Media PsychologyPub Date : 2022-05-04DOI: 10.1080/15213269.2022.2067878
John M. Tchernev
{"title":"Creating Character Identification and Liking in Narratives: The Impact of Protagonist Motivations on Real-Time Audience Responses","authors":"John M. Tchernev","doi":"10.1080/15213269.2022.2067878","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2022.2067878","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Popular narratives can have a significant cultural and persuasive impact. Audience identification with a protagonist and liking of the protagonist are two important types of audience engagement. The present study proposes that character motivations play a central role in the establishment of both identification and liking. Two typologies of motivations are tested (one from a hierarchy of psychological needs perspective, and the other from the professional field of screenwriting) as predictors of dynamic fluctuations in audience identification and liking. Three professional screenwriters served as “expert coders” of three randomly selected films and identified key moments that were of particular importance for establishing character motivation. N = 308 participants viewed the first 35 minutes of one of the three films and provided real-time ratings of either liking or identification. Results indicated that the establishment of character motivations does indeed have a major impact on shaping identification and liking in real time.","PeriodicalId":47932,"journal":{"name":"Media Psychology","volume":"25 1","pages":"740 - 761"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2022-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43422486","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Media PsychologyPub Date : 2022-05-02DOI: 10.1080/15213269.2022.2070216
A. Schwabe, F. Lind, Lukas Kosch, H. Boomgaarden
{"title":"No Negative Effects of Reading on Screen on Comprehension of Narrative Texts Compared to Print: A Meta-analysis","authors":"A. Schwabe, F. Lind, Lukas Kosch, H. Boomgaarden","doi":"10.1080/15213269.2022.2070216","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2022.2070216","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT While some argue digital reading media may impair text comprehension, the empirical literature is ambiguous, in particular when it comes to the reading of narrative texts. Therefore, a comprehensive and systematic meta-analysis of studies exploring the effect of screen reading media on reading comprehension of narrative texts was conducted (k = 32, N = 2239). Multimedia and interactive functions in general, the type of multimedia and interactive functions, the change in effect over time, and the type of digital reading device (computer, e-reader, and tablet) were explored as moderating variables. In general, the analyses did not reveal a significant impact of the reading medium (screen vs. paper) on the reading comprehension of a narrative text. Moreover, there does not seem to be a difference over time and between different types of digital reading devices. Also, the analysis of the subsample of studies using plain digital text without any additional functions in comparison to print showed no significant differences. In contrast, multimedia and interactive functions of digital texts affect reading comprehension positively, regardless of the type of additional function. In conclusion, the results do not suggest a negative effect of digital reading media on reading comprehension when reading narrative texts.","PeriodicalId":47932,"journal":{"name":"Media Psychology","volume":"25 1","pages":"779 - 796"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2022-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48571836","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Media PsychologyPub Date : 2022-05-01DOI: 10.1080/15213269.2022.2064877
J. Roden
{"title":"#MeToo Movement Backlash: How Evaluations of Women Advocates as More “Sexist” Weaken Movement Support","authors":"J. Roden","doi":"10.1080/15213269.2022.2064877","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2022.2064877","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Amidst the rise of movements against sexual harassment and assault, there are questions as to whether men are likely to view such activism as a threat to their livelihoods and their status as men. This study explores how the reception of supportive #MeToo tweets might differ based on the social identities of the messenger. This online survey experiment of White men (N = 421) examines the effects of messenger gender (man or woman) and race (Black or White) on perceptions of the messenger and subsequent movement attitudes and behavior intentions. Results show that White men found women #MeToo advocates to be more sexist than men advocates, which reduced their #MeToo movement solidarity, collective action intentions, and bystander intervention intentions. This study demonstrates the important role of “reverse sexism” perceptions in feminist social movement messaging by highlighting the antecedents and consequences of holding such beliefs.","PeriodicalId":47932,"journal":{"name":"Media Psychology","volume":"25 1","pages":"763 - 778"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2022-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46333888","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Media PsychologyPub Date : 2022-02-27DOI: 10.1080/15213269.2022.2034020
R. Frazer, Emily Moyer-Gusé, M. Grizzard
{"title":"Moral Disengagement Cues and Consequences for Victims in Entertainment Narratives: An Experimental Investigation","authors":"R. Frazer, Emily Moyer-Gusé, M. Grizzard","doi":"10.1080/15213269.2022.2034020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2022.2034020","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The role of moral disengagement in evaluating narrative character behaviors has been a source of scholarly investigation for some time. Despite a theoretical interest in the process, little work has experimentally manipulated content features related to the mechanisms proposed by Bandura in his selective moral disengagement model. This paper presents the results of an experiment that manipulates the presence/absence of a victim of an immoral protagonist’s actions in an audio-visual narrative. We measure various narrative engagement variables including perspective-taking, approbation of behavior, and character liking. Thus, our study design tests content cues corresponding to Bandura’s selective moral disengagement hypotheses and links them to variables specified in Zillmann’s affective disposition theory. Findings indicate that perspective-taking with the immoral protagonist is enhanced when the victim is absent. Perspective-taking then has downstream effects on other narrative processing variables, such as character judgments, desires for specific story outcomes, and punitiveness toward similar real-world behaviors. The design of the current study thus provides a roadmap for future research, and we discuss the value of carefully manipulating narrative cues in order to encourage or discourage moral disengagement in viewers.","PeriodicalId":47932,"journal":{"name":"Media Psychology","volume":"25 1","pages":"619 - 637"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2022-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48147595","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Media PsychologyPub Date : 2022-02-17DOI: 10.1080/15213269.2022.2161576
J. T. Fisher, F. R. Hopp, R. Weber
{"title":"Mapping attention across multiple media tasks","authors":"J. T. Fisher, F. R. Hopp, R. Weber","doi":"10.1080/15213269.2022.2161576","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2022.2161576","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Paying attention to media requires continuously selecting and processing relevant information while filtering out numerous competing stimuli. Although the factors that drive attention toward or away from a single media task are relatively well characterized, there is a lack of understanding regarding how attention to media functions in the presence of multiple, concurrent tasks. In this manuscript, we report findings from four experiments investigating this question. Results indicate that, rather than attention being based on a strict hierarchy between “primary” and “secondary” tasks, attentional resources are distributed across concurrent media tasks based on the (relative) rewardingness and effortfulness of each task. More rewarding tasks elicited more attention, and the attention-capturing influence of rewarding “secondary” tasks was magnified when the “primary” task was more cognitively effortful. These results provide support for recent theoretical advancements in media psychology research and point to promising future directions using updated models of motivated attention to predict the allocation of attentional resources across multiple concurrent tasks.","PeriodicalId":47932,"journal":{"name":"Media Psychology","volume":"26 1","pages":"505 - 529"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2022-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41745357","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Media PsychologyPub Date : 2022-02-09DOI: 10.1080/15213269.2022.2035769
N. Bol, M. Antheunis
{"title":"Skype or Skip? Causes and Consequences of Intimate Self-Disclosure in Computer-Mediated Doctor-Patient Communication","authors":"N. Bol, M. Antheunis","doi":"10.1080/15213269.2022.2035769","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2022.2035769","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Advances in computer-mediated communication have created both opportunities and challenges for online doctor-patient communication. Based on the privacy calculus and objective self-awareness theory, we examined the causes and consequences of intimate self-disclosure in video consultations. We performed a 2 (verbal intimacy) × 2 (physical intimacy) online experiment among a large representative sample of the Dutch population (N = 2,251). Structural equation modeling confirmed expected relationships between benefits, privacy concerns, communication barriers, trust, and self-disclosure. Generally, when people were more willing to self-disclose, they reported more positive (e.g., relief) and less negative (i.e., stress) emotions. However, when it involved revealing physically intimate information (e.g., showing an intimate vs. non-intimate body part), people were less likely to self-disclose and reported more negative emotions as a result. Our findings suggest that people weigh benefits, costs, and trust in their decision to self-disclose and consider the potential negative intrapersonal effects of intimate self-disclosure.","PeriodicalId":47932,"journal":{"name":"Media Psychology","volume":"25 1","pages":"706 - 723"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2022-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48467738","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Media PsychologyPub Date : 2022-02-06DOI: 10.1080/15213269.2022.2034021
L. Holt, Sophie L Kjærvik, B. Bushman
{"title":"Harming and Shaming through Naming: Examining Why Calling the Coronavirus the “COVID-19 Virus,” Not the “Chinese Virus,” Matters","authors":"L. Holt, Sophie L Kjærvik, B. Bushman","doi":"10.1080/15213269.2022.2034021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2022.2034021","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT In an effort to stave off racial and geographic prejudices, The World Health Organization (WHO) has advised against naming pathogens for geographic regions. Despite this, some media reports, and prominent politicians, have persisted in calling the coronavirus the “Chinese Virus,” or some variant thereof. In this pre-registered online experiment (N = 614), we examined the effect media frames and individual factors (i.e., political affiliation and party) had on perceptions of COVID-19, prejudice against Chinese- and Asian-Americans, and attributing blame to China for the coronavirus. We found that articles that labeled the coronavirus the “Chinese Virus” (versus the “COVID-19 Virus”) were perceived less favorably by Democrats and liberals, in comparison to Republicans and conservatives, who were also more likely to express greater racial prejudice against Chinese- and Asian-Americans and to blame China for the pandemic. Findings from this study suggest that amongst a host of other variables, media framing has an effect on the public’s attitudes and feelings of blame for the pandemic.","PeriodicalId":47932,"journal":{"name":"Media Psychology","volume":"25 1","pages":"639 - 652"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2022-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42323332","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Media PsychologyPub Date : 2022-02-06DOI: 10.1080/15213269.2021.2025109
Markus Appel, C. Mengelkamp
{"title":"Watching Videos on a Smartphone: Do Small Screens Impair Narrative Transportation?","authors":"Markus Appel, C. Mengelkamp","doi":"10.1080/15213269.2021.2025109","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2021.2025109","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Smartphones are a preferred platform to access audiovisual stories. Prior theory and research suggest that using smaller screens could lead to a shallower narrative experience. In three experiments we examined the influence of screen size (smartphone vs. computer screen) on the experience of being transported into the world of the story (narrative transportation). We further examined interaction effects with manipulations meant to change transportation by means of reviews (Experiment 1, N = 120), consistency of main character information (Experiment 2, N = 139), and prior information meant to facilitate comprehension (Experiment 3, N = 129). Because our series of studies involved theoretically and practically relevant null hypotheses (i.e., screen size does not influence transportation), we added Bayes factor analyses to standard frequentist statistics. A mini meta-analysis was conducted to summarize the results. Taken together, the three experiments indicate that smaller screen size does not impair narrative transportation. Implications and future research are discussed.","PeriodicalId":47932,"journal":{"name":"Media Psychology","volume":"25 1","pages":"653 - 674"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2022-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43983244","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Media PsychologyPub Date : 2022-02-01DOI: 10.1080/15213269.2022.2026228
L. Holt, M. Ellithorpe, D. Ewoldsen, John A. Velez
{"title":"Helping and Hurting on the TV Screen: Bounded Generalized Reciprocity and Interracial Group Expectations","authors":"L. Holt, M. Ellithorpe, D. Ewoldsen, John A. Velez","doi":"10.1080/15213269.2022.2026228","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2022.2026228","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Two survey studies, one with a college sample (Study 1, n = 245) and one with a national U.S. adult sample (Study 2, n = 590) examined how media messages can influence attitudes toward Black people in the U.S. A novel contribution is the role of Bounded Generalized Reciprocity, or the belief that members of an outgroup are likely to return a favor (positive), or enact retribution for a wrong (negative) as a factor in the relationship between television use and attitudes. Study 1 (college student sample) found support for a relationship between lifetime television exposure and negative attitudes, mediated by negative reciprocity beliefs. Study 2 (U.S. adult sample) found support for an ambivalence effect, where lifetime television exposure was associated with increases in both positive and negative reciprocity beliefs. This indicates that reciprocity beliefs can be cultivated similarly to other kinds of beliefs (e.g., crime frequency, mean world), and that these beliefs have downstream relationships with racial attitudes. The direction in which they are influenced by television use remains an open question, and likely depends on TV content patterns over time.","PeriodicalId":47932,"journal":{"name":"Media Psychology","volume":"25 1","pages":"675 - 688"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2022-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48758178","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Media PsychologyPub Date : 2022-01-31DOI: 10.1080/15213269.2022.2032180
Rick W. Busselle, Tanja Vierrether
{"title":"Linking Epistemic Monitoring to Perceived Realism: the Impact of Story-World Inconsistency on Realism and Engagement","authors":"Rick W. Busselle, Tanja Vierrether","doi":"10.1080/15213269.2022.2032180","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2022.2032180","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Discourse comprehension research demonstrates that understanding new information as it arises in a text, requires that readers retrieve information from earlier in the text and from preexisting knowledge brought to the reading experience, known as bridging and elaboration, respectively. Epistemic monitoring may detect inconsistencies that arise during bridging and elaboration, and these inconsistencies may interfere with comprehension and the construction of mental models. The present study links these processes with readers’ perceptions of narrative and external realism. It investigates the influence of inconsistencies – references to modern technologies in written short stories set before those technologies existed – on two types of realism judgments and on five dimensions of narrative engagement. Experimentally introduced inconsistencies designed to interfere with elaboration and, subsequently with the construction of a story world model, reduced perceived external realism and narrative realism. The effect on narrative realism was mediated by external realism. Results further indicate that narrative realism causally preceded imagery production, and that imagery production fully mediated the relation between narrative realism and emotional engagement, and partially mediated the relation between narrative realism and a sense of presence in the story.","PeriodicalId":47932,"journal":{"name":"Media Psychology","volume":"25 1","pages":"689 - 705"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2022-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48748059","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}