Lara Zwarun

Narrative Persuasion, Transportation, and the Role of Need for Cognition in Online Viewing of Fantastical Films

Two studies examine narrative persuasion in the context of fantastical narratives viewed on a computer. In Study 1, participants (N = 160) used a personal computer to watch one of two short films that dealt with a contemporary social issue (privacy or the environment) set in an imaginary future. Neither film resulted in those who viewed it holding stronger story-consistent beliefs. However, viewers of the film about privacy who experienced higher levels of transportation were more likely to possess story-consistent privacy beliefs than those less transported or than viewers of the environmental film. Additionally, higher need for cognition was associated with stronger beliefs and intentions across both films, and viewers of the privacy film who were higher in need for cognition were most likely to endorse story-consistent privacy beliefs, perhaps due to extra cognitive effort demanded by the online delivery mode of the narrative. To explore this, in Study 2 (N = 126), participants were shown the privacy-themed film in either a low or high distraction condition. This successfully manipulated transportation, but in high distraction conditions, transportation was not significantly related to endorsement of story-consistent beliefs.

What's going on? Age, distraction, and multitasking during online survey taking

Participants in an online survey revealed what other activities they engaged in while taking it.Younger people were more likely than older people to multitask.The relationship between age, multitasking, and sense of distraction was curvilinear.Most multitasking increased feelings of distraction.Some activities decreased feelings of distraction when combined with survey-taking. Nearly 6000 adults from 7 countries participated in an online survey about what other activities they engaged in while taking the survey and how distracted they felt. Younger people were more likely than older ones to engage in electronic and non-electronic multitasking. Engaging in a wider range of tasks was associated with feeling more distracted. However, once the variety of tasks was taken into account, interruptions associated with checking or talking on ones phone made participants feel less distracted. The relationship between age, multitasking, and feeling distraction was curvilinear, with middle-aged respondents being more affected by multitasking than either younger or older survey takers. The findings suggest that people of all ages are often deliberate multitaskers who choose their distractions intentionally, at least some of the time. This bodes well for researchers seeking to administer online surveys, because it suggests that survey takers will set themselves up with the type and amount of distractions they are comfortable with. The finding that a high degree of electronic multitasking may decrease the perception of distraction should be followed by experiments verifying if this perception corresponds to actual task performance.

Somebody versus nobody: An exploration of the role of celebrity status in an election

Abstract This study examines the role celebrity status may play in potential voters’ evaluation of a political candidate presented in a newspaper article. Participants indicated greater intention to vote for a candidate who was a recognizable Hollywood actor than an unknown candidate in a political race, regardless of how substantive the political information provided about the candidate was. This suggests that familiarity with a celebrity can act as a heuristic in peripheral processing. Younger people were more likely to vote for a celebrity candidate than older voters, but how liberal or conservative participants are was not a significant factor in the decision to vote for the celebrity. Nor did participants’ need for cognition or level of political involvement predict intention to vote for the celebrity, suggesting that celebrity status is meaningful to motivated and thoughtful voters as well as those who are less motivated and informed. The possibility is raised that this could be an indication of celebrity status being used as a component of deliberate political decision-making, and future research in this direction is suggested.

Getting Universal Primary Tobacco Use Prevention Into Priority Area Schools A Media Literacy Approach

The impact of any prevention intervention depends on its ability to influence health risks and behavior change and the extent to which the target audience has access to and participates in the program. In this article, the authors make the case that media literacy–based tobacco prevention education can be integrated into the middle school curriculum in a way that delivers on both counts. They describe Missouri’s successful development and dissemination of the Youth Empowerment in Action! Tobacco Education, Advocacy, and Media curriculum to schools serving populations that are most vulnerable to tobacco-related health disparities. They make three recommendations to support health program developers’ efforts to motivate and prepare teachers to implement and sustain universal tobacco prevention education in areas of highest need.

Effects of Showing Risk in Beer Commercials to Young Drinkers

An experiment assessed the effects of exposing college students to beer commercials with images of activities that would be dangerous to undertake while drinking. Those exposed to the ads were more likely to believe in the social benefits of drinking than those not exposed, particularly among males. Those participants who reported seeing people engaged in risky activities as well as drinking beer had an increased tolerance for drunk driving. The findings suggest that the imagery in beer commercials can contribute to beliefs about alcohol that predict drinking and to an increased acceptance of dangerous drinking behavior.

Evidence of the Value of the Smoking Media Literacy Framework for Middle School Students

BACKGROUND Susceptibility to future smoking, positive beliefs about smoking, and perceptions of antismoking norms are all factors that are associated with future smoking. In previous research, smoking media literacy (SML) has been associated with these variables, even when controlling for other known risk factors for smoking. However, these studies were performed with older teenagers, often in high school, not younger teens at a crucial developmental point with respect to the decision to begin smoking. METHODS This study uses survey data collected from 656 American public middle school students representing multiple zip codes, schools, and school districts. RESULTS Smoking media literacy levels for middle school students were similar to those of high school students in earlier studies. Higher SML levels were associated with lower susceptibility to future smoking and predicted susceptibility to smoke when controlling for other risk factors. This suggests that the same relationships found with teenagers may exist with middle school students. CONCLUSIONS Although follow-up studies using larger and more controlled administrations of the SML scale are warranted, this study suggests the utility of the SML framework and scale in the development and investigation of media literacy as a prevention strategy in students this age.