Juho Vesa, Arttu Malkamäki, Antti Gronow, Paul Wagner, Tuomas Ylä-Anttila
{"title":"Beyond Formal Power: How Central Roles in Political Networks are Related to Media Visibility","authors":"Juho Vesa, Arttu Malkamäki, Antti Gronow, Paul Wagner, Tuomas Ylä-Anttila","doi":"10.1177/00936502251343986","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502251343986","url":null,"abstract":"A recurring finding in communication studies is that political actors with formal-institutional power are highly visible in the media. The relationship between informal power and media visibility remains less understood. This study examines whether central roles in networks of political collaboration—as indicators of informal power—are associated with increased visibility in mainstream news media. We hypothesize that organizations with central roles are more visible in the media because informal power increases their newsworthiness. Using social network methods and Bayesian regressions on survey and media data on organizations involved in climate policy in Finland, we find that central organizations with many collaboration partners receive more media coverage. Other central roles, such as brokerage or coalition leadership, are not associated with media visibility. This study advances knowledge of media visibility by showing that informal power is associated with media visibility, and that some power positions are more important than others.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144334900","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"When Sexism Becomes the Norm: The Effect of Sexism on Women’s Participation in Political Online Discussions","authors":"Sabine Reich, Marko Bachl","doi":"10.1177/00936502251343988","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502251343988","url":null,"abstract":"Publicly visible women in political news are often met with sexist backlash in social media’s comment sections. We take a social norms perspective to argue that the presence of politically active women in the news sets a descriptive norm to increase female social media users’ participation in online discussions (role model hypothesis). However, sexist comments against visible women function as signals of injunctive norms and decrease participation (sexist backlash hypothesis). A preregistered nested-stimuli experiment with a sample of German women provided no support for the role model hypothesis but some support for the adverse effects of sexist attacks. The findings indicate that the increase of women in prominent public positions might harm, instead of nourish, women’s discursive participation intention as long as the sexist backlash against women in public roles prevails.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":"33 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144290159","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Emerging Adults’ Relational Turbulence with Parents as a Function of Parent Involvement in Their Romantic Relationship: A Conditional Process Analysis","authors":"Paul Schrodt, Emily Stager","doi":"10.1177/00936502251345599","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502251345599","url":null,"abstract":"Using relational turbulence theory, this study examined the conditional direct and indirect associations between parent involvement (i.e., facilitation and interference) in emerging adults’ romantic relationships and relational turbulence in the parent-child relationship vis-à-vis the valence of conversations with parents about the romantic partner. Participants included 264 emerging adult children who were involved in a romantic relationship. Parent interference with the romantic partnership was directly and indirectly associated with turbulence in the parent-child relationship via communication valence. The direct association was conditioned by the family’s conversation orientation and whether the adult child valued the parent’s opinion about their romantic partnership, whereas the indirect association was not. Likewise, parent facilitation was directly and indirectly associated with turbulence via communication valence, though again only the direct association was conditioned by conversation orientation and valuing the parent’s opinion. Implications for relational turbulence theory are discussed.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144290161","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Immediate and Delayed Beliefs in Headlines With High-arousal Sentence Starters","authors":"Xiaoyu Zhou, Zhang Tan, Danjun Wang, Fei Wang, Kaiping Peng","doi":"10.1177/00936502251343979","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502251343979","url":null,"abstract":"Emotionally charged messages can distort truth perception, and recent research highlights the impact of emotional language on news beliefs. While past studies have focused on emotional valence, the role of emotional arousal in shaping beliefs remains underexplored, particularly regarding its long-term effects. This research investigates both immediate and delayed beliefs in response to headlines with high-arousal sentence starters (HASS), such as “Shocking!.” Across five longitudinal experiments ( <jats:italic>N</jats:italic> <jats:sub>immediate</jats:sub> = 1,329; <jats:italic>N</jats:italic> <jats:sub>delayed</jats:sub> = 687), including two preregistered studies and a mini meta-analysis, we found that HASS initially suppresses belief. However, this effect diminishes over time, leading to a rebound in belief. These findings underscore the importance of emotional language in truth perception and suggest that practitioners should exercise caution when employing HASS in communication strategies.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144193170","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Timon Elmer, Aurelio Fernández, Jeffrey A. Hall, Marie Stadel
{"title":"Day-to-day Social Interactions Online and Offline: The Interplay Between Interaction Mode, Interaction Quality, and Momentary Well-being","authors":"Timon Elmer, Aurelio Fernández, Jeffrey A. Hall, Marie Stadel","doi":"10.1177/00936502251341088","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502251341088","url":null,"abstract":"Digital social interactions differ in many ways from face-to-face interactions. This study examines four preregistered hypotheses on the within-person interplay between interaction mode (i.e., digital vs. face-to-face interactions), interaction quality, and momentary well-being. Young adults from Spain ( <jats:italic>N</jats:italic> <jats:sub>1</jats:sub> = 216) and the Netherlands ( <jats:italic>N</jats:italic> <jats:sub>2</jats:sub> = 22)—provided 5,116 and 1,386 Ecological Momentary Assessments (EMA), respectively. In the Spanish sample, there were no differences in interaction quality between digital and face-to-face interactions, whereas in the Dutch sample, digital interactions were of higher quality. Interaction quality was positively associated with momentary well-being in both samples. Momentary well-being was higher after face-to-face interactions in the Spanish but not in the Dutch sample. Interaction quality did not mediate the relationship between interaction mode and well-being; instead, it moderated it in the Spanish sample. Although interaction quality was consistently associated with momentary well-being, it only partially explains why face-to-face interactions differ from digital ones.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":"81 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144193168","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Source-Inconsistent News From Partisan Media: Expectancy Violations as a Way to Improve Attitudes Toward Out-Party Media","authors":"Masahiro Yamamoto, Chia-Heng Chang","doi":"10.1177/00936502251343980","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502251343980","url":null,"abstract":"Drawing on Expectancy Violation Theory (EVT), we predict that news content that is inconsistent with out-party media’s ideological stance forms a positive expectancy violation and thus leads partisans to view these outlets more favorably. To test this prediction, we conducted two online experiments where participants viewed source-consistent or source-inconsistent news headlines from in-party (CNN for Democrats, Fox News for Republicans) or out-party (Fox News for Democrats, CNN for Republicans) media. Study 1 showed that exposure to source-inconsistent news headlines from out-party media led to more favorable feeling thermometers through unexpectedness and positive valence. Study 2 further showed that these indirect effects through unexpectedness and positive valence were larger with a high dose of exposure, but still significant even with a low dose of exposure. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":"51 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144193072","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chelly Maes, Robyn Vanherle, Jasmine Fardouly, Laura Vandenbosch
{"title":"#BoPo, #Ideal, or #Mixed? Exploring Adolescents’ Daily Exposure to Appearance Content on Social Media and Its Relations with Body Image Components","authors":"Chelly Maes, Robyn Vanherle, Jasmine Fardouly, Laura Vandenbosch","doi":"10.1177/00936502251338901","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502251338901","url":null,"abstract":"When using social media, adolescents encounter various types of appearance-related content. Yet, no research has explored how daily exposure to such types of content, including idealized content, body positivity (BoPo) content, and a mixture of both, links to adolescents’ body image states. With the present 14-day daily diary study among French adolescents ( <jats:italic>N</jats:italic> = 108, 1,434 daily assessments, <jats:italic> M <jats:sub>age</jats:sub> </jats:italic> = 15.99, 64.8% girls), we examined how exposure to idealized appearance content and BoPo content predicts adolescents’ state body satisfaction and surveillance on the same day and the next day. More so, we explored how the relationships may vary depending on a co-occurrence of exposure to both content types (i.e., mixed exposure). At a between-person level, exposure to idealized appearance and BoPo content was linked to higher body surveillance. At the within-level, BoPo content was associated with higher body satisfaction, meaning that on days that adolescents saw more BoPo content than usual (compared to their own means), they were also more satisfied with their bodies. However, these relations did not last until the following day. No other within-person level relations emerged. Also, when exploring the impact of the interaction between exposure to BoPo and idealized content, non-significant results emerged. The findings highlight the complexity of adolescents’ interactions with social media and emphasize the importance of future research adopting an ecological approach. This should involve considering both intra-individual and inter-individual factors, as well as the diverse types of social media exposure.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144193204","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Gaëlle Vanhoffelen, Anaëlle Gonzalez, Lara Schreurs, Caroline Giraudeau, Laura Vandenbosch
{"title":"The Perfect Li(f)e: A Longitudinal Study on Positive Social Media Content and European Adolescents’ Perfectionism","authors":"Gaëlle Vanhoffelen, Anaëlle Gonzalez, Lara Schreurs, Caroline Giraudeau, Laura Vandenbosch","doi":"10.1177/00936502251337650","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502251337650","url":null,"abstract":"Youth perfectionism levels have increased significantly over the last decades. Given the dominance of picture-perfect content, social media are often designated as contributors of this rise. Accordingly, this study examined how exposure to positive social media content might increase adolescents’ perfectionistic dispositions and vice versa. Moreover, it was explored whether upward social comparison and adolescents’ individualism values as well as country play, respectively, a mediating and moderating role. A three-wave panel study was conducted among 1,697 Belgian, French, and Slovenian adolescents ( <jats:italic>M</jats:italic> <jats:sub>age</jats:sub> = 15.14, <jats:italic>SD</jats:italic> <jats:sub>age</jats:sub> = 1.78, 57.2% girls). At the between-person level, the results showed that higher levels of exposure to positive content are related to higher levels of perfectionism. Higher upward social comparison levels are related to higher levels of exposure to positive content and of socially prescribed perfectionism. A more complex pattern emerged at the within-person level with different results depending on the selected time intervals, countries, and adolescents’ individualistic values.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":"33 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144133698","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Austin Y. Hubner, Jason C. Coronel, Jared Ott, Matthew D. Sweitzer, Samuel Lerner
{"title":"Do People Value Expertise? Revisiting Assumptions About Attention to Expertise via Eye-Tracking and the Loss of Expertise Cues During Person-to-Person Transmission of Science Information","authors":"Austin Y. Hubner, Jason C. Coronel, Jared Ott, Matthew D. Sweitzer, Samuel Lerner","doi":"10.1177/00936502251339693","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502251339693","url":null,"abstract":"People often learn about science from various sources including scientists, journalists, and friends. Many studies assume people pay different levels of attention to expert and non-expert sources. This foundational assumption has largely been tested with selective exposure and reading time measures. In Study 1, we used eye-tracking to measure attention and found that individuals paid more attention to experts than non-experts. The results are promising as it suggests that people can discriminate between expert and non-expert information. But in Study 2, we showed that expertise cues do not survive person-to-person transmission via serial reproduction. Our studies highlight the need to use new methods to validate key theoretical assumptions about attention and the presence of expertise cues during social transmission.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":"80 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143946097","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Media Cynicism, Media Skepticism and Automatic Media Trust: Explicating Their Connection with News Processing and Exposure","authors":"Yariv Tsfati, Aviv Barnoy","doi":"10.1177/00936502251327717","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502251327717","url":null,"abstract":"In an era of increasing attention to media trust, some have argued that differentiating between media cynicism and media skepticism (as both attitudinal and behavioral concepts) can advance a more nuanced understanding of media trust and its implications. While previous efforts conceptualized cynicism and skepticism as separate discrete phenomena, this allows the seemingly illogical possibility that some people would score high on both cynicism and skepticism. Additionally, these previous studies failed to demonstrate whether media cynicism and skepticism actually matter for audience reading and processing of news media content. After conceptualizing these terms on a single continuum varying between automatic rejection to automatic trust, Study 1 offers a procedure to test whether cynics process news stories faster, and whether skeptics’ trust in different news stories varies more compared to cynics’. Given that skepticism was hypothesized to reflect more deliberate thinking, we also tested whether media skeptics provide different kinds of justifications when asked to explain their evaluations of specific news stories, compared to cynics and trustors. Studies 2 and 3 test theoretically-driven hypotheses about automatic-trust, skepticism and cynicism and find that cynics’ and automatic trustors’ general evaluations of media are based on partisan reasoning and skeptics’ evaluation of the media is independent from their political ideology. Skeptical audiences were also found to consume more news and from a diversity of sources.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":"34 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143702753","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}