Vincent Cicchirillo

Empathy and Affective Orientation as Predictors of Identification with Television Characters

This study examined the relationships between television viewers’ empathy and affective orientation and their identification with their favorite television characters. Results showed that viewers’ perspective taking and affective orientation positively predicted cognitive-emotional identification and group identification, and affective orientation positively predicted similarity identification. Similarity in viewer and favorite character sex and the genre in which the favorite character appeared also predicted identification.

Effects of Affective Orientation and Video Game Play on Aggressive Thoughts and Behaviors

This study examined the effects of playing a violent video game on aggressive thoughts and behaviors and the moderating role of affective orientation in the violent video game–aggression relationship. Approximately 2 weeks after having their affective orientation measured, 59 participants (plus 5 additional participants) played a violent or nonviolent video game for 10 minutes. Participants then performed a word completion task and judged the researchers competence, courtesy, and deservedness of financial support. Results show that participants who played the violent video game rated the researcher as less courteous and less deserving of financial support than did participants who played the nonviolent video game, and affective orientation and video game condition interacted to predict evaluations of courtesy and deservedness of financial support.

How could you think that?!?!: Understanding intentions to engage in political flaming

Communication scholars have both lauded and questioned the Internet’s role in facilitating democracy. However, few studies have examined aggressive communication behavior in online political discussion spaces. Two studies were conducted to examine use of aggressive discussion behaviors online, otherwise known as flaming. Study one utilized a survey of 289 undergraduate students at a large public university. Study two utilized a survey of 305 individuals who frequent political blogs. Results from both studies suggest that individuals are more likely to engage in political flaming when their beliefs are directly challenged. In addition, results indicate that whether an individual’s identity is known or unknown did not influence their intention to flame within the student sample. In the blog-user sample, we found that direct challenges when identities were not known increased intention to flame. Finally, we examine the relationship between political flaming and several individual-level variables.

The Impact of Stereoscopic Three-Dimensional (3-D) Advertising

The popularity of stereoscopic 3-D technology is encouraging advertisers to adopt this format as a new advertising tool in diverse contexts. This research investigates the impact of nonglasses and glasses types of stereoscopic 3-D advertising, and proposes a theoretical model examining the role of presence in advertising effectiveness. Due to their power to increase presence, both stereoscopic 3-D advertising formats have a significantly stronger impact on diverse marketing variables than flat 3-D advertising. A structural equation model reveals the process through which presence affects advertising effectiveness by enhancing enjoyment and increasing perceived product knowledge. In addition, the moderating effects of novelty and cybersickness on presence are identified.

Living in an age of online incivility: examining the conditional indirect effects of online discussion on political flaming

Communication scholars have examined the potential pitfalls and rewards associated with the ability to communicate in online spaces. We continue in that line of research by proposing a mediated moderated communication process model focused on what conditions lead people to engage in aggressive online communication behaviors, otherwise known as flaming. Specifically, we argue that online political discussion socializes individuals to see flaming as an acceptable behavior. This increase in perceived acceptability in turn increases intention to flame. Results demonstrate that this increase in intention to flame is greater among those with high levels of verbal aggression. To test our model, we conducted two surveys that asked students and blog users questions about their online media behaviors. Results replicate across both surveys.

Portrayals of Technoscience in Video Games: A Potential Avenue for Informal Science Learning

Given the proliferation of video games and their potential to contribute to informal science learning and perception formation, we provide an assessment of how commercial video games portray technoscience. Our examination was guided by theories commonly applied in studies of entertainment media’s contributions to public understanding of science. Results indicate that technoscience and its practitioners are common fixtures within video games and that their presence is often conspicuous and enthusiastic. Our findings challenge common assumptions about the treatment of science in media and compel research examining the role of informal gaming in cultivating future generations of scientists.

Extending the Digital Divide Conversation: Examining the Knowledge Gap Through Media Expectancies

As long as scholars have studied media, issues of access have been of great concern. Recent advancements in digital technology have framed disparities in access within the digital divide research and knowledge gap frameworks. While early digital divide research looked at access, more recent research has focused on how media are used differently across populations. The current research extends this literature by examining media expectancies across ethnic subgroups for a broad range of media (i.e., local newspapers, national newspapers, network television, cable television, radio, magazines, and Internet). Data indicate expectancies differ among African Americans, Caucasians, and Hispanics.

Competitive Video Game Play An Investigation of Identification and Competition

Sports often go beyond simple games to something that individuals identify and relate to throughout their lives. Furthermore, passive and active sports consumption (i.e., video games) allows individuals to further create a sense of fanship and identification with their favorite teams. The following study manipulates player saliency to team, saliency to opponent, and competitive outcome to examine those impacts on enjoyment and hostility. A 3 (opponent saliency) × 2 (team identification) × 2 (competitive outcome; win vs. loss) experimental design was invoked to study these effects. Results indicate that competitiveness was significantly related to both enjoyment and hostility. Furthermore, data suggest a significant interaction between identification and competitive outcomes on hostility.

The mainstreaming of verbally aggressive online political behaviors

The purpose of this paper was to investigate the relationship between verbal aggression and uncivil media attention on political flaming. More specifically, this paper examines whether the use of uncivil media programming is associated with the perceived acceptability and intention to engage in aggressive online discussions (i.e., online political flaming) and whether this relationship varies by verbal aggression. The results show that individuals less inclined to engage in aggressive communication tactics (i.e., low in verbal aggression) become more accepting of flaming and show greater intention to flame as their attention to uncivil media increases. By contrast, those with comparatively higher levels of verbal aggression show a decrease in acceptance and intention to flame as their attention to these same media increases.

Teasing by the Numbers: How Race and Gender Influence Teasing Behaviors

This study examines the influence of target race and target gender on teasing behaviors. A study was conducted to examine the range of teasing topics elicited by participants based on friends/acquaintances that were or were not of the same race and gender. The results suggest that same-race targets elicit a greater amount of teasing topics than different-race targets. In addition, evidence shows that different-gender targets elicit more teasing topics than same-gender targets. The implications for these results and directions for future research are discussed.