Quiz Show Radio News Formats: A Test of Retention,Involvement, Attention,and Perception of Credibility

Entertainment news formats, such as radio talk shows and late-night comedy shows, continue to gain audience interest, while traditional news formats are slowly losing audience members. This study examines audience effects from entertainment news formats by comparing retention, involvement, attention and perceived credibility of information presented in a traditional radio broadcast news format and a nontraditional news quiz show format. Findings showed audiences recalled information from quiz questions significantly better than from the traditional news form. Levels of attention and involvement did not differ, and there were no differences for perceived credibility, suggesting audiences may be increasingly accepting of new formats.     

Culturally tailored narrative evidence about family health history: a moderated mediation analysis

This study tests a theoretical model named the Extended Elaboration Likelihood Model for Narrative Evidence Processing (EELM-NEP) to investigate associations between message processing, message outcomes, and behavioral intentions (BI) in the context of family health history communication. Furthermore, to investigate the role of cultural tailoring within these associations, this study explores how the type of culturally tailored narrative evidence and participants’ cultural identity moderate the relationships between message processing, message outcomes, and BI. A percentile bootstrap method and pairwise comparison tests in structural equation modeling (SEM) were employed. According to the results, identification significantly predicted engagement, and engagement had significant and positive effects on perceived message quality (PMQ), comprehension, perceived message effectiveness (PME), and BI. PME and resistance to counter-arguing significantly and positively affected BI. Importantly, the EELM-ENP model as well as pairwise comparison tests revealed that the messages were more effective when the participants read culturally distant messages. Findings suggest that cultural novelty might be more effective than cultural closeness in narrative persuasion.     

Examining the persuasive effect of statistical messages: A test of mediating relationships

The current study tested the degree to which the sample size heuristic (Baesler & Bur goon, 1994), perceived verifiability of evidence (Ah Yun & Massi, 2000), and perceived message credibility (Kopfman, Smith, Ah Yun, & Hodges, 1998) mediate the relationship between the use of statistical evidence in a persuasive appeal and a person's attitude toward a given topic. Four hundred eighty‐six participants were exposed to one of three messages (statistical, narrative, or no‐evidence control) or a no‐message control condition and completed either a 12‐ (control) or 33‐item (experimental) survey that was designed to measure respondents’ perceptions of the sample size heuristic, verifiability of evidence, message credibility, and attitude toward a year‐round academic schedule. Path analysis and hierarchical regression modeling were employed to test the proposed model. Results revealed that the perceived sample size heuristic, verifiability of evidence, and message credibility mediate the relationship between statistical evidence and individuals’ attitudes. Additionally, the perceived sample size heuristic was found to be the strongest unique predictor of attitudes and confirmatory factory analysis results indicated that perceived verifiability and message credibility may be two indicators of a higher‐order factor. These findings and their implications for future research are discussed.     

The relative effects of timing of suspicion and outcome involvement on biased message processing

The propensity to believe information to be predominately truthful has been called the truth-bias (e.g., McCornack & Levine, 1990), although the lie-bias is the tendency to believe that information is mostly false. The purpose of the current study is to investigate the effect that timing of suspicion and outcome involvement has on biased message processing. A two-way interaction between timing of suspicion and outcome involvement is hypothesized. Specifically, suspicion induced prior to communication will make receivers more suspicious of the communicator and therefore encode more of their nonverbal cues as “suspicious” or “fishy.” This effect is predicted to be magnified in conditions of high outcome involvement. If receivers are already suspicious, and carefully scrutinizing the message, it will be likely that they will note more “fishy behaviors” and demonstrate a heightened lie-bias. In two studies, Participants (Ps) were asked to view videotaped segments of a confederate making true or false statements. The Ps were induced to feel suspicious before or after viewing the videotaped interview. They were also induced to perceive high or low levels of outcome involvement. Results of Study 1 indicated that timing of suspicion has little effect on biased processing, but perceived suspicion did influence biased processing. Results of Study 2 indicated that the timing of suspicion did influence the strength of the truth-bias but did not create a lie-bias. Both studies demonstrated the strong effect of perceived outcome involvement on honesty perceptions.     

Hostile Media Perceptions in the Age of Social Media: Following Politicians,Emotions, and Perceptions of Media Bias

This study explores sadness-based message choices among comedy, game show, and sad drama that correspond to the three perceived goals of sadness regulation—optimization, distraction, and embracement, respectively. Results from an experiment showed that some sad participants selected sad drama with the expectation of realizing that their situations were not the worst possible, of creating new meanings and values, and finally of regaining a sense of control over the event and life in general. Findings are discussed in terms of the importance of these cognitive gains and growth distinct from pleasurable experience from the use of entertainment messages.     

Meta-Analysis of the Persuasive Effects of Metaphorical vs. Literal Messages

This study uses meta-analysis to compare the persuasive effects of metaphorical and literal messages and assess various theoretical explanations for the relatively greater persuasiveness of metaphor. The meta-analysis includes studies from 2001 to 2015 that use various message formats and topics. Results indicate an overall effect size of r = 0.09, p < .001, 95% CI [0.06, 0.12], which supports the conclusion that metaphorical messages are more persuasive than literal messages. Moderator analyses indicate differences in effect sizes based on metaphor target familiarity, message topic, and message format. A meta-regression using the theoretical moderators indicates that message format was the strongest predictor of variation in effect size. This study provides implications related to the theoretical mechanism behind the greater persuasive effects of metaphor.     

Does Synergy Work? An Examination of Cross-Promotion Effects

This experimental study was designed to examine the effectiveness of cross-media program promotion. The results showed that the employment of coordinated television and print program promotions led to higher attention from audiences, improved message recall, higher perceived message credibility, more positive attitudes toward the promotion, more positive attitudes toward the program, and greater viewing intent compared to using repetitive single-source promotions. By incorporating cognitive variables such as attention, memory, and attitudes, this study bridges a gap in the existing literature on broadcast promotion and has the potential to aid networks, media practitioners, and academic researchers to a better understanding of cross-media promotion effects.     

Perceived Message Effectiveness Measures in Tobacco Education Campaigns: A Systematic Review

ABSTRACT

Target audience ratings of the likely impact of persuasive messages, known as perceived message effectiveness (PME), are commonly used during message development and selection. PME is also used to examine receptivity of messages after they are fully developed or deployed. Despite this, we know little about the conceptual and methodological characteristics of extant PME measures used in the literature. We conducted a systematic review of tobacco education video, print, and audio campaign studies to examine conceptual and methodological characteristics of PME measures. One hundred twenty-six PME measures from 75 studies conducted in 21 countries with more than 61,000 participants were reviewed. Results indicated considerable variability in measures’ focus on general perceptions of a message (i.e., message perceptions) vs. perceptions of expected message effects (i.e., effects perceptions). Considerable variability was also found on underlying persuasive constructs, use of referents, and referencing of behavior in PME items and measures. We conclude with several recommendations for future research on PME measurement and validation.     

Communicating to young Chinese about human papillomavirus vaccination: examining the impact of message framing and temporal distance

This research investigated the influence of message framing (gain or loss) and temporal distance (present or future) on the intention of Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination. A total of 156 Chinese undergraduates participated in a controlled experiment in Macau, a Special Administrative Region of China. Results showed that message framing and temporal distance interacted to impact the intention of HPV vaccination. Particularly, among participants who had no prior knowledge of HPV vaccine, the gain-present and loss-future framed messages resulted in more positive attitudes toward the message, higher degree of perceived severity of HPV infection, and more likelihood to get HPV vaccination than the gain-future and loss-present framed messages. Implications of the findings were discussed.     

中文图书MARC字段的选择与数据转换

对中文回溯建库使用 MARC数据中出现的问题进行了阐述,对 MARC字段的选择说明了理由,在实际数据转换中使用C, C+ +语言对数据由 FoxPro MEMO 格式转成普通文本格式,再转成 FoxPro数据库格式,顺利完成了整个转换工作。     

利用图结构进行半监督学习的短文本分类研究

为了解决基于向量空间模型构建短文本分类器时造成的文本结构信息的缺失以及大量样本存在的标注瓶颈问题,提出一种基于图结构的半监督学习分类方法,这种方法既能保留短文本的结构语义关系,又能实现未标注样本的充分利用,提高分类器的性能。通过引入半监督学习的思想,将数量规模较大的未标注样本与少量已标注样本相结合进行基于图结构的自训练学习,不断迭代实现训练样本集的扩充,从而构建最终短文本分类器。经对比实验证明,这种方法能够获得较好的分类效果。     

Social norms and expectancy violation theories: assessing the effectiveness of health communication campaigns

College students' processing of alcohol, smoking, and exercise social norms messages, and related effects on judgments, attitudes toward one's own behaviors, and attitudes toward undergraduates' behaviors were examined using social norms marketing and Expectancy Violation Theory (EVT) (N=393). Receiving statistical social norms messages led to an expectancy violation of the perceived social norm (i.e., a discrepancy between the expected and actual statistic conveyed with a message). Consistent with Boster et al. (), the effect of the message discrepancy on attitudes was mediated by judgments. In accordance with social norms, when participants were provided with a statistic, the majority moved their judgments (but not their attitudes) toward the provided statistic, a result only consistent with EVT in the case of positive violations. The results have multiple implications: (1) social norms messages may work to change judgments, but do not result in consistent attitude change; (2) the process of judgment change functions similarly across message topics, as well as message types (i.e., attitudinal versus behavioral); (3) judgment change does not appear to be the main cause for attitude change upon receipt of a social norms message; and (4) a message‐based expectancy violation does not function in the same way as a violated behavioral expectation.     

Related Multiscreening as a Strategy to Retain Audiences and Increase Persuasion During a Commercial Break

The aim of the study was to deepen our understanding of how related multiscreening affects audience memory and persuasion. A survey was administered after a live television show. The results showed that the higher the perceived relatedness of the multi-screen activity, the more persuasive the message. This effect was mediated by subsequent attention to television content, program involvement, and attention to the commercial break. The model was replicated for three different multiscreen activities: social media use, chatting, and information search. Furthermore, it was found that related multiscreening increased the likelihood of respondents staying tuned to the television after the show.     

An Exploration of Transportation and Psychological Reactance in Organ Donation PSAs

The present study expands on prior work on the use of narratives in persuasive communication by examining students’ (N = 201) reactions to six organ donation public service announcements (PSAs). Reactions to the type of appeal, donor-focused or recipient-focused, were also explored. Results indicated that being immersed in the PSA was positively associated with message reactions and negatively associated with threats to overall freedom of choice when deciding whether or not to become an organ donor. Those perceived threats partially mediated the relationship between immersion into the story of the PSA and message reactions, such that increased threats were associated with reduced message reactions. Individuals exposed to the recipient-focused appeals were more interested in the narrative of the PSAs than those exposed to donor-focused appeals. Results are discussed in the context of future message and campaign development.     

The Influence of E-book Format and Reading Device on Users’ Reading Experience: A Case Study of Graduate Students

To explore the influence of e-book format and reading device on users’ reading experience, this paper studied a group of graduate students’ reading speed and comprehension. The participants were asked to read same length content from the same monograph chapter in both fixed layout format file (PDF) and fluid format file (EPUB) on four different reading devices: laptop, tablet, dedicated e-reader and smart phone. Their reading process, speed and comprehension were recorded and compared. Through the experiment and depth interviews, this study found that e-book format and reading devices have influence on reading speed and reading comprehension level. Generally speaking, people read EPUB files faster than PDF files. For smart phone, dedicated e-reader and tablet, participants’ average reading comprehension is higher when reading EPUB file, while most participants read PDF file faster when they use laptops.     

The Effects of Metaphor Use and Message Format on Cognitive Processing and Persuasive Outcomes of Condom Promotion Messages

The potential of pictorial and verbal metaphors to gain attention and enhance persuasion is considerable. Few scholars, however, have investigated the persuasive effects of metaphor in health messages. We applied a 2 × 2 factorial experiment to examine the effects of metaphor use (metaphor/literal) and message format (verbal/pictorial) on cognitive processing and persuasive outcomes of condom promotion messages. Results showed no significant differences in cognitive processing according to metaphor or format, but there were differences in attitudes and behavioral intentions according to metaphor and format, with literal and verbal messages performing best. Potential explanations for findings and implications for future research and health message design are discussed.     

Evaluating Participation in Small Groups: Stimulated Recall,Self-Ratings,and Their Effects on Task-Relevant Judgments

This article examines if different conditions of stimulated recall influence perceptions of task-related competence in small discussion groups. Although the validity of simulated recall has been assessed in educational and interpersonal contexts, it is not clear how features of the method influence the measurement of perceptions at different levels of analysis. Participants worked on a task in groups and then viewed a videotape of the interaction. The video was paused for participants to rate each other on several influence measures. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four viewing conditions based on whether participants could see themselves in the video and whether they made self-ratings regarding their participation. Findings revealed that self's visual presence in the video and providing self-ratings had only a minor impact on the distribution of influence ratings.     

How liberals and conservatives respond to feasibility and desirability appeals in anti-tobacco campaigns

Using two experiments, this study aims to investigate how politically liberal or conservative message recipients respond to anti-tobacco appeals. The results show that in Study 1, respondents were exposed to a message about price policy. In Study 2, they were exposed to a message about a warning policy. In both studies, liberal participants more favorably evaluated anti-tobacco messages emphasizing feasibility rather than desirability, whereas conservative participants more positively evaluated messages emphasizing desirability rather than feasibility. Implications for policymakers and marketers are discussed.     

Does Background Music Really Help Radio Commercials? The Effect of Involvement on Ad Recall

This study tested the effects of background music on the recall of radio commercials. Free and aided recall were significantly higher for subjects who heard the commercials containing no background music in the talk program compared to that of subjects hearing the commercials containing no background music in the music program. Furthermore, involvement level appears to be a factor in influencing recall. The involvement level with the music program was low compared to the involvement level with the talk program and this seems to have a mitigating effect on the recall of the commercials.