Jayne R. Henson

A Picture is Worth Twenty Words (About the Self): Testing the Priming Influence of Visual Sexual Objectification on Women's Self-Objectification

Extending a major premise of objectification theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997), this article tests the notion that visual depictions of sexual objectification of womens bodies can amplify womens state self-objectification (SO) in the short term. After deriving two operationalizations of sexual objectification that conformed to the tenets of objectification theory, results showed that women who were assigned to images of female models with high skin exposure (the first operationlization of sexual objectification) used more negative words to describe their appearance than participants assigned to control images. In addition, the body-display images produced more state SO and more negativity about ones appearance than images of women segmented into body parts (which represented the second operationalization). Implications for objectification theory and media priming effects are discussed.

A Functional Analysis of the 2006 Canadian and 2007 Australian Election Debates

Comparatively few studies have looked at debates in other countries besides The United States. This study replicates past research using Functional Theory to analyze electoral debates from two countries with parliamentary systems, i.e., countries in which citizens cannot directly vote for their Prime Minister. Content analysis was employed to investigate the four 2006 Canadian prime minister debates-two held in English, two in French-and the 2007 Australian prime minister debate. Candidates in these debates acclaimed, or praised themselves, more than they attacked, or criticized opponents, and defended, or refuted attacks from opponents, least. The incumbent candidates produced more acclaims and defenses and made fewer attacks than the challenger candidates. In particular, the incumbents used past deeds, or record in office, to acclaim their record in office; challengers tended to use past deeds to attack the incumbents record rather than to acclaim themselves. These candidates discussed policy more than character. Candidates, in general, acclaimed more than they attacked on general goals and ideals. These patterns are generally similar to those observed in Israel, South Korea, The Ukraine, and The U.S., which suggests that some features of political debates transcend national and cultural borders.

Staying “On Message”: Consistency in Content of Presidential Primary Campaign Messages Across Media

This study investigates the extent to which candidates in the 2008 presidential primary campaign adhered to the convention wisdom that candidates should stay “on message.” Content analysis investigated multiple media (announcement speeches, TV spots, radio spots, debates, candidate webpages, and candidate MySpace/Facebook pages) from 9 Democratic and 12 Republican candidates. Four variables were investigated: functions, topics, party issue emphasis, and own party issue ownership. Although there was considerable consistency across message form, results revealed that 63 of 76 comparisons candidates were not consistent in tone, topic, party issue emphasis, or own party issue emphasis across messages. Post hoc analyses excluding debates (where the candidates have less control over the content of their messages, given the expectation that they will respond to the questions asked) revealed differences even among the message forms over which candidates have complete control over content.

The Monster Within: How Male Serial Killers Discursively Manage Their Stigmatized Identities

Investigations of identity management regarding serial killers are sparse and rarely account for the communal discourse surrounding serial homicide. Such studies are essential to understanding the intersections of stigma and identity, particularly for the exploration of reframing that is severely limited for deviant populations. This interpretive study examined 13 interviews with serial killers to explore stigmatized identity management. The analysis revealed that male serial killers rejected their stigmatized identity by indicating a lack of control over their non-normal behavior or by justifying their actions. They also indicated that societal influences, such as previous traumatic experiences and communal discourse surrounding serial killing, influenced their identity management.

A Functional Analysis of 2008 U.S. Presidential Primary Debates

This study reports a content analysis of 20 Democratic and 16 Republican primary debates from the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign. President George W. Bush was completing his second and final term in office and Vice President Dick Cheney decided not to run for president. Thus, the 2008 U.S. presidential primary is the first open campaign (with no sitting president or vice president competing) since 1952. This study uses content analysis to apply Functional Theory to these campaign messages. Acclaims were more common than attacks, which in turn occurred more frequently than defenses. Policy was discussed more often than character. Republicans were more likely to attack other Republicans than Democrats; Democrats criticized members of both parties at about the same rate. The candidates discussed more of the issues owned by their political party than issues owned by the other political party.

Political Differences and Perceptions of Silencing in University Classrooms

This study investigates perceptions of silencing behaviors, political party affiliations, and political differences. Survey data of undergraduates enrolled in communication courses (N = 377) was used to assess whether differences between instructors and students in party and ideological affiliation influenced retrospective assessments of instructor political tolerance and opportunities for open discourse in the classroom. Results confirmed that perceptions of political difference significantly predict perceptions of the instructor behavior of silencing.

A Functional Analysis of the 2008 Vice Presidential Debate: Biden Versus Palin

Senator John McCains selection of Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate in 2008 came as a surprise to many. Senators Joe Biden, John McCain, and Barack Obama had been in the public eye since before 2007 as they campaigned for the presidency—and Biden and McCain had been in the spotlight in earlier presidential campaigns. Thus, of the four running mates for the two major political parties, Palin was the least well-known. The selection of Palin generated tremendous interest in the vice presidential debate. For the first time in history more voters watched the vice presidential debate than the presidential events. This paper reports a functional analysis (Benoit, 2007) of the 2008 vice presidential debate.