Validating the Hornik & Woolf approach to choosing media campaign themes: Do promising beliefs predict behavior change in a longitudinal study?

Hornik and Woolf (1999) proposed using cross-sectional survey data to prioritize beliefs to address with communication campaign messages. The empirical component of the approach combines evidence of (1) association of beliefs with intentions and (2) current level of beliefs to calculate a “percentage to gain” as the potential promise of a belief. However, the method relies on cross-sectional data; its conclusions are open to challenge. Here, a panel study assesses whether the calculated promise of a belief actually predicts future behavior change. A nationally representative sample of 3,204 U.S. youth and young adults were interviewed twice, six months apart. Sixteen beliefs about the benefits and costs of smoking cigarettes are compared with regard to their percentage to gain (calculated from cross-sectional data) and their ability to account for subsequent cigarette use. A belief’s cross-sectional percentage to gain is substantially associated with its ability to predict subsequent behavior change (r = .53, p < .05).     

News Producers' Pressures on Advertisers: Production of Paid News in Slovenian Television Programs

While media and journalism studies focus on advertising pressures on news producers, media pressures on advertisers are overlooked. The present study is the first to analyze media pressures on advertisers and the ways in which all participants interpret the phenomenon. This study used ethnographic methods to study 10 Slovenian television stations and 10 corporate marketing departments, as well as in-depth interviews with key actors. The research showed that television advertising practitioners and journalists exert pressure on advertisers to pay for news that either promotes products/services or suppresses information that reflects badly on advertisers.     

New scheme of communication: an exploratory study of interactivity and multimedia use in Chinese j-blogs and the implications

Major cultural values in Chinese and Indian TV commercials were identified in this content analysis. Commercials in both countries were found emphasizing modernity over tradition as a dominant value. Chinese commercials used more traditional values while Indian commercials reflected a more Western value orientation. Foreign brands used modernity more frequently than domestic brands. Foreign brands of Eastern origin used modernity even more often than those of Western origin. Product category emerged as the most important variable affecting cultural values in both countries' commercials. While contributing to international advertising research, this study provides implications for international advertising practice.     

Television Viewing,Racial Attitudes,and Policy Preferences: Exploring the Role of Social Identity and Intergroup Emotions in Influencing Support for Affirmative Action

This paper explores how White viewers' perceived portrayals of African-Americans and Latino-Americans on TV influence their real-world feelings and beliefs about these outgroups, which in turn affect their support for race-targeted policies. A computer-based survey (N=323) included measures relating to perceptions about racial/ethnic groups on television, real-world stereotypical beliefs, prejudicial feelings, and support for affirmative action policies. The affective-cognitive model of policy reasoning presented in this paper extends and improves upon prior research in several ways. It considers intergroup emotions as an important mediator by including prejudicial feelings toward racial/ethnic outgroups in the path analyses. Unlike past research that typically grouped all negative stereotypes into one global measure, this study explores how specific types of stereotypes such as criminality and laziness work independently and simultaneously to influence policy preferences. Finally, this integrated cognitive-affective model of policy reasoning is applied to both perceptions of African-Americans and of Latino-Americans, which provides greater confidence in the applicability of the model. Implications of the results and directions for future research are discussed.     

Changing Policy With Words: How Persuasive Words in Election Pledges Influence Voters’ Beliefs About Policies

Parties often frame their election pledges with value-laden words such as freedom and equality, and it is well known that this can influence voters’ support for policies. However, research is not conclusive about why as of yet. This article adds to common explanations of value-framing effects by proposing a linguistic explanation to how citizens are influenced by value words in election pledges. Drawing on what linguistic theory says about persuasive words, this article hypothesizes that value-laden words elicit different beliefs about policy content, beyond what has actually been pledged. To support this assertion, a survey experiment (N = 739) shows that such words do provoke different beliefs about policies and that this, in turn, influences the extent to which individuals support the policies. The findings have implications for representative democracy, as they indicate that voters’ outspoken support for policy pledges do not necessarily reflect their true policy preferences.     

Influence of TV endorser types on advertising attitudes and purchase intention among Indian rural women: an exploratory study

India has a growing rural consumer base that has been largely ignored by advertisers. Today, Indian rural consumers, especially women, are increasingly literate, brand savvy, and possess rising disposable incomes. Considering the nation's love for films and the availability of television broadcasting, celebrity endorsement has become one of the most popular strategies used by advertisers in India. However, its impact on rural consumers has yet to be tested. Using self-categorization as the theoretical framework, the current study examined the influence of endorser types (national celebrity, regional celebrity, and noncelebrity) on advertising attitudes and purchase intention of Indian rural women. In addition, the authors also analyzed the impact of the three dimensions of source credibility. A sample of rural women (N = 167) from the Kudumbashree mission, one of the largest woman empowerment projects in the country, was recruited for the experiment. Findings showed that noncelebrity endorsers were most effective and that trustworthiness was valued more than expertise and attractiveness. Implications for advertisers are discussed.     

Prosocial effects of entertainment television in India

The study examines the prosocial effects of Hum Log (We People), India's first long‐running television soap opera. Hum Log was a prosocial television programme that was designed to promote women's status in Indian society. Regression analysis was used to measure the degree to which exposure to Hum Log affected viewers' (1) awareness of certain prosocial beliefs promoted by the series, (2) level of television dependency, (3) involvement with the characters of Hum Log, and (4) adherence to three prosocial beliefs promoted by Hum Log. Exposure to Hum Log was positively associated with viewers' awareness of the programme's prosocial messages, television dependency, and involvement with television characters in the series. Viewers who were more exposed to Hum Log were also more likely to believe in women's equality and women's freedom of choice, but not in family planning. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of present and future research on the use of prosocial television programmes for development in Asia.     

Is Mojo (En)De-Skilling?

Drawing on Bourdieu’s field theory, this paper examines how the Hindustan Times, one of the leading English dailies in India, integrates mojo (contraction of mobile journalism) into its journalistic practices. Further, this paper explores how journalists respond to the concomitant changes brought about by the adoption of technologised practices in the newsroom. The analysis of qualitative data obtained from participant-observation and in-depth interview reveals that the practice of mojo, which is about learning new apps and tools, producing short videos by and for mobile devices, and disseminating news to digital readers through multiple platforms, emerges as a new rule in the field of journalism. Instead of depending solely on a team of mobile journalists, the newspaper aims to develop capabilities and impart training to journalists across the board in the newsroom. This study also reveals that journalists at the Hindustan Times experienced the practice of mojo as both en-skilling and de-skilling.     

Advertising and Consumer Culture

A content analysis examined how well alcohol ads from televised sporting events adhered to self-regulatory advertising guidelines. Although nearly every ad followed the guidelines literally, there were numerous instances of strategically ambiguous content that could be interpreted as violating the guidelines' spirit. For example, a joke about designated drivers hinted at drunkenness without explicitly showing it, and many ads showed drinking as well as risky activities like driving or swimming, although not necessarily occurring simultaneously. The study also confirmed that alcohol ads are common in televised sporting events, and that the most frequent themes are humor, friendship, sex, and romance, a potentially troubling finding given that beliefs about the social benefits of alcohol predict drinking in young people. These findings suggest that alcohol advertising might contribute to the formation of expectancies in young people, and that current self-regulation may not be an effective way to prevent alcohol advertising from appealing to people under the age of 21.     

Sacrifice,Consumption, and the American Way of Life: Advertising and Domestic Propaganda during World War II

This paper explores the themes of sacrifice and consumption in World War II advertising, including content analyses of advertisements and editorials in the Saturday Evening Post as well as a textual analysis of articles in the advertising trade publications Printer’s Ink and Industrial Marketing in 1942 and 1943. Results are discussed in terms of Cohen’s (2003) concepts of “citizen consumer,” “purchaser consumer,” and the ultimate American postwar dual-identity: “purchaser as citizen.”     

Playing for Love in a Romantic Video Game: Avatar Identification,Parasocial Relationships,and Chinese Women's Romantic Beliefs

Previous studies have identified relationships between romantic media consumption and users’ romantic beliefs, but romantic video games (RVGs; i.e., games in which players attempt to foster a romantic relationship with a chosen game character, also called dating games or dating simulators) remain understudied. Using a cultivation framework, we conducted an online survey of female Chinese players to determine their consumption of the RVG genre, identification with their avatars, and parasocial relationships with the romantic targets they pursue in the game, as well as their beliefs about romantic relationships. Although the amount of time spent playing RVGs did not directly predict idealized beliefs about romantic relationships, the hypothesized mediation model revealed that it indirectly predicted romantic beliefs through identification with avatars and parasocial relationships with video game characters. We discuss the implications for studying romantic media, dating simulations, interactive narratives, and other video game genres.     

Visual Assertions: Effects of Photo Manipulation and Dual Processing for Food Advertisements

In our media landscape, consumers view a plethora of messages with visual assertions, created through postproduction photo manipulation, which communicate meaning at-a-glance. These visual assertions are processed initially and directly and greatly influence how consumers think, feel, and behave. Yet the impact of visuals, which likely color all processing, is not incorporated in persuasive message processing models. Using dual processing models from multiple disciplines as a theoretical foundation, this study demonstrates through two experiments that the effects of photo manipulation, as visual assertions, in food advertising increased consumers' perceptions of healthfulness, positive attitudes, and purchase intentions. Dual processing models for persuasive messages should be extended to account for the initial, influential visual processing of implied assertions, often manipulated during postproduction.     

A critical examination of sex differences in marital communication

Despite the persistence of sex‐typed images of the expressivity of wife and husband, past observational studies have given little indication of sex‐linked differences in marital communication. Thus, we proposed that inter personally negotiated role expectations would be a better predictor of communication about marital conflict than sex. However, we also proposed that there might be sex differences within particular clusters of couples who endorse sex‐differentiated role expectations. Couples were classified into groups using Fitzpatrick's (1983) typology. The results of two studies indicated that couple type was significantly related to communication about marital conflict; however, there were neither any clear overall sex differences in communication nor sex differences within couple types. Rather, the results indicated that conflict styles are so strongly reciprocal that mutual influence within conversations tends to remove individual speaker differences. The research suggests that mutual influence processes and mutually established beliefs and expectations account for conflict styles more adequately than biological sex.     

A test of a cultural model of patients' motivation for verbal communication in patient‐doctor interactions

In theory, two‐way communication between patient and physician is desirable. However, there is a dearth of research that has explored the effects of patients’ culture and cultural orientations on patients’ ability to actively participate in the medical encounter. The purpose of this paper was to test the effects of patients’ culture and cultural orientations on assertiveness and communication apprehension during medical interviews. According to the proposed model, culture and self‐construals are causal antecedents to patients’ beliefs about verbal communicativeness. Our model suggests that cultural values (self‐construals) are determined in part by culture. In regards to the mediation process, the model proposes that the greater the patient's construal‐of‐self as independent, the more positive her/his beliefs regarding patient participation, which, in turn, leads to a higher degree of motivations to communicate verbally with a physician. Our model also suggests that the greater the patient's construal‐of‐self as interdependent, the more negative her/his beliefs regarding patient participation, which, in turn, leads to a higher degree of communication avoidance and apprehension during medical interview. The data were partially consistent with the theoretical predictions made. The implications of the model for theory and practice are discussed.     

Introduction: Traditional Media and the Internet: The Search for Viable Business Models

This research critically examines the debate and issues surrounding theory and practice concerning regulation and advertising self-regulation with the aim of understanding more fully the implications for the future of coregulation, as well as for coregulating broadcast advertising. Regulatory reform in the United Kingdom, including the creation of the Office of Communications (Ofcom) as a unified regulator for the communications industry, has led to contracting out the regulation of broadcast advertising to an industry coregulator. As a result of a critical examination of theory and practice, important theoretical and managerial implications are made regarding effective interfacing with public and consumer bodies as well as approaches to issues of media convergence. Such analyses and implications are important for understanding better the potential for effectiveness and viability of coregulation as well as for evaluating the likelihood of returning to statutory regulation.     

Vocational Anticipatory Socialization of Adolescents: Messages,Sources, and Frameworks That Influence Interest in STEM Careers

By high school, many students have dropped out of the pipeline that will lead to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) occupations. We examine the role of vocational anticipatory socialization (VAS)—the types of messages adolescents receive, message sources, and adolescents' frameworks—on youth's educational and vocational interests. Adolescents (37 focus groups, N = 229) reported that they received two types of VAS messages: personal fulfillment (advising students to prioritize their well-being) and career detail (advising students about specific aspects of an occupation). Adolescents used three career frameworks (enjoyment, ability, and goal) that filtered and often magnified VAS messages and experiences. We extend VAS research by identifying two primary purposes of the career advice embedded in VAS messages and three career frameworks. Practical implication are that parents can affect adolescents' beliefs about their abilities and potential enjoyment of STEM careers by supplementing personal fulfillment messages with career detail messages. Individuals in STEM occupations are in the best position to encourage adolescents by offering career detail, discussing how their career can be rewarding and how math and science classes can influence their career attainment.     

Reducing Native Advertising Deception: Revisiting the Antecedents and Consequences of Persuasion Knowledge in Digital News Contexts

Building on the persuasion knowledge model, this study examines how audience characteristics and native advertising recognition influence the covert persuasion process. Among a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults (N = 738), we examined digital news readers’ recognition of a sponsored news article as advertising. Although fewer than 1 in 10 readers recognized the article as advertising, recognition was most likely among younger, more educated consumers who engaged with news media for informational purposes. Recognition led to greater counterarguing, and higher levels of informational motivation also led to less favorable evaluations of the content among recognizers. News consumers were most receptive to native advertising in a digital news context when publishers were more transparent about its commercial nature. Beyond theoretical insights into the covert persuasion process, this study offers practical utility to the advertisers, publishers, and policymakers who wish to better understand who is more likely to be confused by this type of advertising so that they can take steps to minimize deception.     

How Custom Agents Really Detect Lies

Research has found discrepancies among folk beliefs about lie detection, deception cue utility, and retrospective accounts of detected lies. Elite customs agents (N = 37) were surveyed regarding their overall beliefs about how to detect lies (general strategy), their opinions about best practices (best strategy), and about a successfully detected lie (actual strategy). Responses were coded in three nonexclusive broad categories: (a) behavioral cues, (b) communication content and evidence, and (c) interactive-questioning approaches. Behavioral cues, especially nonverbal cues, were listed most frequently as general beliefs. Opinions about the best approach were evenly split across the three categories. Communication content and evidence was the most frequently reported actual detection method and was mentioned in 97% of the responses. The results are discussed in relation to Truth-Default Theory and their implications for lie detection practice.