Vanessa V. Volpe, Graham Buhrman, Priscilla Boaheng, Daija Holliday, Elizabeth A. Nick, S. Criss
{"title":"\"Speak[ing] My Mind\": Reasons for Using Twitter and the Online Experiences, Critical Media Literacy, and Racial Identity of Black American Emerging Adults","authors":"Vanessa V. Volpe, Graham Buhrman, Priscilla Boaheng, Daija Holliday, Elizabeth A. Nick, S. Criss","doi":"10.1027/1864-1105/a000387","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000387","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract: Black emerging adults in the United States make up a significant proportion of Twitter users and social media is an important developmental context. Media research has examined Black populations’ Twitter use and developmental research has considered social media writ large, but less research exists on Black emerging adults’ developmental uses of Twitter. This mixed methods study (1) traced reasons for Black emerging adults’ Twitter use to developmental aspects of emerging adulthood, and (2) explored whether these reasons differ by online and developmental characteristics. Data were collected from 203 Black emerging adults. Both qualitative (i.e., open-ended response) and quantitative (i.e., self-report questionnaire) data were collected via an online survey. Six qualitative categories described participants’ motivation for using Twitter: relationships, identity exploration, independence, financial possibilities, recreation, and coping and wellness. Participants who used Twitter for independence had higher critical media literacy. Participants who used Twitter for recreation and for identity explorations felt more positively about being Black and differed in other aspects of their racial identity. Findings suggest that Twitter is used by Black emerging adults to achieve developmental goals and that the Twitter empowers Black users to explore their racial identity in meaningful ways.","PeriodicalId":46730,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Media Psychology-Theories Methods and Applications","volume":"35 1","pages":"268-279"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"57294371","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ágata Salvador, Gabriela Fonseca, L. Costa, S. Mansuklal
{"title":"\"Feed\" or \"Unfeed\"?: The Role of Social Networking Sites Use in the Link Between Identity Commitment Development and Psychological Functioning in Emerging Adulthood","authors":"Ágata Salvador, Gabriela Fonseca, L. Costa, S. Mansuklal","doi":"10.1027/1864-1105/a000389","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000389","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract: This study aimed to explore the moderating role of social networking sites (SNS) use in the link between identity commitment development and psychological functioning in a sample of Portuguese emerging adults. Cross-sectional survey data were collected from 251 participants (71.3% women), aged 18–30 years ( M = 22.33, SD = 3.31). Self-report questionnaires were used to measure identity commitment-making (commitment-making and identification with commitment), SNS use (perception of feed refresh frequency), and psychological functioning (anxiety and depressive symptoms). Results showed that feed refresh frequency acts as a moderator with a distinct role in the associations between each identity commitment dimension and psychological functioning. Specifically, with the increased frequency of feed refresh, the relation between commitment-making and psychological symptoms becomes negative (for those who refresh feed more frequently, the presence of commitments was associated with lower levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms). On the other hand, the negative relation between identification with commitment and psychological symptoms becomes weaker with an increase in the frequency of feed refresh (for those who refresh feed more frequently, identifying with and embracing the commitments they already made was not associated with psychological symptoms). Overall, our results suggest that refreshing the SNS feed seems to boost the effect of commitment-making in psychological functioning and simultaneously hinder the effect of identification with commitment on psychological functioning. Ultimately, this study calls for further research on emerging adults’ identity development in the digital age, which can inform prevention/intervention actions for promoting youth media literacy and psychological adjustment.","PeriodicalId":46730,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Media Psychology-Theories Methods and Applications","volume":"35 1","pages":"303-315"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"57294431","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Digital Communication, Family Identity, and Markers of Emerging Adulthood","authors":"Samantha LeBouef, Jodi Dworkin","doi":"10.1027/1864-1105/a000391","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000391","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract: In the current study, we examined the relationships between key markers of emerging adulthood (unique combinations of work and school in particular), family identity, and frequency of digital communication with mother, father, and closest sibling to address several gaps in the literature. The goal of this study was to examine how work and school status were associated with family identity, and frequency of digital communication with mothers, fathers, and siblings. This study utilized a subsample ( n = 355) of emerging adults who reported on digital communication with three family members (mother, father, and closest sibling) as part of a larger study. Data were collected through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk and participants were compensated $0.50 for their time. A series of descriptive analyses, MANCOVAs, and moderated regressions were conducted using SPSS version 25. Analyses revealed that family identity was associated with digital communication with mother and father, and social well-being moderated the relationship between digital communication with mother and family identity; these relationships did not vary by markers of emerging adulthood. Limitations and future directions for research are considered.","PeriodicalId":46730,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Media Psychology-Theories Methods and Applications","volume":"35 1","pages":"280-290"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"57294519","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Music and Sports as Catalysts for Intergroup Harmony","authors":"Hye-Yeong Gim, J. Harwood","doi":"10.1027/1864-1105/a000385","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000385","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract: Mediated intergroup contact positively influences attitudes toward social out-groups; here, we explored whether different intergroup contact activities might influence attitudes via different mechanisms. We investigated whether mediated musical or sports contact improves intergroup attitudes through theoretically derived mediators (interpersonal synchronization, empathy, and humanization). This was accomplished by exposing US respondents to videos featuring Chinese singers or table tennis players. We found support for mediated effects of intergroup musical exposure on prejudice through the mediator humanization. We also examined whether seeing in-group (vs. out-group) members enjoying the out-group performance in the video (a “reaction video”) would improve attitudes via norms-related processes. Sharing the viewing experience with an in-group character enables identification with that in-group character, which facilitates modeling of positive intergroup relations. We found that seeing an in-group member enjoying an out-group performance reduced prejudice via norms, but only when people viewed the sports performance. Results are discussed in terms of the prejudice-reducing potential of exposure to media featuring music and sports.","PeriodicalId":46730,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Media Psychology-Theories Methods and Applications","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44506857","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Adolescents’ Online Communication and Self-Disclosure to Online and Offline Acquaintances","authors":"Vojtěch Mýlek, Lenka Dedkova, A. Schouten","doi":"10.1027/1864-1105/a000383","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000383","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract: Adolescents commonly use the Internet to communicate with their acquaintances. This study examines how social anxiety and depressed moods influence adolescents’ online communication – both its frequency and the level of self-disclosure. We propose that these relationships are mediated by adolescents’ preference for online social interaction (POSI), which helps explain the mixed results of previous research. Moreover, since the communication patterns may differ based on communication partners, we differentiate between online and offline acquaintances. Using structural equation modeling, we tested our hypotheses on survey data from 1,530 Czech adolescents (ages 13–18, 50.1% female). Our results suggest that while social anxiety is directly related to less online communication, indirectly, through higher POSI, it is related to more online communication. Notably, these associations are canceled out in communication with online acquaintances, but the inhibitions predominate in communication with offline acquaintances. Experiencing depressed moods is associated with more extensive online communication, both directly and via POSI, indicating that adolescents use online communication to cope with negative feelings. Theoretically, our findings support both the rich-get-richer and social-compensation hypotheses and suggest they are complementary. Moreover, they emphasize the role of adolescents’ perceptions of online communication within the social-compensation mechanism.","PeriodicalId":46730,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Media Psychology-Theories Methods and Applications","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47455222","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Is Hearing Really Believing?","authors":"Franziska Gaiser, S. Utz","doi":"10.1027/1864-1105/a000384","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000384","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract: Smart speakers are becoming popular all over the world and offer an alternative to conventional web search. We conducted two experiments to investigate whether different message modalities affect credibility perceptions, which role sponsor credibility and message accuracy play, and if this role differs in the two modalities. Based on the MAIN Model by Sundar (2008) , we assumed that modality, that is, whether the information is given textually or aurally, can affect credibility assessments. To investigate this, two online experiments with a 2 (modality: smart speaker/search engine) × 2 (message accuracy: high/low) ×3 (sponsor credibility: high/low/none) mixed factorial design were conducted ( n = 399 and 398). Information presented by the voice of a smart speaker was generally perceived as more credible. Results further showed that no source attribution and low message accuracy affected message credibility less in the auditive than in the textual modality, especially for participants with less topic involvement. With this, we gained valuable insights into the role of smart speakers for information search and potential downsides of this usage.","PeriodicalId":46730,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Media Psychology-Theories Methods and Applications","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42967582","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Threat and Enhancement","authors":"Teresa Lynch, Matthew R. Erxleben, G. Perreault","doi":"10.1027/1864-1105/a000382","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000382","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract: Advancing hypotheses derived from social identity theory, we investigated the influence of gamer identity affiliation on affective responses to identity threats and enhancements. Participants viewed a message that either devalued (i.e., threatened) or elevated (i.e., enhanced) the status of gamers when associating them with a mass shooting event. Relative to a control condition that neither threatened nor enhanced identity, our data demonstrated that gamer identity affiliation moderated affect. Specifically, greater gamer affiliation increased negative affect experienced after a threatening message. By contrast, greater gamer affiliation increased positive affect and reduced negative affect experienced after an enhancement message. Analyses of participants’ emotional reactions to the messages revealed that individuals with stronger gamer identity affiliation reported relatively more homogeneous emotions relative to individuals less affiliated with gamer identity. We discuss these response patterns with respect to how emotions may shape intergroup interaction in online communication.","PeriodicalId":46730,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Media Psychology-Theories Methods and Applications","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44783177","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Preexisting Stereotypes and Selection of Counter-Stereotypical Genius Representations in Entertainment Media","authors":"Matea Mustafaj, Sonya Dal Cin","doi":"10.1027/1864-1105/a000377","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000377","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract: Broader, more diverse representation in mass media is frequently imagined as a tool for reduction of harmful stereotypes at scale. Increasingly, entertainment media in the United States feature representations that challenge or counter prevailing stereotypes. However, emergence of a high-choice media environment offers and facilitates the opportunity to be selective about the entertainment one consumes. Using a US sample, we show that entertainment media selection is predicted by preexisting beliefs — greater endorsement of a particular stereotype predicted a decrease in the selection of shows featuring representations challenging that stereotype. Findings indicate that those who could benefit most from these representations are less likely to be exposed to them, undermining the utility of mass media in the widespread reduction of harmful stereotypes.","PeriodicalId":46730,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Media Psychology-Theories Methods and Applications","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47570771","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Trapped Between Goal Conflict and Availability Norm?","authors":"Annabell Halfmann, Adrian Meier, L. Reinecke","doi":"10.1027/1864-1105/a000381","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000381","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract: An increasing number of studies indicate that individuals have difficulties in exerting self-control over media use, such as mobile messaging. Specifically, individuals frequently experience that their messenger use conflicts with primary goals (e.g., work tasks), which may cause negative self-conscious emotions such as guilt. At the same time, not checking and answering messages violates a now widely established availability norm, which may trigger negative self-conscious emotions as well. The current study, therefore, tests how goal conflicts and connection cues interact in influencing users’ negative self-conscious emotions about their messenger usage behavior. Drawing on self-control research in conjunction with self-determination theory and theoretical approaches to social norms, we derived hypotheses on the boundary conditions under which the frequency of messenger use causes negative self-conscious emotions. We thereby significantly extend previous research on the self-regulation of mobile media use, which largely assumes that self-control failure results from users’ intrinsic motivation to experience need satisfaction and pleasure and tends to overlook the fact that mediated communication is often extrinsically motivated due to the availability norm. The hypotheses were tested based on a preregistered laboratory experiment.","PeriodicalId":46730,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Media Psychology-Theories Methods and Applications","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48538533","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Actor–Observer Asymmetry in Virtual Reality","authors":"Shuo Zhou, A. S. Won","doi":"10.1027/1864-1105/a000380","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000380","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract: Actors and observers attend to different aspects of behavior, leading them to interpret the same event in distinct ways. Virtual reality technology enables users to easily switch their visual perspective and modify an avatar to represent users’ own or another’s identity. We conducted a pilot study ( n = 69) and a pre-registered main study ( n = 101) manipulating visual perspective and avatar identity to investigate their impacts on actor–observer asymmetry. We designed a ball-tossing game in an immersive virtual environment as a test case. Actor–observer differences were captured from four dimensions: participants’ engagement with the virtual event, behavior explanations, behavior evaluations, and perceived agency. Results showed that visual perspective was an important factor influencing people’s virtual experience. Viewing events from the first-person visual perspective increased event engagement indicated by greater self-presence in the virtual world and self-avatar merging. Participants with the third-person visual perspective judged avatar behavior more intentional and used more subjective reasons to explain it. People embodied in an avatar that resembled the self had more positive evaluations of the avatar’s behavior than those embodied in a stranger avatar. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of actor–observer asymmetry in virtual reality.","PeriodicalId":46730,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Media Psychology-Theories Methods and Applications","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2023-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47126596","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}