T. Franklin Waddell

#thisshowsucks! The Overpowering Influence of Negative Social Media Comments on Television Viewers

Can the comments of a few viewers on social media affect viewers’ perceptions of audience sentiment or their own program enjoyment? If so, do the effects of comments vary based on their valence or placement during programming? We conducted a 2 (positive vs. negative tweets) x 2 (beginning vs. end of program) factorial experiment with an additional control condition (N = 196) to answer these questions. Negative comments undermined perceived bandwagon support for the program and reduced enjoyment, regardless of contextual or trait moderators. Findings suggest that the effects of social television may be attributable to systematic processing of bandwagon cues.

The role of stereotypical beliefs in gender-based activation of the Proteus effect

Informed by the Proteus effect, the current study examined the moderating effect of belief in stereotypes on the relationship between avatar appearance and user behavior, via an interactive fiction. The results of a one-factor (avatar gender: male vs. female), between-subjects experiment revealed that female avatars elicited more frequent masculine behaviors (particularly among individuals high in feminine gender stereotypes) and that male avatars elicited more frequent feminine behaviors. Conversely, self-reported gender led to stereotypic behaviors as expected. A moderating effect of awareness of the avatars influence on stereotypically gender-based decisions on frequency of gender-typed behavior was not found, suggesting individuals are not aware of the influence of avatars on their subsequent decisions.

What does the crowd think? How online comments and popularity metrics affect news credibility and issue importance:

Online comments hold the potential to promote positive deliberative outcomes, although past work has also shown that comments can have undesired effects when the sentiment of the crowd turns negative. Does the presence of comments possibly bolster or interfere with the reception and traditional functions of news media? Informed by the Modality-Agency-Interactivity-Navigability (MAIN) model, an online experiment tested the effect of reader comments (positive vs negative), number of “re-tweets” and “likes” (low vs high), and coverage frequency (infrequent vs frequent) on news credibility and issue importance. Negative reader comments (relative to positive comments) decreased message credibility and issue importance through the sequential indirect pathway of bandwagon perceptions, attention, and construct accessibility. Study results suggest that the traditional functions of news media may be hindered by audience incivility.

Inspired by the crowd: The effect of online comments on elevation and universal orientation

ABSTRACT Past research on meaningful media has shown that the experience of elevation can foster increased feelings of connection to others due to the affective states that meaningful media elicit. However, what happens when inspiring media are accompanied by cues related to the opinion of others? Does the presumed opinion of the audience moderate the affective indicators or behavioral effects of elevation? An online experiment was conducted to answer these questions using a 2 (news type: inspiring vs. non-inspiring control) × 3 (comment type: civil vs. uncivil vs. no comment control) between-subjects design. Results revealed that news articles accompanied by either civil or uncivil comments elicited lower affective states associated with elevation. Furthermore, civil comments increased universal orientation through the mediating pathway of bandwagon support.

Feminizing Robots: User Responses to Gender Cues on Robot Body and Screen

Robots are increasingly being deployed in a number of domains typically associated with female workers, e.g., caregiving. Although past robot morphology has favored a machine-like appearance that is often perceived as masculine, monitor-based robots provide designers with enhanced opportunities to include interface cues that convey femininity. However, it is unclear whether screen-based interface cues can elicit perceptions of femininity and what effects, if any, they would have on user evaluations of a robot. To address this, we conducted an experiment examining the effect of gender cue (male vs. female) and cue location (robot body vs. robot screen) upon user evaluations. Female interface cues, especially when conveyed via the screen, elicited greater perceptions of robot femininity than male interface cues. Implications for the design of social robotics are discussed.

Is Social Television the “Anti-Laugh Track?” Testing the Effect of Negative Comments and Canned Laughter on Comedy Reception.

Broadcasters often use multiple methods to promote positive responses to TV programing. Some programs feature the sound of audience laughter, whereas others display social media comments that praise programing. What happens, however, when viewers’ comments on social media are negative? Can the presence of laugh tracks buffer hostile comments’ negative effects? An experiment (N = 184) was conducted to answer these questions using a 3 (comment valence: positive vs. negative vs. control) × 2 (laugh track: present vs. absent) between-subjects design. Negative comments decreased program perceptions via the mediating pathway of bandwagon support. The presence of a laugh track did not moderate effects. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings for new media effects are discussed.

Cheery companions or serious assistants? Role and demeanor congruity as predictors of robot attraction and use intentions among senior citizens

Abstract Using a robot designed for senior citizens in a retirement home setting, an experiment (N=51) was conducted to investigate whether variations in the role (companion vs. assistant) and social demeanor (playful vs. serious) of a robot influence senior citizens’ perceptions of the robots social attractiveness, intelligence, anxiety, and eeriness. Results show that assistant robots are perceived as more socially attractive and intelligent when their demeanor is playful rather than serious. In addition, companion robots are evaluated as less anxious and less eerie when their personality is serious rather than playful. Finally, companion robots with a serious demeanor have a positive indirect effect on robot use intentions via heightened perceptions of intelligence and social attractiveness, while assistant robots with a playful demeanor have a positive indirect effect on intentions via lower perceptions of anxiety. The implications of our findings for human-robot interaction and the design of socially assistive robotics are discussed.

This Tweet Brought to You by a Journalist: How Comment Gatekeeping Influences Online News Credibility

It is increasingly common for journalists to use reader comments from social media as a quote or source of evidence for news. Past work on the effects of user-generated content has revealed that comments can have a host of negative effects on readers’ psychological processing of news, particularly when reader comments are hostile or uncivil. What happens, however, when online comments are moderated by a journalist? Does comment gatekeeping influence the effects of comments? Informed by the Modality-Agency-Interactivity-Navigability model and warranting theory, an experiment (N = 365) was conducted to answer these questions using a 2 (comment gatekeeping: low vs. high) × 2 (comment valence: positive vs. negative) × 2 (news involvement: low vs. high) design. Results revealed that journalistic gatekeeping of comments decreases article credibility and increases bias through the indirect pathway of source trustworthiness, regardless of news type or comment valence.

It's Not Easy Trying to be One of the Guys: The Effect of Avatar Attractiveness, Avatar Sex, and User Sex on the Success of Help-Seeking Requests in an Online Game

Interactions in online environments are influenced by many of the same gender and sex-role stereotypes that people use in offline interactions. However, less research has examined systematically how the traits of an avatar and the avatars user interact to influence stereotypical responses in virtual spaces. A field experiment manipulated avatar attractiveness, avatar sex, user sex, and favor difficulty to measure responses to a requested favor across 2,300 interactions in an online game. Attractive avatars received more help than less attractive avatars, but female users received less help than male users when represented by avatars that were less attractive or male.

Psychological and physiological responses to stereoscopic 3d presentation in handheld digital gaming: Comparing the experiences of frequent and infrequent game players

Recent advances in commercial gaming technology include stereoscopic 3D presentation. This experiment employed a mixed factorial design to explore the effects of game display format (2D; 3D), frequency of game play (weekly; non-weekly), and participant gender (male; female) on feelings of presence and arousal among participants playing a handheld racing video game. Responses to display format were moderated by frequency of game play, with stereoscopic 3D presentation eliciting reduced presence and increased arousal among weekly game players, but the reverse pattern among non-weekly game players. Theoretical and practical implications of the moderating role of game play frequency in effects of 3D presentation are discussed.