Cheryl Campanella Bracken

Testing the Theoretical Design of a Health Risk Message: Reexamining the Major Tenets of the Extended Parallel Process Model

This study examined the fear control/danger control responses that are predicted by the Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM). In a campaign designed to inform college students about the symptoms and dangers of meningitis, participants were given either a high-threat/no-efficacy or high-efficacy/no-threat health risk message, thus testing the extreme assumptions of the EPPM. Although the study supports the main predictions of the EPPMin the context of meningitis, the results provide newevidence that only a marginal amount of threat is necessary in a health risk message to move the target audience toward the desired protective measures. In addition, the results also suggest that the messages containing only threat may only scare the target audience further into fear control. Implications and future research are discussed.

Criticism or Praise? The Impact of Verbal versus Text-Only Computer Feedback on Social Presence, Intrinsic Motivation, and Recall

The Computers Are Social Actors (CASA) paradigm asserts that human computer users interact socially with computers, and has provided extensive evidence that this is the case. In this experiment (n = 134), participants received either praise or criticism from a computer. Independent variables were the direction feedback (praise or criticism), and voice channel (verbal or text-only). Dependent variables measured via a computer-based questionnaire were recall, perceived ability, intrinsic motivation, and perceptions of the computer as a social entity. Results demonstrate that participants had similar reactions to computers as predicted by interpersonal communication research with participants who received text-only criticism reporting higher levels of intrinsic motivation, perceived ability, and recall. Additionally, the computer was seen as more intelligent. Implications for theory and application are discussed.

I really liked that movie: Testing the relationship between trait empathy, transportation, perceived realism, and movie enjoyment.

The current study investigated the contributions of trait empathy and narrative transportation to audience members’ film enjoyment. Undergraduates (N = 199) evaluated two films they had seen recently and responded to items measuring different types of trait empathy, narrative transportation, film enjoyment, and perceived realism. Fantasy empathy, but not perspective taking, empathic concern, or personal distress, was found to be associated with narrative transportation. Transportation was found to be associated with enjoyment and perceived realism.

Cosmopoliteness in the Internet Age

The concept of cosmopoliteness previously has been associated with the diffusion of innovations. Previous research suggests that cosmopolites are earlier adopters of innovations (e.g., new media technologies) and that they use more diverse media sources. This paper details the history of the concept and identifies eight dimensions. Two surveys were employed to investigate the relationship between the concept of cosmopoliteness and new media technology usage. The results indicate that most Internet use behaviors are positively associated with cosmopoliteness. However, this pattern was not found for other media applications such as e-mail and watching DVDs. Implications of study findings are discussed.

How Cosmopolites React to Messages: America Under Attack

The diffusion of information about critical events has been studied using events of differing importance in Americans’ lives: This study explores the diffusion of information about a tragedy that touched Americans and others around the world. Specifically, we explore how the time a person learned of the September 11 attacks influences their selection of communication channel(s) in passing on the information to others. This study also explores the impact of the notion of “cosmopoliteness” on channel selection and its impact on the diffusion process. The results of this study inform the diffusion literature by providing evidence that cosmopoliteness does affect the diffusion process. Implications are discussed.

Integrating Theoretical Traditions in Media Effects: Using Third-Person Effects to Link Agenda-Setting and Cultivation

In an earlier period of mass communication research, scholars were more adventuresome in advancing “new” theories and less hesitant to “create” theory. The 1970s, in particular, bore witness to the emergence of several such theories—from the knowledge gap and agenda-setting to cultivation. Scholars have generated substantial literatures elaborating work in these and other traditions. Those contributions are now sufficiently robust that it is time to direct some of our energies toward synthesizing theories. This article nominates third-person perception as a candidate for such integration. Several prominent theories of media effects in the mass communication literature are selected to illustrate how the theories can or have been integrated. Results from three surveys provided evidence that the theories of third-person perception, agenda-setting and cultivation can be interrelated. The proposition examined here can serve as a model for further integration of other media theories. This integration attempt harkened back to the times when theory building in media effects was more common and perhaps more optimistic about explaining processes of influence.

Sounding Out Small Screens and Telepresence

The number of small and mobile screens being used for entertainment is growing daily. This paper presents the findings of the impact of smaller video format (specifically the Apple iPod), media content, and sound delivery on audience responses. The 2 × 2 × 2 experimental design varied screen size, content, and sound delivery. Participants were exposed to one of two presentations either on an iPod or on a 32 inch (81.2 centimeters) television with sound being supplied by either speakers or a headset. Participants saw either a 10-minute fast-paced (multiple cut) action sequence or a 10-minute slow-paced (long cut) conversation sequence from a feature length motion picture. The effects of differences in immersion, spatial presence, and social realism were measured. Screen size impacted reported sensations of spatial presence with subjects who viewed larger screens reporting higher levels. Subjects with headphone delivery reported higher levels of immersion than subjects with speaker delivery. Furthermore, se...

Telepresence, soundscapes and technological expectation: putting the observer into the equation

In an experiment exploring the impact of sound on sensations of telepresence, 126 participants watched a video clip using either headphones or speakers. The results illustrate that sound is an important factor in stimulating telepresence responses in audiences. Interactions between soundscape and screen size were also revealed. A traverse interaction between aural/visual congruency and soundscapes was evident. A second data set of 102 participants was collected to illuminate the effect of technological expectation that emerged in the first study. Expectations had been mentioned in other studies, and the data support the notion that people have an expectation of the technological quality of a presentation. The results suggest that examining expectations could assist in future conceptualizations of telepresence.

The role played by the concept of presence in validating the efficacy of a cybertherapy treatment: a literature review

The present paper considers the existing research in cybertherapy, which is a psychological therapy carried out with the use of a mediated environment, and examines the way in which the users’ sense of presence in the mediated environment can be of relevance for the validation of the intervention. With this purpose, a collection of 41 papers reporting the measurement of presence in the context of a cybertherapy treatment has been identified and examined. The general relevance of presence in cybertherapy and the measurement techniques adopted in the studies collected here are described and discussed. The way in which presence corresponds to establishing internal validity, convergent or predictive validity and external validity of a treatment is examined. In conclusion, a checklist to apply when planning a validation study is proposed, to improve the way in which presence is used.

User and Content Characteristics of Public Tweets Referencing Little Cigars

OBJECTIVES Compared to cigarettes, little cigars and cigarillos (LCC) are minimally regulated, affordable, and widely available to young people. Because Twitter is a preferred mode of communication among younger people, product portrayals may be useful for informing both interventions and public health or tobacco policy. METHODS A mixed-methods study was implemented to analyze the content of public tweets (N = 288) and profile photos sampled from a search of 2 LCC brands (Black & Mild and Swisher Sweets). Metadata and manifest attributes of profile photo demographic features and tweet message features were coded and analyzed. Thematic analysis of the tweets was conducted using an iterative immersion/ crystallization method. RESULTS Tweeters were most often boys or men (63%) and appeared young (76%). Prevalent content themes included expressing affiliation for the LCC product and reporting smoking activity. Although men and women tweeted affiliation for LCC products and reported smoking activity in similar numbers, women were significantly less likely to tweet about blunting than men. CONCLUSIONS Twitter provides a potentially potent source of nuanced information about how young people are using little cigars. These observed characteristics may be useful to inform counter-messaging strategies and interventions.