{"title":"Affective Responses to Counter-Attitudinal Testimonials Drive Persuasive Effects: The Case of Physician-Assisted Suicide","authors":"Judy Watts, Michael D. Slater, Emily Moyer-Gusé","doi":"10.1177/00936502231198551","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502231198551","url":null,"abstract":"Overtly persuasive narratives such as testimonials pose significant challenges for theories of narrative persuasion. Such theories argue that overt persuasive intent diminishes entertainment and entertaining narratives reduce counterarguing. We propose that testimonial narratives instead have persuasive advantages through their ability to arouse message-consistent emotions and reduce affective reactance to the messages. Participants ( n = 1478) were randomly assigned to read a testimonial narrative or a non-narrative article about physician-assisted suicide. Articles were perceived as highly persuasive and low in entertainment intent; the testimonial was higher than the non-narrative in perceived eudaimonic intent. As predicted, testimonials reduced counterarguing via increased meaningful affect and decreased affective reactance to the message. Interaction tests showed that these effects were stronger in counterattitudinal participants. Theoretical implications for understanding the effects of testimonial narratives, particularly when the narratives are eudaimonic, are discussed, as are innovations for measuring counterarguing and perceived message intent.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135784193","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":"Not Bowling Alone: Revisiting Partisan Types and Participatory Behaviors Using the Communication Mediated Model","authors":"Hsuan-Ting Chen, Jing Guo","doi":"10.1177/00936502231195658","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502231195658","url":null,"abstract":"Drawing on the two-wave 2020 American National Election Studies (ANES) survey, this study revisits partisan types by categorizing individuals’ party identification and positions on party-divided issues. A Latent Class Analysis reveals six types of partisans, which were further clustered into three types: polarized partisans (i.e., polarized Democrats and polarized Republicans, 47.85%), incongruent partisans (i.e., conservative Democrats and liberal Republicans, 28.23%), and floating citizens (i.e., hesitant citizens and apathetic citizens, 23.92%) based on the partisan typology proposed in this study. Employing the O-S-R-O-R model, this study found that polarized partisans (O), who are the most politically active citizens, are more likely than incongruent partisans and floating citizens to seek pro-attitudinal news on multi-platforms (S), then to discuss politics (R), then to be politically knowledgeable (O), which finally leads to higher levels of political participation. The results highlight a worrisome tendency in US politics as participation is largely by biased polarized partisans. Nevertheless, incongruent partisans also have the potential to make contributions to both deliberative and participatory democracy because they are also politically active. Their discussion and participatory behaviors can be attributed to their mixed issue positions and counter-attitudinal news consumption on multi-platforms.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2023-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41631968","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":"Moral Balancing in Video Games: The Moderating Role of Issue Congruency","authors":"Yu-Hao Lee, Mo Chen, Joyce Guo, Qing Xu","doi":"10.1177/00936502231195106","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502231195106","url":null,"abstract":"Research has shown that performing moral or immoral actions in video games can affect the players’ moral self-worth and evoke moral emotions. People may compensate for their immoral behaviors by performing more moral actions, but sometimes performing moral actions can also license them to perform immoral behaviors later. The current study examines whether players engage in moral licensing or moral cleansing behaviors within and after video game moral scenarios. Study 1 is an exploratory study that examined a sequence of moral dilemmas in the game Papers, Please, and found that players alternated between choosing the moral choices and the accurate choices, indicating signs of moral balancing when faced with moral choices that conflict with their in-game goals. Study 2 utilized a 3 (moral vs. immoral vs. control) × 2 (congruent charity vs. incongruent charity) experiment using a moral event in the game Life is Strange to examine the moderating effects of issue congruency on moral balancing. Study 3 used three different games to replicate Study 2. The findings showed that players who performed moral actions in the game also devoted more efforts to a charity on a congruent issue. However, participants who performed a moral behavior in the game committed significantly less effort to a charity on an incongruent issue, indicating a moral licensing effect. Study 2 found that performing immoral actions in a game can motivate players to devote more efforts to a subsequent charity, regardless of issue congruity, but this moral cleansing effect was not observed in Study 3.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2023-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43729101","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":"Mechanisms for Employee Mobility Between Organizations: A Network Analysis of Faculty Turnover in Communication, 2013 to 2022","authors":"Yu Xu","doi":"10.1177/00936502231190950","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502231190950","url":null,"abstract":"Organizations compete for scarce resources such as talent. The mobility of employees between organizations means that the inflow side acquires resources at the expense of the outflow side. This study understands employee turnover from one place to another as a mobility network where directed edges indicate migration flows between organizations. Using observational data on the turnover of tenure-line communication faculty in 129 U.S. universities from 2013 to 2022, this paper investigates the formation mechanisms of the interorganizational mobility network. The results show that the creation of migration flows is driven by transitive closure, but not by cyclic closure. Community cohesion is not a driving force of network formation. While low-prestige universities are more likely to be sources of faculty mobility than high-prestige universities, migration flows are commonly observed between organizations with similar levels of prestige. Additionally, the probability of faculty mobility between universities first decreases and then increases with their geographic distance.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2023-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43248891","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}
Shan Xu, Kerk F. Kee, Wenbo Li, Masahiro Yamamoto, Rachel E. Riggs
{"title":"Examining the Diffusion of Innovations from a Dynamic, Differential-Effects Perspective: A Longitudinal Study on AI Adoption Among Employees","authors":"Shan Xu, Kerk F. Kee, Wenbo Li, Masahiro Yamamoto, Rachel E. Riggs","doi":"10.1177/00936502231191832","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502231191832","url":null,"abstract":"This study extends the diffusion of innovations theory by considering the threat of technology and examining the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace over time from a dynamic, differential-effects perspective. Findings from a three-wave survey study reveal an association between the threat of AI (i.e., job security concerns) and increasingly negative attitudes toward AI adoption among employees over time. Relative advantage, compatibility, and observability correlated with more positive attitudes, whereas ease of use and trialability showed no significant association. In testing the differential effects on attitudes toward AI adoption among different groups of potential adopters, we found that trialability positively influenced attitudes only among employees who held a positive attitude previously. Observability and the threat of AI, however, were more influential among employees who held a negative attitude previously. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2023-08-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43519961","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":"Longitudinal Relations Between Heterosexual Adolescents’ Perceived Exposure to Sex-Positive Television Messages and Their Supportive Attitudes and Behaviors Toward the LGBTQ+ Community","authors":"Chelly Maes, Laura Vandenbosch","doi":"10.1177/00936502231191830","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502231191830","url":null,"abstract":"The literature on heterosexual adolescents’ television viewing and its over-time impact on attitudes and behaviors regarding LGBTQ+ is limited. The current study aims to fill this gap in the literature by using three-wave data from 338 heterosexual adolescents ( Mage = 15.29, SD = 1.48, 68.6% girls). We explored relations between adolescents’ perceived exposure to sex-positive television messages, their respectful approach to different sexual expressions, and their endorsement of supportive behavior regarding LGBTQ+. A Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model (RI-CLPM) showed that, at a between-person level, perceived exposure to sex-positive television messages was related to the endorsement of supportive behavior regarding LGBTQ+. Yet, results revealed that an increased perceived exposure to sex-positive television messages was not associated with respectful approach to different sexual expressions and endorsement of supportive behavior regarding LGBTQ+ at the individual level. No sex or traditional gender role orientation differences were found. Our findings hopefully encourage sexual media research to further distinguish between-and within-person relations and to consider potential testing effects that mask true within-person change.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2023-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46677189","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":"Stigma and Supportive Communication in the Context of Mental or Emotional Distress: An Extension of the Paradox of Support Seeking in Close Relationships","authors":"R. Bishop, Andrew C. High","doi":"10.1177/00936502231189811","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502231189811","url":null,"abstract":"Supportive communication can benefit people coping with the stigma that often accompanies mental or emotional distress; however, people might be reluctant to seek support effectively, if at all, for these types of stressors. Guided by the paradox of support seeking, this study expands understanding of how and why people seek support by examining multiple dimensions of stigma, exploring factors that hinder or facilitate people’s decision to seek support, and investigating nuanced support seeking behaviors in the context of mental or emotional distress. Results ( N = 406) revealed that internalization and visibility of stigma differentially impacted strategies people chose to seek support. Whereas visibility corresponded with direct seeking and more emotional content, internalized stigma was associated with avoidance. Perceived costs served as barriers to seeking support, and efficacy buffered against the negative consequences of stigma by encouraging direct seeking and allowing for greater depth and emotional content when seeking support.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2023-08-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42566575","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":"Entering an Information Era of Parallel Truths? A Qualitative Analysis of Legitimizing and De-legitimizing Truth Claims in Established Versus Alternative Media Outlets","authors":"M. Hameleers, Nilou Yekta","doi":"10.1177/00936502231189685","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502231189685","url":null,"abstract":"In today’s digital media ecology, alternative narratives and conspiracies spread rapidly, and may undermine the legitimacy of journalism and reinforce polarized divides in society. In this setting, constructions of truth may greatly vary across established and alternative media. In this paper, we use a comparative qualitative content analysis in the US and the Netherlands to offer in-depth insights into how factual claims are legitimized and delegitimized by alternative versus mainstream media outlets. We put the assumption of post-factual relativism and alternative truths to an empirical test: To what extent and how do alternative versus established media construct irreconcilable versions of reality? When political disagreement is no longer founded on a shared reality, representative democracy may be severely damaged and vulnerable to undermining discourses of untruthfulness.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2023-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45980876","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":"How Women Attack: Candidate Reliance on Feminine and Masculine Traits in Campaign Negativity","authors":"Nichole M. Bauer, Caley Hewitt, P. Labbe","doi":"10.1177/00936502231179290","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502231179290","url":null,"abstract":"We develop a framework to identify how women use negative messages in political campaigns. We argue that women will be more likely to use contrast negativity, messages that include a negative message against an opponent and a positive message about the candidate sponsoring the ad, rather than attack negativity, messages that only criticize an opponent. We also identify how feminine and masculine traits emerge in negativity—a strategy we call gendered trait negativity. We analyze gendered trait negativity in television ads from the Wesleyan Media Project (WMP) for House, Senate, and gubernatorial races from 2010 to 2018. Using logistic regression models, we find that women use contrast messages more than attack messages when running against a man. Second, we find that women are more likely to highlight feminine traits over masculine traits in negative messages when their opponent is a man relative to when their opponent is a woman.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2023-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48738977","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}