The Effects of Exemplification on Perceptions of News Credibility

Exemplification (the use of examples) in news stories is a common method of providing information about social phenomena to make stories more interesting to audience members. However, previous research has consistently linked exemplification to highly inaccurate perceptions about the prevalence or severity of a given phenomena. The current study further explored outcomes of exemplification by examining the extent to which the practice influenced perceptions of news credibility. Exemplification of public opinion via layperson quotes was found to differentially affect perceptions of news story credibility. Anecdotal exemplification, however, did not predict credibility ratings. Implications for journalism and democratic participation as well as partisans' preference for congenial coverage in news stories are discussed.     

Beyond Vox Pop: The Role of News Sourcing and Political Beliefs in Exemplification Effects

The people we see in news media can affect our perceptions of public opinion through exemplification. Although research shows that individuals interviewed in a news story can influence perceptions of public opinion, little attention has been paid to the role that source type and audience attitudes play in the exemplification process. This study tests how the exemplification process is influenced by different types of news sources featured in an article (e.g., vox pop, protester, and interest group interviews) and the audience's own political ideology. The study finds that the perceived typicality of sources is affected by both source type and how much an audience member agrees with the source. Source type is also found to directly affect perceptions of public opinion.     

Reducing the Bias: How Perspective Taking Affects First- and Third-Person Perceptions of Media Influence

Third- and first-person perceptions (TPPs/FPPs) are considered to be biased judgments of media influence on self and others. Research suggests that perspective taking, i.e., thinking from another person’s position, decreases perceptual gaps between self and others via assimilation. In a two-factorial experiment (n = 431), we test whether this effect of perspective taking (Factor 1) holds true for the presumed influence of desirable and undesirable messages (Factor 2). Results indicate that perspective taking significantly reduces TPPs in the case of an undesirable message but not FPPs that are provoked by the desirable message. The observable effect traces back to a change in presumed message influence on the self. Presumed influence on others was independent of both factors, desirability of message influence and perspective taking. These findings are discussed in the light of cognitive and motivational explanations for FPPs/TPPs.     

Perceptions of Support Systems for Tenure-Track Librarians

Hiring and retaining talent in academic libraries marks a significant investment of time and capital for colleges and universities. This is particularly true for tenure-track academic librarians. Successful attainment of tenure is in the interests of both librarians and administrators, and many institutions offer tenure support systems to assist librarians in this regard. A forty-four question survey assessed tenure-track librarians' perceptions and satisfaction of whether tenure requirements are adequately supported in their critical partnership with library administrators. While most respondents expressed somewhat moderate satisfaction with provided support measures, support type and quantity varied significantly. A recommendation for creating a comprehensive program of support is discussed.     

The Role of Civility and Anonymity on Perceptions of Online Comments

An experiment was conducted (N = 170) to determine the role of civility and anonymity in online comments received for a news story. Dependent variables were (a) interest in the discussion, (b) favorability toward the comments, (c) favorability toward the commenter, and (d) trust in the information. Participants exposed to uncivil comments viewed the commenter less favorably and reported less trust in the information in the comment. Anonymity had no effect on the dependent variables, in contrast to expectations derived from social presence theory. Findings revealed that politeness of comments affected participants’ overall perceptions of the content of the online discussion.     

Models for Aggressive Behavior: The Attributes of Violent Characters in Popular Video Games

Americans are increasingly concerned about video games, presumably due to the amount and graphicness of violence they contain. Social Cognitive Theory suggests that people are more likely to imitate characters they see as attractive or similar to self. To date, however, little research has examined attributes of violent characters in video games related to this issue. This content analysis examined 10 minutes of play from 60 of the most popular video games. Adapting the coding scheme from the National Television Violence Study (Smith et al., 1998 Smith, S. L., Wilson, B. J., Kunkel, D., Linz, D., Potter, W. J., Colvin, C. M. and Donnerstein, E. 1998. National Television Violence Study: Vol. 3. Violence in television programming overall: University of California, Santa Barbara study, 5–220. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.  [Google Scholar]; Wilson et al., 1997 Wilson, B. J., Kunkel, D., Linz, D., Potter, W. J., Donnerstein, E.Smith, S. L. 1997. National Television Violence Study: Vol. 1. Violence in television programming overall: University of California, Santa Barbara study, 3–268. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.  [Google Scholar], 1998 Wilson, B. J., Kunkel, D., Linz, D., Potter, W. J., Donnerstein, E.Smith, S. L. 1998. National Television Violence Study: Vol. 2. Violence in television programming overall: University of California, Santa Barbara, 3–204. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.  [Google Scholar]), various demographic and contextual features of violent characters and violent interactions were assessed. The results show that violent game characters have attributes that are likely to increase the extent to which some players perceive them as attractive and similar. Moreover, these violent characters engage in aggression that is presented as justified or graphic.     

Shirts vs. Skins: Clothing as an Indicator of Gender Role Stereotyping in Video Games

This research uses content analysis to examine the portrayal of women in 47 randomly selected games from the Nintendo 64 and Sony PlayStation console gaming systems. We suggest that video games, similar to other media forms, are sources of information that children and young adults may use to determine what behaviors and attitudes are considered appropriately masculine and feminine. This analysis revealed a significant sex bias in the number of male versus female characters found in the games and among the way in which the male and female characters were dressed. Of the 597 characters coded, only 82 (13.74%) were women. The Nintendo 64 games had the fewest number of female characters, and the majority of the female characters wore clothing that exposed more skin than the male characters.     

Parody Humor's Process of Influence: The Roles of Sympathy and Enjoyment in Shaping Political Perceptions

This exploratory research examines processes pertaining to how parody humor can influence perceptions of political figures in terms of credibility and, more broadly, general political trust. An online experiment was conducted in which select participants were exposed to a parody of former New York governor David Paterson. The results demonstrate that, in tandem with parody-induced sympathy, humor enjoyment can influence perceptions of a parody target's credibility and general political trust. In addition, a sympathetic predisposition is shown to positively predict responses of sympathy to a parody message. Furthermore, serial mediation analyses highlight how a sympathetic predisposition can indirectly influence various perceptions of a parody target, as sequentially mediated by responses of sympathy and enjoyment. In sum, this research is valuable for illuminating how individual differences and affective responses to political parody representations can affect various political perceptions.     

论图书馆从业人员社会角色的塑造和完善

着眼信息时代图书馆的社会地位，论述图书馆从业人员社会角色实现的必备条件、社会角色塑造中的存在问题以及完善社会角色的基本途径等。     

Perception and Emotion: The Indirect Effect of Reported Election Poll Results on Political Participation Intention and Support for Restrictions

This study explores how the perceived effect and bias of reported election poll results are associated with voters' attitudes toward restrictions on polling reports and their political participation intention through emotions. A telephone survey using a representative sample of South Korean voters (N = 597) was conducted prior to the 2012 South Korean presidential election. Results indicate that the third-person perception of reported election poll results was indirectly linked to support for restrictions on polling reports through anxiety. For supporters of Mr. Jae In Moon, the nominee of the liberal Democratic United Party, who was reported to be behind in the polls, the hostile media perception was indirectly associated with support for restrictions through anxiety and directly associated with political participation intention. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

青少年对广告负面影响的第三人效果研究

第三人效果是一种受众认为媒体对其他人的影响大于对他们自己影响的现象。本研究旨在探索不同年龄阶段的受访者对广告负面影响是否存在第三人效果认知,并探索年龄和社会距离与第三人效果认知之间的关系。对447名学生调查发现:初中、高中和大学各年龄阶段的受访者都存在显著的第三人效果认知;受访者认为小生学最容易受到广告的影响,其次为同龄其他人,最小为中老年人;第三人效果认知并没有随着受访者的年龄增大而增强。本研究结果意味着年龄可能并非是受访者判断自己与他人差距的标准,而可能是专业知识或社会经验。     

The Quality of Video Games: Subjective Quality Assessments as Predictors of Self-Reported Presence in First-Person Shooter and Role-Playing Games

Based on the Theory of Subjective Quality Assessments, the present study examined players’ assessments of video game design features (qualities) as related to self-reported feelings of presence in role-playing games (RPG) and first-person shooters (FPS). An initial qualitative study with 8 focus groups (Study 1) was conducted to explore important game quality dimensions. Afterwards an online survey was designed to explore the association of those discrete dimensions with recollections of presence (Study 2). Using a quota sample of RPG and FPS gamers in Germany (N = 5,180), survey results show that recollections of presence were associated with positive quality assessments regarding a game’s environment, the player’s interaction with non-playable characters in that environment, and the environment’s.     

Graduate Students' Perceptions of Library Support Services for Distance Learners

Abstract

A survey was conducted in Spring 1999 to assess the library support services for distance learning within the Texas A&M University System. Graduate students actively enrolled at remote sites in one or more courses taught on the system's interactive video network were surveyed. Results of this survey provide insight for improving library services.

“People want what they want when they want it. They don't want something else, they don't want less than they want, and they certainly don't want it at some other time” (Forsha, 1992).     

Exploring Perceptions and Usage Patterns of Digital Video Recorder Owners

The present research combines in-depth interviews and in-home observations to explore usage patterns and perceptions of television viewers in digital video recorder (DVR) households. Innovativeness, Use Diffusion, and Continuity-Discontinuity are employed to characterize DVR use and conceptualize DVR viewing in the home. Findings indicate that the DVR is an important, interactive technology that can help transform the way television is used by some consumers in their movement to proactive media decision makers.     

The Role of Perceptions of Media Bias in General and Issue-Specific Political Participation

Despite a large body of literature documenting factors influencing general political participation, research has lagged in understanding what motivates participation regarding specific issues. Our research fills this gap by examining the interplay of perceptions of media bias, trust in government, and political efficacy on individuals' levels of general and issue-specific political participation. Using survey data with indicators related to general political participation, our results demonstrate that perceptions of media bias overall are negatively related to general political participation. Moreover, this relationship is an indirect one, mediated by trust in government and political efficacy. Using survey data with indicators of issue-specific political participation in the context of stem cell research, our results show that—contrary to the relationship found for general political participation—perceptions of media bias are directly and positively associated with issue-specific participation. Implications for political participation and media bias theories are discussed.     

Content Analysis of Video Games: Challenges and Potential Solutions

A handful of recent content analyses have explored video games to date, focusing primarily on violence and gender issues. Further work in this area is needed, but several methodological challenges must be addressed. In particular, scholars need to consider the problems of effectively unitizing and sampling interactive content, accounting for nonindependence. In addition, they need to improve coder training and take steps to mitigate potential bias in favor of hypothesized patterns. Existing work in the field is used to illustrate both problems and potential solutions involving these issues.     

Investigating Suspense as a Predictor of Enjoyment in Sports Video Games

This study investigated suspense as a predictor of sports video game enjoyment by including the variable as a key part of a working model that also included presence, fanship, disposition, skill, and outcome. Results of a path analysis indicate a complex network of relationships impacting enjoyment. Suspense strongly impacted presence, which was an important determinant of enjoyment, while skill and outcome also explained a large portion of variance in enjoyment. The study highlights the complexity of the enjoyment experience as it relates to video games, and provides direction for future work on a theoretical model of video game enjoyment.