Shyness and Computer-Mediated Communication: A Self-Presentational Theory Perspective

Abstract: This study compared shy and nonshy Internet users in online and offline contexts on the Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale (RCBSS; Cheek, 1983) and other measures intended to gauge 4 underlying aspects of shyness: rejection sensitivity, initiating relationships, self-disclosure, and providing emotional support and advice University students (N = 134; 76% female) participated in a Web-based survey that investigated the impact of computer-mediated communications (CMC) on shyness level Results show that individuals classified as shy or nonshy on the basis of their scores on the RCBSS in the offline context were also significantly different on offline measures of rejection sensitivity, initiating relationships, and self-disclosure However, they were not significantly different on these same 3 domains in the online context The results are interpreted as support for a self-presentation theory account that the absence of visual and auditory cues online reduces shy individuals' experience of detecting negat

Why People Watch Reality TV

Abstract: We assessed the appeal of reality TV by asking 239 adults to rate themselves on each of 16 basic motives using the Reiss Profile standardized instrument and to rate how much they watched and enjoyed various reality television shows. The results suggested that the people who watched reality television had above-average trait motivation to feel self-important and, to a lesser extent, vindicated, friendly, free of morality, secure, and romantic, as compared with large normative samples. The results, which were dose-dependent, showed a new method for studying media. This method is based on evidence that people have the potential to experience 16 different joys. People prefer television shows that stimulate the feelings they intrinsically value the most, which depends on individuality.

The Gender-Role Content of Children's Favorite Television Programs and Its Links to Their Gender-Related Perceptions

Abstract: Two studies were conducted to (a) examine the gender-role stereotypical, counterstereotypical, and gender-neutral messages contained in a sample of first- and second-grade children's favorite television programs; and (b) to link the results of the content analysis to the children's gender-role values and interpersonal attraction to same- and opposite-gender television characters while the content analysis showed that there was a great deal of gender neutrality in the programs the children preferred. However, as predicted, male characters were still more likely than female characters to answer questions, boss or order others, show ingenuity, achieve a goal, and eat. The results of the survey showed that preference for stereotypical content predicted boys' valuing hard work and humor. In addition, for girls preference for male stereotypical and male counterstereotypical content negatively predicted interpersonal attraction to female characters, whereas preference for female counterstereotypical and gender-n...

Attention and Brain Activity While Watching Television: Components of Viewer Engagement

Abstract: Television commercials include elements designed to engage the viewer's attention. Manipulations of the commercial's visual structure that result in rapid pacing or frequent scene changes can be engaging because they require a frequent redirection of visual attention. Manipulations of semantic content through such techniques as the inclusion of humorous or anomalous elements can elicit cognitive engagement. Structural manipulations in videos are known to attenuate the alpha (8 to 13 Hz) rhythm of the electroencephalogram (EEG) recorded over posterior cortical regions involved with visual processes. To examine whether other engaging elements also affect the alpha rhythm, EEG was recorded from 10 participants who viewed television commercials. Principal components analysis was used to decompose the alpha rhythm into underlying factors that varied in spatial topography over the head and in spectral composition. Across commercials, the power of a posterior-distributed alpha component was inversely correlated ...

Media Effects Theory and the Nature/Nurture Debate: A Historical Overview and Directions for Future Research

Abstract: In this article, I provide a historical overview of the nature/nurture debate by exploring the philosophical history of the debate leading up to the inception of media effects research. I argue that the media effects tradition was born into a milieu that was exclusively sided with the nurture (environmental determinist) position and has largely remained so. Within the past 20 years, there have been advances in neurophysiology leading other disciplines to theorize that human behavior is the result of the interaction between nature (genetics, brain physiology) and nurture (learning, culture). In this article, I sample the media effects research emerging from this perspective and argue why this approach is superior to the learning-only approach currently popular in the field of communication. I then discuss the implications of such an approach for communication researchers, framing the critique in terms of the contribution to mass communication theory building. A frequent lunch discussion topic at a recent International Communication Association conference was DeFleur’s (1998) article about the current lack of “milestone” research in mass communication, research that “provoked wide discussion and changed the way that scholars think about the mass communication process” (p. 86). DeFleur suggested a number of reasons for this state of affairs including a

Hackers: Militants or Merry Pranksters? A Content Analysis of Defaced Web Pages

Abstract: Web defacement by hackers has been an emerging topic of concern among those in the online community. Hackers with different psychological motivations may produce different types of defacement. In this study, we content analyzed 462 defaced Web sites to describe how they were changed. In addition, we used social identity theory to predict the severity of the defacement according to the presumed motivations (political vs. personal) of the hackers. About 70% of the defacements could be classified as pranks, whereas the rest had a more political motive. Moreover, the findings suggest that hackers are not the lonely, isolated individuals sometimes portrayed in the media but are members of an extensive social network who are eager to demonstrate their reasons for hacking and often leave calling cards, greetings, and taunts on Web pages. Text is the preferred means of defacement. Those sites hacked by individuals with a political motivation contained more aggressive expressions and greater use of various communi...

Effects of Visual Intensity and Audiovisual Redundancy in Bad News

Abstract: This experiment investigated the effects of visual intensity in audiovisual redundancy research. Results indicate that viewers' recognition and delayed free recall of compelling messages were unimpeded by redundancy. For noncomplying messages, however, the 2 cognitive indicators both suffered when redundancy was absent. Results of this study suggest that redundancy did not have a blanket effect. The variance explained by visual intensity suggests that human processing of audio and visual information could be better understood by taking into consideration cognitive variables such as redundancy, as well as affective variables such as visual intensity.

Autobiographical Memories for Seeing Romantic Movies on a Date: Romance Is Not Just for Women

Abstract: Two autobiographical memory studies were conducted to better understand the social experience and memory for watching romantic movies on a date. In both studies, participants were primarily middle-class, White, young adults, who (a) recalled the experience of watching a romantic movie they had seen on a date and (b) were assessed for levels of sex-role traditionality and 4 kinds of dispositional empathy. Participants also reported with whom they watched the movie, who chose it, and the cognitions and emotions experienced during viewing. Finally, a fantasy measure asked participants to choose the types of scenes in which they and their dates might like to "stand in" for a character in the film. Results indicated that women more often than men selected the movie and liked it more, but, despite common stereotypes, men also reported favorable ratings for romantic movies seen on a date. However, both men and women thought that "most men" would not like the movie. On the fantasy measure, women underestimated me...

Object-Subject Distance and the Third Person Perception

Abstract: Two studies demonstrate that third person perceptions are less dependent on ego-defensive mechanisms than previously thought. It is argued that people use intuitive notions of media dependency when they estimate the influence of media on different groups of others. Our results show that when the "others" that are the object of media influence are close to the subject of communication, people perceive less influence. This finding joins new research contrasting with the idea of the "social distance corollary."

Country of Origin as a Heuristic Cue: The Effects of Message Ambiguity and Product Involvement

Abstract: This research applies the heuristic-systematic model to understand how country-of-origin (CO) cues can affect the way consumers process advertising messages and evaluate advertised products under different conditions. Findings of Experiment 1 show that, when product information is ambiguous, consumers are more likely to engage in heuristic processing, relying on CO cues to infer product quality and form their product evaluations. However, when product information is unambiguous, consumers engage in systematic processing and evaluate the product based on their assessments of product attributes. Findings of Experiment 2 further suggest that product involvement affects the extent to which consumers engage in heuristic processing when message ambiguity is at different levels. Specifically, mediational analyses indicate that, when product information featured in an ad is ambiguous, a low-involving product engages consumers in heuristic processing. Furthermore, when product information is unambiguous, a low-inv...

Parsing Reality: The Interactive Effects of Complex Syntax and Time Pressure on Cognitive Processing of Television Scenarios

Abstract: In a variety of domains, complexity has been shown to be an important factor affecting cognitive processing. Complex syntax is 1 of the ways in which complexity has been shown to burden cognitive processing. Research has also shown that the determination of a message's truth, or reality, is affected by message complexity. Cognitive burden has been shown to cause unrealistic events to be judged as more real. Two experiments investigate the effects of syntactic complexity on the typicality assessment of previously rated typical and atypical television scenarios. Complex syntax exhibited a curvilinear effect on reality assessment, such that highly typical events became more unreal and highly atypical events became more real, whereas moderately typical scenarios were unaffected. The cognitive load added by complex syntax appeared to limit the processing of both reality and unreality cues. Adding time pressure was expected to increase cognitive load; however, it appeared to reverse the effects of complex synta...