Elizabeth L. Cohen

Private flirts, public friends: Understanding romantic jealousy responses to an ambiguous social network site message as a function of message access exclusivity

Abstract Research indicates that social network site use can amplify romantic jealousy, but studies have yet to identify the causes a for these reactions. An experiment was conducted to examine how message exclusivity affects jealousy responses to a hypothetical scenario. A total of 191 undergraduates were randomly assigned to imagine their potential emotional and behavioral responses to an ambiguous message given by their partner to a romantic rival, either in a private Facebook message (high exclusivity) or posted publicly as a message on the rival’s Facebook wall (low exclusivity). Those participants reading about high exclusivity messages reported more negative emotion and were more likely to imagine being confrontational. Threat perception and negative emotion both predicted confrontational behavior. There was an indirect effect of message access exclusivity on threat perception through negative emotion; there was no direct association between exclusivity and threat perception. This research has implications for the study of message processing on social network sites and the conceptualization of masspersonal communication.

Exploring Gun Ownership as a Social Identity to Understanding the Perceived Media Influence of the Virginia Tech News Coverage on Attitudes toward Gun Control Policy

This study examines the perceived effects of the Virginia Tech shooting news coverage on self and others’ attitudes toward gun control policy and the moderating role of gun ownership. One hundred sixty-four respondents completed an online survey. Larger, third-person perceptions (TPPs) were reported for those who owned guns due to the reduction of the perceived effect on self. Exposure to gun-related news was associated with perceived effect on self, but only for non-gun owners. Results are discussed in light of TPP and intergroup research.

Perceived media influence, mental illness, and responses to news coverage of a mass shooting.

This study examined the perceived influence of news coverage of the Virginia Tech shootings on self and others’ attitudes about mental illness, and behavioral outcomes (including willingness to seek social connections and willingness to seek and disclose mental health treatment), as a function of personal experience with mental illness (none, family, self). We conducted an online survey of 198 adults within about 1 month of the event. Perceived negative influence of news on others’ attitudes, but not self, was higher for those who had greater experience with mental illness. Fear predicted perceived news influence on self (but not others), primarily for people who had no personal experience with mental illness. Further, for people without mental illness experience, perceived news influence on their own attitudes toward mental illness was associated with more engagement in support/comfort activities and greater likelihood of online opinion expression. In contrast, for people with mental illness, perceiving that others’ attitudes had become more negative was associated with less engagement in support/comfort activities. Finally, perceived news influence on self was related to less willingness to disclose mental health treatment. Implications of the findings are discussed from the perspective of the influence of presumed influence model and intergroup emotions theory.

Exploring Subtext Processing in Narrative Persuasion: The Role of Eudaimonic Entertainment-Use Motivation and a Supplemental Conclusion Scene

The extended elaboration likelihood model argues transportation reduces embedded message processing, but this study reasoned people with eudaimonic entertainment-use motivation would process narrative subtexts. A conclusion scene reiterating intended messages was expected to facilitate persuasion. Subjects were randomly assigned to watch a drama about organ donation, with or without a conclusion scene. The intended messages were not persuasive. Nonetheless, this study provides insight into narrative transportation processes. Transportation did not inhibit subtext processing, and there was a marginally significant interaction between eudaimonic motivation and conclusion scene on an unintended message: Eudaimonic motivation negatively predicted doctor mistrust in the no-conclusion condition.

A Comedic Entertainment Portrayal of Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder: Responses by Individuals With Anxiety Disorders.

This study explored how people with anxiety disorders responded to the TV series Monk, about a homicide investigator with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). Respondents were 44 individuals with OCD or another anxiety disorder who were recruited from online mental health support sites. They completed an online survey that elicited open-ended responses as well as supplemental ratings of the series/lead character. Their evaluations of the portrayal of mental illness on Monk were mixed, with both favorable and critical assessments offered. Many respondents suggested that the series challenged stereotypes by showing a character with mental illness who was successful and lived a productive life, yet others argued that the show reinforced some stereotypes of OCD. Respondents offered varied responses to the use of humor in relation to mental illness, but were relatively critical of the accuracy/realism of the depiction of OCD and the portrayal of Adrian Monk’s mental health treatment. The measures of perceived influence on respondents’ own and others’ attitudes toward mental illness offered insight into the potential impact of the series on public stigma and self-stigma. Implications for the study of media and mental illness stigma are discussed.

R U with Some1? Using Text Message Experience Sampling to Examine Television Coviewing as a Moderator of Emotional Contagion Effects on Enjoyment

Viewers regularly watch television with others, but the role of coviewing is often overlooked in entertainment effects models. Further, the models are rarely investigated in natural settings, limiting their ecological validity. The current study used experience sampling via text message to examine college students’ daily coviewing behaviors. Momentary assessments were taken 3 times a day for 1 week. Respondents reported their happiness during viewing and the enjoyableness of their experiences. Consistent with emotional contagion theory, data suggest that increases in emotional intensity mediated the effect of emotional contagion on program enjoyment, but only among respondents who reported coviewing with someone else. These results provide preliminary evidence that social context is partially responsible for contagious transfer of affect during entertainment experiences.

When the ball stops, the fun stops too

Playing video game socially can foster feelings of sociability and belonging.Socially ostracized individuals might benefit most from social gameplay.Ostracized players felt moderate enjoyment, both when playing solo or with others.Socially included players felt the lowest enjoyment - especially when playing alone.Data offer insight into how social scenarios anchor entertainment expectations. Video games have long been understood as an entertaining and popular medium, and recent work has suggested that at least part of their appeal rests in their ability to foster feelings of sociability and belonging with others. From this, we expected that following an episode of social ostracism, playing video games with other people would be an enjoyable experience due the games ability to restore ones social needs. However, in a 2 (social inclusion vs. social ostracism)×2 (choosing to play alone vs. co-playing) quasi-experimental design, individuals who were socially ostracized in a ball tossing game reported no deficit in their subsequent enjoyment of the video game. Ostracized players reported above-average enjoyment, while individuals who were socially included pre-gameplay reported significantly lower enjoyment when playing alone compare to all other conditions. These effects held, controlling for individual sex, trait need for belonging, video game self-efficacy, and individual performance at the game. These results ran counter to predictions regarding the socially restorative power of video games following a social ostracism episode, and offer insight into how social scenarios might foster expectations of entertainment media products.

Mental Health-Related Outcomes of Robin Williams’ Death: The Role of Parasocial Relations and Media Exposure in Stigma, Help-Seeking, and Outreach

ABSTRACT This study explores responses to the death of actor/comedian Robin Williams, focusing on the role of celebrity attachment and exposure to media coverage following his suicide. A total of 350 respondents recruited on Mechanical Turk completed an online survey. Participants who had a stronger parasocial relationship with Williams reported lower social distance from people with depression, greater willingness to seek treatment for depression, and more frequent outreach to other people with depression or suicidal thoughts following his death. Exposure to media coverage of suicide/depression – both informational and stigmatizing – was associated with more frequent outreach to others, but only informational coverage was related to greater willingness to seek treatment. Stigmatizing media exposure was related to greater depression stereotypes. Seeing more media stories celebrating Williams’ life and career was associated with reduced depression stigma but also with less willingness to seek treatment for depression and less outreach to others. Implications of the findings for media and mental health are discussed.

Ending as Intended: The Educational Effects of an Epilogue to a TV Show Episode about Bipolar Disorder

ABSTRACT Entertainment persuasion theory was applied to investigate how an epilogue to a dramatic episode with an educational subtext about bipolar disorder affected viewer processing and response. In an experiment, viewers (N = 89) were randomly assigned to watch the episode either with or without an epilogue. Exposure to the epilogue increased recognition of the subtext. It also increased counterarguing against the subtext, but only among viewers less involved with the episode’s story. The epilogue decreased social distance for people with bipolar disorder and decreased their belief that bipolar disorder is not treatable. These findings speak to the utility of epilogues as a tool to both reinforce intended entertainment–education messages and to combat misinformation. This function is particularly useful for entertainment portrayals of stigmatized conditions, which are at greater risk of being misunderstood. To avoid viewer reactance, epilogues should be paired with highly involving narratives.

Sport fans and Sci-Fi fanatics: The social stigma of popular media fandom.

Popular media culture fandom is associated with a variety of positive psychological, social, and cultural outcomes, but people who participate in these fandoms may be socially stigmatized because of the object of their fandom. A 2 (Fandom Type: Science Fiction/Fantasy; Sport) × 2 (Target Fan Sex: Female; Male) between-subjects experimental design was used to examine the influence of fandom type and fan sex on the 3 dimensions of interpersonal attraction: social, physical, and task. In general, science fiction/fantasy fans were perceived as less socially and physically attractive compared to sport fans, particularly male science fiction/fantasy fans. However, there were no differences between the groups in task attractiveness. Female sport fans were judged as more physically and socially attractive than female science fiction/fantasy fans.