Is Being Funny a Useful Policy? How Local Governments' Humorous Crisis Response Strategies and Crisis Responsibilities Influence Trust, Emotions, and Behavioral Intentions

This study is the first to investigate how a local government's humorously framed response strategy on social media to a low-severity crisis influences people's trust in the local government and their crisis-related behavioral intentions, specifically when considering the government's responsibility for the crisis. Based on the situational crisis communication theory, we examined the mediating role of experienced positive or negative affect on people's responses to a local government’s crisis communication strategy. Further, we exploratorily examined the predictive power and moderating role of demographics, sense of humor, disposition to trust, and the respective crisis scenarios. A total of 517 people participated in an online experiment in which they were confronted with three randomly presented fictive crisis scenarios where the local government’s crisis responsibility (high versus low) and the framing of their crisis response strategy (in form of humorous versus rational Twitter posts) were systematically varied between subjects. First, the results mostly corroborate earlier findings about the degree of crisis responsibility (that is, when a government's crisis responsibility is high, people have less trust and behavioral intentions) and about the mediating role of experienced affect. Second, we found that humorously framed strategies negatively influence trust and positive affect (but not behavioral intentions). In contrast to earlier findings, the crisis responsibility × framing interaction was not significant. Altogether, the results advise against using humor in crisis communications on social media, even in low-severity crisis. Exploratory analyses indicate that further investigations should focus on specific crisis characteristics and potential moderators

Experimental Investigation on the Effects of Website Aesthetics on User Performance in Different Virtual Tasks

In Human-Computer Interaction research, the positive effect of aesthetics on users\u27 subjective impressions and reactions is well-accepted. However, results regarding the influence of interface aesthetics on a user\u27s individual performance as an objective outcome are very mixed, yet of urgent interest due to the proceeding of digitalization. In this web-based experiment (N = 331), the effect of interface aesthetics on individual performance considering three different types of tasks (search, creative, and transfer tasks) is investigated. The tasks were presented on an either aesthetic or unaesthetic website, which differed significantly in subjective aesthetics. Goal orientation (learning versus performance goals) was included as a possible moderator variable, which was manipulated by using different task instructions. Both aesthetics and goal orientation were a between-subject factor, leading to a 2 x 2 between subject design. Manipulation checks were highly significant. Yet the results show neither significant main effects of aesthetics and goal orientation on performance regarding both accuracy and response times in each of the three tasks, nor significant interaction effects. Nevertheless, from a practical perspective aesthetics still should be considered due to its positive effects on subjective perceptions of users, even as no substantial effects on user performance occurred in the present experiment

Schwierigkeiten bei der Vorbereitung auf schriftliche Prüfungen

Aufgrund der Umstrukturierung der Studiengänge seit der Bologna-Reform hat die Bedeutung der schriftlichen Prüfungen im Studium zugenommen. Besonders im Bachelorstudiengang Psychologie besteht ein hoher Druck, von Anbeginn an sehr gute Bewertungen zu erlangen, insbesondere im Hinblick auf die Zulassungsqualifikation für einen guten Masterstudienplatz. Dabei ist die Prüfungsvorbereitung ein wichtiger Prozess, um Prüfungen erfolgreich bestehen zu können. In den vorliegenden Analysen werden insgesamt 1242 offene Äußerungen und 1542 geschlossene Antworten von Psychologie-Studierenden zu den Schwierigkeiten bei ihrer Prüfungsvorbereitung betrachtet. Diese stammen aus Prüfungsevaluationen, die im Zeitraum von vier Jahren ab dem Wintersemester 2007/2008 an der Universität Münster erhoben wurden. Die induktiv gewonnenen Kategorien der Antworten zeigen, dass die meisten Schwierigkeiten bei der Prüfungsvorbereitung durch den erlebten Zeitmangel, der am häufigsten durch den Umfang der zu lernenden Lerninhalte entsteht, und durch Verständnisschwierigkeiten resultieren. Weiterhin werden besonders die mangelnde Transparenz der Anforderungen, aber auch Probleme auf Seiten der Studierenden, wie Motivation und Zeitmanagement, genannt. 18.06.2012 | Olga Bechler & Meinald T. Thielsch (Münster

Trust and distrust in information systems at the workplace

Digitalization of work processes is advancing, and this is increasingly supported by complex information systems (IS). However, whether such systems are used by employees largely depends on users’ trust in these IS. Because there are few systematic studies on this topic, this research provides an initial exploration and validation of preconditions for trust in work-related IS. In Study 1, N = 30 professionals were asked to describe occupational incidents in which they had highly trusted or distrusted an IS. Content analysis of 111 critical incidents described in the in-depth interviews led to 12 predictors of trust and distrust in IS, which partly correspond to the structure of the established IS success model (Delone & McLean, 2003) but also exceed this structure. The resulting integrative model of trust in IS at work was validated in Study 2 using an online questionnaire with N = 179 professionals. Based on regression analyses, reliability (system quality) and credibility (information quality) of IS were identified as the most important predictors for both trust and distrust in IS at work. Contrasting analyses revealed diverging qualities of trust and distrust in IS : whereas well-being and performance were rated higher in trust events, experienced strain was rated higher in distrust events. Together, this study offers a first comprehensive model of trust in IS at work based on systematic empirical research. In addition to implications for theory advancement, we suggest practical implications for how to support trust and to avoid distrust in IS at work

Wie gestalte ich gute Items und Interviewfragen?

"In diesem Kapitel geben wir anhand praktischer Beispiele Hinweise zur Gestaltung von Fragebogenitems und Interviewfragen. Neben grundsätzlichen Regeln stehen dabei besonders die Informationserhebung und die Verständlichkeit von Fragen im Fokus. Die dargestellten Grundsätze werden durch ein Praxisbeispiel zur Erfassung der Kundenzufriedenheit verdeutlicht." (Autorenreferat

Evaluationsbericht Psychologie 2011:gemeinsamer Bericht über die Evaluationen im Fach Psychologie im WiSe 10/11 und SoSe 11

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Evaluationsbericht Psychologie 2012:gemeinsamer Bericht über die Evaluationen im Fach Psychologie im WiSe 11/12 und SoSe 12

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Evaluationsbericht Psychologie 2010:gemeinsamer Bericht über die Evaluationen im Fach Psychologie im WiSe 09/10 und SoSe 10

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Evaluationsbericht Psychologie 2009:gemeinsamer Bericht über die Evaluationen im Fach Psychologie im WiSe 08/09 und SoSe 09 ; öffentliche Berichtsversion ohne Anhänge

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G (2010) High and low spatial frequencies in website evaluations. Ergonomics 53: 972–978

Abstract Which features of websites are important for users&apos; perceptions regarding aesthetics or usability? This study investigates how evaluations of aesthetic appeal and usability depend on high vs. low spatial frequencies. High spatial frequencies convey information on fine details, whereas low spatial frequencies convey information about the global layout. Participants rated aesthetic appeal and usability of 50 website screenshots from different domains. Screenshots were either presented unfiltered, low-pass filtered with blurred targets, or high-pass filtered with high-pass filtered targets. The main result is that low spatial frequencies can be seen to have a unique contribution in perceived website aesthetics, thus confirming a central prediction from processing fluency theory. There was no connection between low spatial frequencies and usability evaluations, whereas strong correlations were found between ratings of high-pass filtered websites and those of unfiltered websites in aesthetics and usability. This study thus offers a new perspective on the biological basis of users&apos; website perceptions. Keywords: aesthetics; usability; website evaluation; website perception; spatial frequency Statement of significance This research links ergonomics to neurocognitive models of visual processing. We investigate how high and low spatial frequencies, which are neurologically processed in different visual pathways, independently contribute to users&apos; perceptions of websites. This is very relevant for theories of website perceptions and for practitioners of web design