Self-control and need satisfaction in primetime:Television, social media, and friends can enhance regulatory resources via perceived autonomy and competence

The relationship between self-control and media use is complicated. Loss of self-control capacity has been linked to generally higher levels of media use, which might represent self-regulatory failure, but could also be attempts at replenishing self-control. Indeed, self-determination theory proposes that satisfying intrinsic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness), for example via media use, aids the recovery of self-control. In this 2-wave survey (N = 395), we examined the interplay of users’ self-control capacity and their perceived satisfaction of autonomy, competence, and relatedness needs via media use and alternative leisure activities. Satisfaction of intrinsic needs during leisure activities increased self-control capacity at the end of the evening. Feelings of autonomy and competence during TV and social media use, and competence during socializing, positively contributed to greater self-control. However, respondents with less self-control capacity before primetime experienced less intrinsic need satisfaction while engaged with TV, social media, reading, sports, and socializing, diminishing self-control at bedtime

The role of cognitive and affective challenge in entertainment experience

Recent approaches in entertainment research highlight the distinction between hedonic (pleasure-seeking) and eudaimonic (truth-seeking) entertainment experiences. However, insights into the underlying processes that give rise to these different types of entertainment experiences are still scarce. This study examines the assumption that individuals’ entertainment experience varies by the level of cognitive and affective challenge posed by the media content. We tested this assumption in a 2 × 2 experiment in which we examined the effects of cognitive and affective challenge on individuals’ entertainment experience (fun, suspense, and appreciation). Cognitive and affective challenges resulted in stronger appreciation of the movie, affective challenges resulted in heightened suspense, whereas the absence of both cognitive and affective challenges fostered the experience of fun. These results further the theoretical understanding of hedonic and eudaimonic entertainment in that they support the idea that fun is linked to recreation, whereas appreciation is linked to cognitive challenge and personal growth

I know it is not real (and that matters):Media awareness vs. presence shape the VR experience

Inspired by the widely recognized idea that in VR/XR, not only presence but also encountered plausibility is relevant (Slater, 2009), we propose a general psychological parallel processing account to explain users' VR and XR experience. The model adopts a broad psychological view by building on interdisciplinary literature on the dualistic nature of perceiving and experiencing (mediated) representations. It proposes that perceptual sensations like presence are paralleled by users' belief that "this is not really happening", which we refer to as media awareness. We review the developmental underpinnings of basic media awareness, and argue that it is triggered in users’ conscious exposure to VR/XR. During exposure the salience of media awareness can vary dynamically due to factors like encountered sensory and semantic (in)consistencies. Our account sketches media awareness and presence as two parallel processes that together define a situation as a media exposure situation. We also review potential joint effects on subsequent psychological and behavioral responses that characterize the user experience in VR/XR. We conclude the article with a programmatic outlook on testable assumptions and open questions for future research

Does the experience of parasocial interaction enhance persuasiveness of video public service messages?

Does the experience of parasocial interaction (EPSI) increase the persuasiveness of a video message? In a between-subjects experiment (N = 465) we used bodily addressing to successfully vary EPSI in viewers of three brief video-recorded health messages. This manipulation, however, yielded no significant effect on viewers’ perceived persuasiveness of the message and their attitude toward the recommended behavior, and the effect on viewers’ felt obligation to comply with the presenter of the message was only marginally significant. However, self-reported EPSI was significantly positively correlated with all persuasion measures, and exploratory analyses yielded significant indirect effects of the manipulation on persuasion via self-reported EPSI. Limitations and implications are discussed

Hostile media perceptions of friendly media do reinforce partisanship

The hostile media effect (HME) entails that partisanship incites hostile perceptions of media content. However, other research underscores that partisans selectively turn to like-minded media, resulting in a friendly media phenomenon (FMP). The present study suggests that the HME and FMP co-exist, and, furthermore, jointly affect people’s voting behavior. More specifically, based on a media content analysis and a long-term panel survey surrounding the 2014 election for the European Parliament in the Netherlands, we find that people selectively turn to like-minded friendly media (FMP), but perceive coverage about the EU (European Union) in these media as relatively unsupportive of their own position (HME). In this context, the FMP and HME appear to jointly influence voting behavior. People cast votes in line with the objectively partisan-friendly media tone of their self-selected media. However, to a certain extent they do so, because they seem motivated to counteract the seemingly unfair or insufficient coverage about the EU

Mood as a resource in dealing with health recommendations: How mood affects information processing and acceptance of quit-smoking messages

Objective: An experimental study tested the effects of positive and negative mood on the processing and acceptance of health recommendations about smoking in an online experiment. It was hypothesised that positive mood would provide smokers with the resources to systematically process self-relevant health recommendations.Design: One hundred and twenty-seven participants (smokers and non-smokers) read a message in which a quit smoking programme was recommended. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: positive versus negative mood, and strong versus weak arguments for the recommended action.Main outcome measures: Systematic message processing was inferred when participants were able to distinguish between high- and low-quality arguments, and by congruence between attitudes and behavioural intentions. Persuasion was measured by participant's attitudes towards smoking and the recommended action, and by their intentions to follow the action recommendation.Results: As predicted, smokers systematically processed the health message only under positive mood conditions; non-smokers systematically processed the health message only under negative mood conditions. Moreover, smokers’ attitudes towards the health message predicted intentions to quit smoking only under positive mood conditions.Conclusion: Findings suggest that positive mood may decrease defensive processing of self-relevant health information