Colloquy on Generalization Meta-Analytic Techniques When Generalizing to Message Populations Is Not Possible

Jackson and Jacobs (1983) have argued that many of the findings in communication research could be specific to the particular messages used in a given study. As a solution, Jackson and Jacobs propose generalizing to message populations by treating messages as a random variable. This article argues that the Jackson and Jacobs solution is inappropriate for complex messages and that meta-analytic techniques represent an alternative that permits the detection of results that are specific to particular messages, researchers, or paradigms.     

Changing Conceptions of “Message Effects” A 24-Year Overview

Jackson and Jacobs (1983) argued for three changes in the conduct of message effects research: inclusion of multiple message replications as instances of a treatment, recognition of message replications as a source of random variation in the estimation of treatment effects, and attention to issues of message sampling. This review updates their argument and examines 24 years of research published in Human Communication Research for evidence of attention to these recommendations. The review shows the following: the prevalence of studies failing to replicate has declined, replications are still rarely recognized as random factors, and researchers who use replications appear to do so for purposes of generalizability and control over confounding but without carefully analyzing the burden of proof associated with those purposes. An explicit framework for discussion of treatment effects in communication is proposed as an advance over the original reasoning of Jackson and Jacobs.     

Message Design Logic and Message Goal Structure Effects on Perceptions of Message Quality in Regulative Communication Situations

O'Keefe has suggested that variations in the goal sets individuals choose to pursue and the form of reasoning they employ are sources of variation in message designs. She offered an analysis of the specific consequences of differences in goals (“message goal structure”) and in forms of reasoning (“message design logics”), and shouted how this analysis could be used to describe systematically functional variations in regulative messages. The study reported in this article explored the consequences of differences in message design logic and goal structures for success in regulative communication situations; Messages that differed in these properties were presented to subjects for evaluation on a number of functionally significant dimensions. Level of message design logic was straightforwardly associated with every type of effectiveness that was assessed. Differences in message goal structures had more selective effects on message evaluations, often involving interactions with the level of construct differentiation of the message evaluator.     

ANALYSIS OF RELATIONAL COMMUNICATION IN DYADS: NEW MEASUREMENT PROCEDURES

Relational communication refers to the control or dominance aspects of message exchange in dyads, as distinct from an emphasis on the report or referential aspects of communication. In relational communication analysis, the focus is on messages as transactions, and the major theoretic concepts which emerge in this analysis are symmetry, transitory, and complementarity of control. This paper contains a brief review and critique of existing interaction analysis techniques, followed by a detailed discussion of new measurement procedures that capture both the control and processual (time-varying) nature of dyadic interaction. The first step in these procedures yields a code (by speaker) based on the grammatical format of each sequential utterance. The second step yields a translation of each message format and response made into a control code, based on the relationship between the message and its immediate predecessor. These codes are next translated into transactional codes, which can then be analyzed in terms of the three major theoretic concepts. These measurement procedures require minimal subjective judgment, particularly at the initial coding level. The paper concludes with a discussion of the ways we are attempting to operationalize major “themes” or patterns of control in lengthy, ongoing dyadic exchanges.     

Terrorism as Collective Communication: The Collective Communication Model of Terrorism (CCMT)

This paper proposes that the psychological and behavioral effects of terrorist threat can be understood as a collective communication process that occurs between terrorists and their potential victims. Based on classic communication theory, terrorists are regarded as the senders of a specific collective message (such as ‘stop oppressing our culture’); a terrorist incident as the collective message itself (through its performance, modality and targets); and the potential victims as its collective receivers (who interpret the intention of the attack as a function of their pre-existing attributes, such as traits or salient social identities). The perception of terrorism as a dynamic and interactive process between collective senders, messages and receivers opens new theoretical perspectives regarding whether (a) terrorism can be successful in reaching its collective aim; (b) if it is interpreted as rational or irrational; and (c) how to counteract the vicious, cyclical relationship between terrorism and counter-terrorism. Previous findings on the psychology of terrorism can be organized within this theoretical framework, and the psychological impact of varying attributes of the perpetrators (senders), incident (message), and the reactions of the potential victims (receivers) systematically investigated. A series of self-conducted studies are also reviewed and found to provide direct support for the collective communication model of terrorism.     

Talking Health With a Machine: How Does Message Interactivity Affect Attitudes and Cognitions?

By affording interactive communication and natural, human‐like conversations, can media tools affect the way we engage with content in human–machine interactions and influence our attitudes toward that content? A between‐subjects experiment (N = 172) examined the effects of two communication variables: (a) message‐interactivity and (b) conversational tone, in an online health information (Q&A) tool. Findings suggest that informal conversational tone lowers perceptions of relative susceptibility to health risks. Perceived contingency positively mediates the influence of message interactivity on individuals' health attitudes and behavioral intentions whereas perceived interactivity negatively mediates the relationships between these variables. These contrasting mediation effects are further explored via a phantom model analysis that tests two theoretically distinct paths, with implications for both theory and practice.     

Fear Appeals and Persuasion: A Review and Update of the Extended Parallel Process Model

The Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM; Communication Monographs, 59, 1992, 329) is a predominant message design theory in the social science fear appeal literature that provides a framework for effective communication of health‐related information. This paper provides a review and update of the theory and the use of fear appeals in persuasion. First, a brief overview of the EPPM is provided. Then, Littlejohn and Foss (Theories of Human Communication, 2005, Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth) criteria for evaluation of theory are used as a guide for reviewing research guided by the EPPM in terms of the consistency of data with theoretical predictions, how it has been adjusted and extended through research findings, and a discussion of future research to expand social scientific knowledge about fear appeals and persuasion. It is concluded that the EPPM has advanced our understanding of how fear appeals operate and continues to generate questions for research in risk messaging.     

When Thinking About Work Makes Employees Reach for Their Devices: A Longitudinal Autoregressive Diary Study

Based on the stressor-detachment model, previous research has assumed that work-related ICT use in the evening impairs psychological detachment. However, since most of the studies to date have assessed cross-sectional relationships, little is known about the actual direction of effects. In this 5-day diary study, we implemented a day-level longitudinal model to shed light on the causal relationships between work-related ICT use, detachment, and task progress (N?=?340 employees, N?=?1289 day-level cases). We also investigated the role of unfinished work tasks because we assumed, based on boundary theory, that they are a driving force leading to impaired detachment and work-related ICT use in the evening. Contrary to current research consensus but in line with our expectations, we found that low psychological detachment increased work-related ICT use and task progress. We found no evidence for reversed lagged effects. These results applied both to planned and unplanned ICT use. Furthermore, our results support the notion that unfinished work tasks precede ICT use and detachment. Thus, our findings suggest that work-related ICT use should not be treated as a stressor in its own right in the stressor-detachment model. Instead, it needs to be investigated as a behavioral outcome that employees engage in when they cannot detach from work.

     

Effects of message framing and temporal context on college student drinking behavior

This study evaluated the interactive effects of message framing and temporal context on college student alcohol use. Participants (n = 228) were randomly assigned to read an alcohol prevention message that varied by message frame (gains vs. losses) and temporal context (short- vs. long-term consequences). Participants returned to the lab one month later to report their drinking behavior over the past month. As predicted, students exposed to the gain-framed message reported lower alcohol use (drank less frequently, drank fewer alcoholic beverages per drinking occasion, and engaged in less binge drinking) as compared to students exposed to the loss-framed message, but only if they read about short-term consequences of alcohol use. Message frame had no effect when participants were exposed to long-term consequences. This investigation extends previous research by demonstrating the effectiveness of message framing for reducing health-damaging behaviors and by identifying temporal context as a moderator of framing effects.     

Expressing Emotions as Evidence in Osteoporosis Narratives: Effects on Message Processing and Intentions

This study examined the use of different narratives expressing positive or negative emotions, and varying the narrator's perspective on the arousal of discrete emotions, dominant cognitions, perceived evidence quality, and perceived message effectiveness related to osteoporosis behavioral intentions. Formative research led to the creation of narratives and selection of positive and negative emotions expressed. A 4 × 3 between‐subjects posttest design revealed positive relationships between judgments of evidence quality and perceptions of message effectiveness for predicting behavioral intentions toward osteoporosis prevention. In addition, arousing the emotions of fear and/or hope cued processing of osteoporosis narratives. The theoretical implications of these findings for the use of narratives as evidence and the application of findings for osteoporosis health messages are discussed.     

Organizational Communication in Emergencies: Using Multiple Channels and Sources to Combat Noise and Capture Attention

This study relies on information theory, social presence, and source credibility to uncover what best helps people grasp the urgency of an emergency. We surveyed a random sample of 1,318 organizational members who received multiple notifications about a large‐scale emergency. We found that people who received 3 redundant messages coming through at least 1 synchronous communication source—for example, phone or face‐to‐face communication—perceived the urgency of the situation the most quickly, whereas those receiving official messages through asynchronous channels—most often text message—had the lowest sense of urgency. Our findings suggest that by understanding people's reactions to various kinds of redundant communication, organizations can design more strategic emergency messages that capture attention.     

Item Desirability Effects in Compliance-Gaining Research Seven Studies Documenting Artifacts in the Strategy Selection Procedure

A popular method for assessing compliance-gaming behavior involves having people rate lists of preformulated message strategies for likelihood of use. This “selection procedure” has been employed much more frequently than the alternative “construction procedure,” a method that requires people to generate their own message strategies. The present article argues that the selection procedure is much less sensitive than the construction procedure to the effects of situational and individual-difference variables on compliance-gaining behavior. The article further suggests that the insensitivity of the selection procedure is due to a type of social desirability bias known as the item desirability effect. Seven studies were carried out testing the Marwell and Schmitt (1967) and Wiseman and Schenk-Hamlin (1 981) strategy checklists for the item desirability effect. These studies found that (a) the likelihood of use ratings prouided for the strategies on both checklists could be accurately predicted by the rated social appropriateness of the strategies, (b) likelihood of use ratingsfor preforrnulated strategies haue relatively poor reliability, and (c) the construction procedure is much less susceptible to social desirability biases than the selection procedure. On the basis of these and related findings, it is recommended that researchers eschew the use of strategy checklists in future research.     

Improving retrieval

The present research investigated whether ability for retrieval might be improved by practice at retrieval. Retrieval practice trials, each of 10 min duration, required subjects to attempt to recall as many examples as possible of a designated category. Two kinds of practice were investigated. Subjects given general practice attempted to recall a different category on each successive practice trial. Subjects given specific practice attempted to recall the same category on each successive practice trial. General practice had a negligible effect on recall, even when subjects practised daily for over a month. In contrast, specific practice substantially improved recall, facilitating retrieval of 50 to 100 per cent of all the example subjects known for a category.     

On the Interaction of Theory and Data in Concept Learning

Standard models of concept learning generally focus on deriving statistical properties of a category based on data (i.e., category members and the features that describe them) but fail to give appropriate weight to the contact between people's intuitive theories and these data. Two experiments explored the role of people's prior knowledge or intuitive theories on category learning by manipulating the labels associated with the category. Learning differed dramatically when categories of children's drawings were meaningfully labeled (e.g., “done by creative children”) compared to when they were labeled in a neutral manner. When categories are meaningfully labeled, people bring intuitive theories to the learning context. Learning then involves a process in which people search for evidence in the data that supports abstract features or hypotheses that have been activated by the intuitive theories. In contrast, when categories are labeled in a neutral manner, people search for simple features that distinguish one category from another. Importantly, the final study suggests that learning involves an interaction of people's intuitive theories with data, in which theories and data mutually influence each other. The results strongly suggest that straight-forward, relatively modular ways of incorporating prior knowledge into models of category learning are inadequate. More telling, the results suggest that standard models may have fundamental limitations. We outline a speculative model of learning in which the interaction of theory and data is tightly coupled. The article concludes by comparing the results to recent artificial intelligence systems that use prior knowledge during learning.     

Conceptualizing Media Stimuli in Experimental Research: Psychological Versus Attribute‐Based Definitions

This paper argues for a clearer conceptualization of media stimuli in experimental research and identifies 3 issues impeding our understanding of message processing: (a) assumptions bolstered by manipulation checks about homogeneity of response to media stimuli, (b) conflation of 2 different classes of variables—media attributes and psychological states, and (c) discrepancies between the conceptual model and operational‐level hypotheses used to test research questions. To provide a more comprehensive framework for investigating media effects in experimental research, we argue for a clearer conceptual separation between message attributes and user perceptions and apply a mediation model of information processing to overcome the limitations of conventional approaches. Subjected to 2 empirical tests involving the assessment of Web‐based media, the model finds an increase in explained variance in each instance.     

The Effect of Self-Imposed Brevity on the Structure of Dyadic Communication

Differences between concise and natural communications in problem solving were investigated by comparing the communications generated by pairs of S s asked to use as few words as possible with the communications by pairs of S s of whom no such request was made. Sixteen male pairs and 16 female pairs, all undergraduate students, were tested. Two modes of communication were used: voice and teletypewriter. An analysis of message function revealed that when S s tried to be brief, they used a larger percentage of messages concerned with the exchange of information and lower percentages of messages that dealt with the rate of communication, judgments, and feedback than under the natural condition. An analysis of parts of speech revealed that those S s who restricted their communications used higher percentages of nouns and adjectives and lower percentages of pronouns, verbs, prepositions, interjections, and articles than did S s who did not restrict their communications. Most of these findings held for both modes of communication.     

Does message framing affect changes in behavioural intentions in people with psoriasis? A randomized exploratory study examining health risk communication

Message framing is important in health communication research to encourage behaviour change. Psoriasis, a long-term inflammatory skin condition, has additional comorbidities including high levels of anxiety and cardiovascular disease (CVD), making message framing particularly important. This experimental study aimed to: (1) identify whether health messages about psoriasis presented as either gain- or loss-framed were more effective for prompting changes in behavioural intentions (BI), (2) examine whether BI were driven by a desire to improve psoriasis or reduce CVD risk; (3) examine emotional reactions to message frame; and (4) examine predictors of BI. A two by two experiment examined the effects on BI of message frame (loss vs. gain) and message focus (psoriasis symptom reduction vs. CVD risk reduction). Participants with psoriasis (n = 217) were randomly allocated to one of four evidence-based health messages related to either smoking, alcohol, diet or physical activity, using an online questionnaire. BI was the primary outcome. Analysis of variance tests and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted. A significant frame by focus interaction was found for BI to reduce alcohol intake (p = .023); loss-framed messages were more effective for CVD risk reduction information, whilst gain-framed messages were more effective for psoriasis symptom reduction information. Message framing effects were not found for BI for increased physical activity and improving diet. High CVD risk was a significant predictor of increased BI for both alcohol reduction (β = .290, p < .01) and increased physical activity (β = ?.231, p < .001). Message framing may be an important factor to consider depending on the health benefit emphasised (disease symptom reduction or CVD risk reduction) and patient-stated priorities. Condition-specific health messages in psoriasis populations may increase the likelihood of message effectiveness for alcohol reduction.     

The Dynamic Nature of Goals and Message Production as Revealed in a Sequential Analysis of Conflict Interactions

Although message‐production theories often assume that goals behave dynamically to direct communication behavior, few studies consider the interconnectedness of goals and behavior throughout interactions. Here, the interrelationship of communication goals and tactics was examined through a sequential analysis of 47 conflict interactions between close friends or dating partners. It was posited that for both the initiators and resistors in a conflict, the importance of relational or other‐identity goals would be associated with the use of integrative tactics and the importance of instrumental or self‐identity goals would be related to the use of distributive tactics. We examined these predictions within and across partners. Analyses indicated that for both conflict initiators and resistors, the importance of a combination self/instrumental goal predicted the use of distributive tactics and the importance of an other‐identity goal lead to partner‐oriented tactics. For resistors, the importance of an instrumental goal was associated with the use of distributive tactics and the importance of a combination identity/relational goal was aligned with issue‐oriented tactics as well. Across partners, several significant patterns between one partner’s use of distributive or integrative tactics and the other partner’s goals were observed. Implications of the results for understanding conflict and message production are discussed.     

Does Freedom of Speech Include Hate Speech?

I take it that liberal justice recognises special protections against the restriction of speech and expression; this is what I call the Free Speech Principle. I ask if this Principle includes speech acts which might broadly be termed ‘hate speech’, where ‘includes’ is sensitive to the distinction between coverage and protection, and between speech that is regulable and speech that should be regulated. I suggest that ‘hate speech’ is too broad a designation to be usefully analysed as a single category, since it includes many different kinds of speech acts, each of which involves very different kinds of free speech interests, and may cause very different kinds of harm. I therefore propose to disaggregate hate speech into various categories which are analysed in turn. I distinguish four main categories of hate speech, namely (1) targeted vilification, (2) diffuse vilification, (3) organised political advocacy for exclusionary and/or eliminationist policies, and (4) other assertions of fact or value which constitute an adverse judgment on an identifiable racial or religious group. Reviewing these categories in the light of the justifications for the Free Speech Principle, I will argue that category (1) is uncovered by the Principle, categories (2) and (3) are covered but unprotected, and that category (4) is protected speech.