An Experimental Examination of the Differences in Readers's Responses to Editorial versus Advertising for Travel Destinations

The claim that editorial is superior to advertising, although commonly made by academics and practitioners alike, has received limited empirical support. The belief that editorial is more effective is strongly held, amongst others, by destination promoters, who frequently allocate considerable budgets to media 'familiarisations' in the hope of generating positive press. It was therefore decided to test claims for the promotional advantages of editorial in the context of tourism destinations. Drawing on the Elaboration Likelihood Model, attribution theories and agenda setting theory, the aim of this research was to test experimentally whether potential tourists do indeed respond more favourably to destination editorial than advertising, in relation to affective and conative impacts. A sample of 271 students was exposed to selected editorial and advertising for the destinations New Caledonia and Hong Kong, embedded in 12-page, full-colour, mock travel magazines. The study found that the editorial format was deemed to be more credible by readers than its advertising counterpart, but no direct format based differences were observed for respondents' attitudes to the brand or behavioural intentions. However, source credibility was found to be highly correlated with both brand attitude and behavioural intentions, suggesting editorial has an important indirect effect on these key dependent variables

How to persuade adolescents to use nutrition labels: effects of health consciousness, argument quality and source credibility.

本研究探討深思的可能性模型（Elaboration Likelihood Model）在設計推廣使用營養標籤的廣告中的適用性。香港的一所中學的169位學生參與了一個2 x 2 x 3（健康意識：高vs. 低 x 論據：數據 vs. 經驗 x 代言人：專家vs. 名人 vs. 普通人）的實驗。 部分假設得到支持。 健康意識的主效果明顯。 具有較高健康意識的青少年更易被廣告說服。 健康意識和代言人具有交叉效應。對於健康意識較高的人來說，營養師更有說服力， 而對於健康意識較低的人來說，名人更有影響力。論據和代言人的搭配影響了資訊的處理路徑。如果以數據為主的論據是由普通人提供的，則更易推動青少年使用營養標籤。而如果以個人經驗為主的論據是由名人提供的，則更有效。統計結果將在深思的可能性模型下得以展開討論。 本文還會對開展針對青少年的公共健康傳播運動提出建議。This study tested the utility of the Elaboration Likelihood Model in creating effective Public Service Announcements (PSAs) of nutrition label use. Students (N=169) from a secondary school in Hong Kong participated in a 2x2x3 (Health consciousness: High vs. Low x Argument: Informational vs. Testimonial x Source: Expert vs. Celebrity vs. Ordinary Person) factorial design experiment. Hypotheses were partially supported. Main effect was located for health consciousness. Adolescents with high health consciousness were more persuaded by the PSAs. There was an interaction effect between health consciousness and source. A dietitian as the source was most persuasive to people with high health consciousness, while low health conscious people were most influenced by a celebrity. The information processing route was biased by the match of argument and source. Informative argument made by an ordinary person was more likely to motivate adolescents to use nutrition label, while testimonial argument made by a celebrity was the most effective. The findings are discussed in light of ELM and match-up hypotheses. Recommendations are also offered for public health communication campaigns.Detailed summary in vernacular field only.Dong, Zhuowen.Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2013.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 72-84).Abstracts also in Chinese; appendixes in Chinese.Abstract --- p.iAcknowledgements --- p.iiiTable of Content --- p.viChapter Chapter 1: --- Introduction --- p.1Publicity Campaign of Nutrition Labelling Scheme in Hong Kong --- p.1Adolescent and Nutrition Label (NL) --- p.3Significance of the Research --- p.4Organization of Thesis --- p.7Chapter Chapter 2: --- Literature Review --- p.9Adolescents and Preventive Health Behavior --- p.9Health Consciousness --- p.10Information Processing of Adolescents --- p.12Informative or Testimonial Argument --- p.13Expert vs. Celebrity vs. Ordinary person --- p.15Source credibility --- p.20Initial attitude --- p.24Self-efficacy --- p.25Chapter Chapter 3: --- Theoretical Framework --- p.28The Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion --- p.28Chapter Chapter 4: --- Research questions and Hypothesis --- p.34Chapter Chapter 5: --- Methodology --- p.39Subjects and Design --- p.40Procedure --- p.40Materials and Manipulations --- p.41Independent variables --- p.44Dependent variables --- p.46Chapter Chapter 6: --- Results --- p.49Health Consciousness Assessment --- p.49General results --- p.49Covariate --- p.56Predictors of Behavioral Intention --- p.56Hypothesis Testing and Answers to Research Questions --- p.57Chapter Chapter 7: --- Discussion --- p.59Chapter Chapter 8: --- Implication --- p.66Chapter Chapter 9: --- Limitation and Direction for Future research --- p.69References --- p.72Lists of AppendicesChapter Appendix A --- :Experiment Questionnaire --- p.85Chapter Appendix B --- :Experiment Masterial--- PSA --- p.87Chapter Appendix C --- :Experiment Masterial--- PSA --- p.88Chapter Appendix D --- :Experiment Masterial--- PSA --- p.89Chapter Appendix E --- :Experiment Masterial--- PSA --- p.90Chapter Appendix F --- :Experiment Masterial--- PSA --- p.91Chapter Appendix G --- :A Proposed PSA of Nutrition Labels --- p.9

Appeal to bystander interventions: A normative approach to health and risk messaging

Bystander intervention is a form of helping that occurs when onlookers intercede to provide direct or indirect aid to a victim. When bystanders step in to prevent or reduce harm to others, they act as agents of primary and secondary health prevention. But theory and research suggest the bystander intervention process is complex and multiple social-psychological and situational barriers imperil bystander action. Bystanders are often ill-prepared to intervene when others are at risk for emotional or physical harm. They may not notice that someone needs help due to distraction from self-focus, engagement in social interaction, intoxication, or aspects of the situation like crowding or noise. Due to inadequate knowledge, bystanders may misdiagnose the situation and believe intervention is unnecessary. The negative consequences of nonintervention may be unknown to them such that the situation fails to increase their empathic arousal and motivate their action. Lacking knowledge, they may not recognize the seriousness of the situation and or the potential costs of inaction, and so are insufficiently alarmed. Pluralistic ignorance can arise when multiple uncertain bystanders conceal their concern and hesitate to act, assuming others’ inaction means intervention is inappropriate or unnecessary. When there are multiple witnesses, bystanders may assume their help is unneeded, place intervention responsibility on others, or feel less responsible for helping due to diffusion of responsibility. When the victim is not a member of their in-group, or is assumed at fault for their predicament, they may feel less empathy and a reduced responsibility to help. Or, bystanders may assign responsibility for intervention to the victim’s friends or fellow in-group members, or to those “in charge” of the setting. Even when bystanders realize help is needed and take responsibility for helping, they may not act if they do not know how or lack confidence in their ability to successfully carry out the actions required to help. When they have the skills, they may not help if they perceive the costs of action to outweigh the benefits of action. Audience inhibition arising from group norms supporting inaction and from bystander worry about what others will think about them if they act unnecessarily or ineptly can prevent bystander action by increasing bystanders’ perceived helping costs. Recognition of bystanders as a potentially valuable public health asset has increased interest in promoting bystander intervention. Bystander intervention promotion and communications empower bystander action by combating intervention- and audience-specific barriers to bystander intervention using targeted information, communications, and skills training. Theory and research suggest that effective promotions and communications foster context-specific attitudes, beliefs, norms, and skills such that bystanders: (1) are able to quickly and accurately identify a situation as intervention-appropriate; (2) experience action-motivating arousal (including empathy) in the face of the event; (3) have positive attitudes towards intervention and perceive the benefits of action as outweighing the perceived costs; (4) are empowered to act and feel confident in their ability to effectively intervene (bystander efficacy); and (5) are resistant to evaluation apprehension and norms contraindicating action. Effective bystander intervention promotion draws on social psychology and communications studies, and best practices for health promotion and prevention programs. The application of social marketing and formative and summative program evaluation methods enhance the potential of bystander intervention promotions and communications to empower bystander action

Minding the Gap: An Examination of Susceptibility to Misinformation About Beef Among Generation Z and Millennials

Every minute, 500 hours of video content is uploaded to YouTube (Ceci, 2023). The constant flood of new content creates an environment that fosters misinformation, specifically about animal agriculture and the beef industry(Van Eenennaam & Werth 2021). Misinformation creates a challenge because consumers buying habits and perceptions control the market (Schiffman & Wisenbilt, 2019). Decisions result from consumers' perceptions, and money is spent based on those beliefs (Schiffman & Wisenbilt, 2019). These studies evaluated the gap in understanding animal agriculture and young consumers' susceptibility to being affected by false information about the beef industry. Segments of YouTube videos differing in the correctness of ag information and a Food Familiarity Index (FFI) were used as tools. In the first phase of this mixed-methods study 15 Next Generation (NG) consumers were shown two different YouTube video clips about focused aspects of animal agriculture, one being categorized by an expert panel as misinformation and one communicating accurate, research-based information. The level of trust among participants was gauged using the continuous response measurement (CRM) instrument to identify critical moments of trust and distrust. It was found that the lower the consumers' knowledge of the food industry, the more likely they would trust misinformation (p < 0.05) and become misinformed. The content generated from the focus group was analyzed, and the themes revealed included: sources, confusion, distrust, and solutions. In the second phase, another mixed-methods study involving 209 NG consumers also watched the video segments. Participants recruited by the survey distributor platform Prolific completed pre- and post-surveys located on Qualtrics. The group means revealed greater (p < .05) trust in the video clip, including misinformation. Results show diminished opportunity to revert consumers' perceptions about the beef after they have engaged in misinformation

Effects of Job Stereotype, Applicant Gender, and Powerful and Powerless Speech Styles on Telephone Interview Outcomes

By examining the effects of powerful and powerless speech styles, gender stereotyped jobs, and gendered voices during the employment interviewing process, this study sought to further the research of Parton (1996); Parton, Siltanen, Hosman, and Langenderfer (2002); and Juodvalkis, Grefe, Hogue, Svyantek, and DeLamarter (2003). This study was designed to further explore the possibility of longitudinal changes within acceptable communicative expectations during telephone job interviewing. Participants (undergraduate and professional) listened to two audio taped interviews manipulated by speech style, stereotyped job title, and interviewee gender. Variables were evaluated on semantic differential scales following the previous work of Parton (1996). Similar to those of Parton (1996) and Parton et al. (2002), results indicated that powerful speech style suggested positive attributions of overall impression and employability; and gender significantly interacts with speech style and attribution of similarity and within several multiple variable interactions. Results further indicated that undergraduate and professional participants continue to evaluate speech styles differently. However, the current study found significance for control-of-self within multi-variated interactions that were previously not found. Therefore, theoretical outcomes and implications within the associated research were addressed

Three Research Essays on the Effects of Charity Website Design on Online Donations

This dissertation, which comprises three essays, examines the effects of charity website characteristics on people\u27s attitudes and online donation behaviors based on the elaboration likelihood model of persuasion (Essay 1), the halo effect (Essay 2), and self-schema, congruity, and visual rhetoric (Essay 3). Essay 1: The Elaborating Role of Personal Involvement with Charity Giving and Helper\u27s High on the Effects of Website Quality: Multiple Roles of Variables Although the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) has been utilized for decades, researchers have not leveraged its full capabilities and richness in understanding the multiple roles postulate and employing the central and peripheral routes to persuasion. The central theme of this study is that cues can assume multiple roles, serving as central or peripheral cues, depending on an elaboration state. Moreover, this study asserts that a variable cannot be determined as a central or peripheral cue without consisting the elaboration state and associated theoretical explanations. This study theorizes and empirically tests the multiples roles postulate in the context of charity website and online donations. Using websites as a persuasion channel, this study investigates the effects of charity website quality, consisting of information content quality and system quality, on attitude toward the charity website, which in turn influences willingness to donate to the charity website. In keeping with the multiple roles postulate, this research investigates two charity-specific motivational constructs, personal involvement with charity giving and helper\u27s high as elaboration states, proposing that people with high personal involvement are more likely to be persuaded by information content, including financial, performance, and donation information. Likewise, individuals who reflect greater helper\u27s high, will rely more on system quality characteristics (including navigability, download delay, visual aesthetics, and security) in evaluating and forming their attitudes toward the charity websites. The results of structural equation modeling supported all hypotheses. This study extends the ELM by supporting the multiple roles postulate that has not received adequate attention in prior research and introducing charity-specific elaboration motivations. Essay 2: Beautiful is Good and Good is Reputable: Multi-Attribute Charity Website Evaluation and Reputation Formation under the Halo Effect The halo effect has been extensively employed to understand how people make judgments of quality about an object. However, there is little research on how people evaluate multi-attribute objects and what types of salient halos exist in their evaluation. In addition, little research has investigated the initial reputation formation of an unknown object. Based on these two research lacuna, the purposes of this study is to identify if there are evidences of various salient halos in evaluating multi-attributes objects and to theorize initial reputation formation. To accomplish these research objectives, this study employs charity websites as a multi-attribute donation channel consisting of three dimensions of information contents (mission, financial, and donation assistance information) and four dimensions of system functionalities/features (i.e., navigability, download speed, visual aesthetics, and security). This study proposes collective halo, aesthetics halo, two-sided quality halo, quality halo, and reputation halo in the context of charity website evaluation. The results of structural equation modeling and other analyses show evidence of the proposed halos. Essay 3: The Effects of Schema Congruity and Visual Consistency on Social Judgment of Charity Websites Effectively designed websites can positively enhance the donors\u27 perceptions so as to facilitate online donations. Drawing on extensive research on self-schema, congruity, and visual rhetoric, this study examines the effects of schema congruity (SC) and visual consistency (VC) on the perceived warmth and competence of charity websites. This study theorizes schema-visual congruity, an interaction between SC and VC. Using a controlled lab experiment, this study finds significant main effects of schema congruity and visual consistency on perceived warmth and competence. Also, there is a positive interaction between SC and VC, supporting the need for schema-visual congruity as a determinant of perceived warmth and competence. Consistent with prior eCommerce and donation research, this study finds that positive perceptions of charity websites (i.e., warmth and competence) increase attitude toward donation to the website, which in turn influences donation intention

An exploration of influences on consumers\u27 behaviors/decisions in relation to animal agriculture

Animal agriculture provides many daily resources for consumers around the globe. While the average American is at least three generations removed from agriculture, they still hold power to influence the industry with the dollar and their vote. The purpose of this study was to identify influences on consumer behaviors/decisions in relation to animal agriculture. Seven hundred four complete and usable responses were collected via a researcher-developed online survey. Using branding concepts as a framework, the first study evaluated how visual stimuli influenced consumers\u27 intention to purchase Nebraska beef products. Researchers found that visual stimuli did influence respondents to choose Nebraska beef products, and that respondents valued freshness and taste when choosing their beef products. The second study used Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) to determined how consumers perceived credibility of source types influenced their intention to vote on Initiative 16, the PAUSE Act. Respondents were randomly selected to receive one of three treatment messages: either a not-for-profit, university, or governmental sourced message. Each treatment had a set of three unique messages, each attributed to a different source within the given source type. After receiving the messaging, respondents were asked about their attitudes, risk perceptions, and voting intentions regarding the PAUSE Act. While there was no statistically significant difference in how respondents perceived not-for-profit, university, and governmental sources, researchers did discover how respondents seek information when making agriculture and natural resource voting decisions. These studies will help provide communicators and marketers in the animal agriculture space to better serve the needs of consumers to allow them to make well informed, educated, and confident decisions. Advisor: Taylor K. Rut

The Communication Theory of Argumentativeness: A Study Analyzing Argumentativeness and Demographics

Quantitative research regarding the communication theory of argumentativeness is presented. The communication theory of argumentativeness, with its established argumentativeness conceptualization, scale, and measure, is central. The argumentativeness conceptualization, scale, and measure are used to posit argumentativeness groupings, which are then analyzed along with demographics within argumentativeness groupings. The following research questions are posed and answered: What is the distribution of argumentativeness within the general population? Are there identifiable segments/groupings of argumentativeness within the general population? Are there certain demographic characteristics that accompany the argumentativeness groupings of low, middle, and high argumentativeness measures? The conclusion finds: there are identifiable argumentativeness groupings; the argumentativeness grouping of high argumentativeness is correlated with a parental status of with children, an educational status of college education, and a generational status of millennials; the argumentativeness grouping of low argumentativeness is correlated with an increase in age, a generational status of baby boomers, and an employment status of not seeking employment; descriptive trends in regard to argumentativeness and marriage and divorce are noted. The findings support the theory of argumentativeness’ assertion that argumentativeness is a positive communication behavior. Suggestions for further research include developing techniques for encouraging people to move toward optimal points along the argumentativeness distribution