Content and person effects in media research: Studying differences in cognitive,emotional, and arousal responses to media content

ABSTRACT

Cognitive, emotional, and arousal responses to media content stem from two sources of variation: differences in content and differences between individuals. Although the first source of variation (content effects) has been well-studied, individual differences (person effects) in responses to media are investigated much less within communication science. To help build this comparatively thin area of scholarship, this study investigated how four theoretically relevant variables (need for cognition, affective empathy, sensation seeking, and sensory processing sensitivity) affected responses to positively and negatively valenced media entertainment. In a within-subjects design, 243 youth aged 7–15 years (49.4% female) responded to a positive and negative film clip using both self-reported and physiological measures (heart rate and skin conductance), while parents reported on individual differences. Multilevel analysis was used to distinguish between media content effects and individual differences in responses. Results showed that more variation in responses was due to differences between participants than to differences between stimuli. However, need for cognition, affective empathy, sensation seeking, and sensory processing sensitivity did not significantly explain this between-participant variation in responses. Several conceptual and methodological take-aways are offered to advance our understanding of the relationships between stable individual differences and state responses to media.     

The case of Elise Gomperz

In the late 1880s to mid-1890s Freud was involved in the treatment of Elise Gomperz. Theodor Gomperz's published letters provide us with details concerning the treatment as well as her husband's reactions to the treatment. These details enable us to explore the social factors that were involved in Freud's early clinical work.     

Immigration Law and Its Impact on the Family: What Group Therapists Need to Know

ABSTRACT

This article provides an overview of structural limitations and challenges imposed by U.S. immigration law and enforcement policies and how they specifically impact families. Our analysis draws from numerous years of experience practicing immigration law and analysis of social and legal factors that impact immigrant individuals and families. We provide historical context for the Trump administration policies that have generated so much debate, reviewing how U.S. immigration creates barriers to family unity and stress on immigrant individuals and families, and explaining how the current administration has exacerbated these problems. We aim to help group psychotherapists gain greater awareness of their immigrant patients’ experiences through an analysis of immigration law and the use of case studies.