Most recent papers:

• Embracing the Challenges and Opportunities of Mixed‐Media Relationships.
  Malcolm R. Parks.
  Human Communication Research. July 13, 2017
  Social relationships unfold face‐to‐face and across an increasingly diverse set of mobile, Internet‐based media. Research on these mixed‐media relationships (MMRs) offers a unifying focus for understanding of how media use reflects and drives social relationships. Impediments to research on mixed‐media interaction include an over‐reliance on research focused on a single medium, incomplete and conceptually problematic classifications of media, and limited theoretic approaches. An alternative approach to understand MMRs, grounded in the challenges of managing complex, recurring interpersonal demands, is proposed. These demands include social coordination, impression management, regulating closeness and distance, and managing arousal and anxiety. Implications of MMRs for mediatization and mass communication are briefly examined.

  July 13, 2017   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12125   open full text
• When News Meets the Audience: How Audience Feedback Online Affects News Production and Consumption.
  Eun‐Ju Lee, Edson C. Tandoc.
  Human Communication Research. July 07, 2017
  Innovations in communication technology have changed the way news is produced and consumed. Various digital platforms, ranging from news websites to social media sites to personal blogs, have enabled news users to indicate how much they like the news they have read, to share it with others, and to leave comments. News users' mouse clicks are automatically recorded and aggregated by computational systems and made publicly visible (e.g., “Most Read Articles”). This essay reviews the ever‐growing research on how audience feedback online, a hybrid form of interpersonal and mass communication, alters various stages of news production and influences the way people select, process, and make sense of the news. Future research agendas are proposed.

  July 07, 2017   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12123   open full text
• Understanding Self‐Effects in Social Media.
  Patti M. Valkenburg.
  Human Communication Research. July 03, 2017
  The aim of this article is to improve understanding of self‐effects in social media, and to compare self‐effects with reception effects. Self‐effects are the effects of messages the cognitions, emotions, attitudes, and behaviors of the message creators/senders themselves. A total of 4 theories have tried to explain self‐effects in offline environments: self‐persuasion, self‐concept change, expressive writing, and political deliberation. The article reviews research into online self‐effects that evolved from each of these theories, and argues why self‐effects may be stronger online than offline. Based on this review, a model is introduced that helps explain how online self‐ and reception effects may coalesce and amplify each other. The article ends by presenting some suggestions for future research.

  July 03, 2017   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12113   open full text
• Entertaining Each Other?
  Arthur A. Raney, Qihao Ji.
  Human Communication Research. July 03, 2017
  Television (TV) is reemerging as a focal point for common experiences and community formation through the use of various digital technologies while viewing. A prominent example of this is second screening, or the use of various technologies to share reactions to and attitudes and opinions about what we see and hear while watching TV with other (virtual) viewers. We contend that second screening requires communication scholars to rethink the nature of the TV entertainment experience, as the practice increasingly blurs lines between interpersonal and mass communication processes. In this article, we introduce a conceptual model designed to identify key issues to be considered and addressed by those seeking to better understand entertainment experiences during socially shared TV viewing.

  July 03, 2017   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12121   open full text
• Revising the Communication Mediation Model for a New Political Communication Ecology.
  Dhavan V. Shah, Douglas M. McLeod, Hernando Rojas, Jaeho Cho, Michael W. Wagner, Lewis A. Friedland.
  Human Communication Research. July 03, 2017
  A long tradition of research focuses on conversation as a key catalyst for community integration and a focal mediator of media influence on participation. Changes in media systems, political environments, and electoral campaigning demand that these influences, and the communication mediation model, be revised to account for the growing convergence of media and conversation, heightened partisan polarization, and deepening social contentiousness in media politics. We propose a revised communication mediation model that continues to emphasize the centrality of face‐to‐face and online talk in democratic life, while considering how mediational and self‐reflective processes that encourage civic engagement and campaign participation might also erode institutional legitimacy, foster distrust and partisan divergence, disrupting democratic functioning as a consequence of a new communication ecology.

  July 03, 2017   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12115   open full text
• The Merger of Mass and Interpersonal Communication via New Media: Integrating Metaconstructs.
  Joseph B. Walther.
  Human Communication Research. June 30, 2017
  The convergence of mass and interpersonal communication requires integration of underlying processes, or theoretical metaconstructs, that originated in formerly separate research domains. Several previous efforts to integrate mass and interpersonal communication fell short in this regard, and correspondent empirical work provides limited explanations. The article nominates 9 metaconstructs: distribution capacity, message persistence, audience, channels and cues, relationships, temporality, interactivity and mutual influence, message characteristics, and social goals. It suggests how these metaconstructs, in manifestations afforded by new media, can affect communication in important ways, with examples of studies that benefited from their inclusion. Consideration and integration of these metaconstructs, in individual studies or in streams of research, can expand the explanatory power and precision of research involving new media.

  June 30, 2017   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12122   open full text
• Online Social Influence and the Convergence of Mass and Interpersonal Communication.
  Andrew J. Flanagin.
  Human Communication Research. June 30, 2017
  Mass and interpersonal communication are rapidly converging as people integrate an assortment of Internet‐based tools into their communication repertoires. This convergence prompts dramatic changes in the conditions that once were presumed to distinguish mass from interpersonal communication, most notably differences in communication directionality and scale, audience size and identification, and a host of cues that signal source credibility. This article proposes a number of features of technological convergence in this context—including shifts in message control, audience scale, and source, receiver, and temporal ambiguity—and describes illustrative implications for social influence processes. These features highlight areas that traditional mass and interpersonal communication perspectives cannot fully describe alone, and suggest new methods and directions for the examination of online social influence.

  June 30, 2017   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12116   open full text
• Vectors into the Future of Mass and Interpersonal Communication Research: Big Data, Social Media, and Computational Social Science.
  Joseph N. Cappella.
  Human Communication Research. June 30, 2017
  Simultaneous developments in big data, social media, and computational social science have set the stage for how we think about and understand interpersonal and mass communication. This article explores some of the ways that these developments generate 4 hypothetical “vectors”—directions—into the next generation of communication research. These vectors include developments in network analysis, modeling interpersonal and social influence, recommendation systems, and the blurring of distinctions between interpersonal and mass audiences through narrowcasting and broadcasting. The methods and research in these arenas are occurring in areas outside the typical boundaries of the communication discipline but engage classic, substantive questions in mass and interpersonal communication.

  June 30, 2017   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12114   open full text
• Opinion Climates in Social Media: Blending Mass and Interpersonal Communication.
  German Neubaum, Nicole C. Krämer.
  Human Communication Research. June 30, 2017
  Social media's capacity for users to generate, comment on, and forward content (including mass media messages) to other users has created new forms of mass interpersonal communication. These systems render observable processes underlying the formation of opinion climates. Five attributes of contemporary electronic opinion environments can alter the way users gauge, form, and express opinions on topics of public interest: the juxtaposition of mass media and user‐generated content, ideological homogeneity and heterogeneity of online networks, technical ease with which to express opinions, the reach of messages, and networked audiences. These attributes facilitate analysis of theoretical and empirical works from different scholarly traditions, suggesting lines of inquiry that can enrich the analysis of (public) opinion formation via current communication technologies.

  June 30, 2017   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12118   open full text
• Intermediality and the Diffusion of Innovations.
  Ronald E. Rice.
  Human Communication Research. June 30, 2017
  Interpersonal and mediated communication both play important roles in the diffusion of innovations, as part of the process, as well as the content, of diffusion. Yet the diffusion of new media has blurred the boundaries across interpersonal and mediated communication, and emphasized the decoupling of media from their attributes, summarized in the concept of intermediality. This article briefly considers implications of this intermediality for new media as process and content in five major components of the diffusion perspective: sources, rate and categories of adoption, attributes, communication networks, and consequences.

  June 30, 2017   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12119   open full text
• Online Information and Communication Systems to Enhance Health Outcomes Through Communication Convergence.
  Gary L. Kreps.
  Human Communication Research. June 30, 2017
  The growing use of digital health communication channels has produced dramatic changes, providing broad access to information for making health decisions and addressing users' emotional needs. Digital health communication channels combine mass and interpersonal communication in different ways. Type 1 convergence occurs sequentially: Individuals obtain health information online that they discuss interpersonally with health providers. Type 2 convergence involves discussions occurring via online health information systems. The effectiveness of these systems depends upon seven communication design and implementation strategies. Emerging interactive health information systems provide customized responses tailored to individuals' specific needs and situations. All these forms of media convergence can improve health education, health promotion, and health behavior change.

  June 30, 2017   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12117   open full text
• Merging Mass and Interpersonal Communication via Interactive Communication Technology: A Symposium.
  Joseph B. Walther, Patti M. Valkenburg.
  Human Communication Research. June 30, 2017
  This introduction to the special issue describes the impetus for a review of the merger of mass and interpersonal communication processes in light of recent developments in communication technologies. It reviews historical arguments about the need for integration in theorizing about communication processes. Then, it discusses the potential for communication technologies to combine mass and interpersonal communication in ways that obviate the traditional distinction between both types, and how interactive communication technology offers unprecedented analytic approaches for research. Finally, it previews the 11 essays that follow by identifying 4 types of convergence of mass and interpersonal communication: concurrence, integration, transformation, and evolution.

  June 30, 2017   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12120   open full text
• To Walk a Mile in Someone Else's Shoes: How Narratives Can Change Causal Attribution Through Story Exploration and Character Customization.
  Nathan Walter, Sheila T. Murphy, Traci K. Gillig.
  Human Communication Research. June 28, 2017
  This study provides evidence for the independent and additive effects of story exploration and character customization induced by fictional narratives on causal attribution and support for marginalized groups. In Study 1 (N = 163), participants read a story about a transgender teenager. Story exploration influenced identification and narrative engagement, increasing external attribution for the character's negative actions, as well as engendering more positive attitudes toward transgender individuals. Study 2 (N = 116) replicated these results in the context of undocumented immigration. Study 3 (N = 230) focused on a story about a Muslim teenager. Analysis suggested that the strongest impact on causal attribution is achieved by allowing readers to design the main character (i.e., customization) and control the narrative (i.e., exploration).

  June 28, 2017   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12112   open full text
• Pitch Range Variations Improve Cognitive Processing of Audio Messages.
  Emma Rodero, Robert F. Potter, Pilar Prieto.
  Human Communication Research. June 19, 2017
  This study explores the effect of different speaker intonation strategies in audio messages on attention, autonomic arousal, and memory. In this study, participants listened to 16 radio commercials, produced to vary in pitch range across sentences. Dependent variables were self‐reported effectiveness and adequacy, psychophysiological arousal and attention, immediate word recall and recognition of information. Results showed that messages conveyed with pitch variations achieved better scores compared to commercials with a homogenous pitch range across the sentences. This was especially the case when high pitch intonation was followed by low pitch within a sentence. The results increase our understanding of the influence of pitch range on processing by establishing a concrete strategy as a best practice for improving attention and memory.

  June 19, 2017   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12109   open full text
• Couple Identity Gaps, the Management of Conflict, and Biological and Self‐Reported Stress in Romantic Relationships.
  Anne F. Merrill, Tamara D. Afifi.
  Human Communication Research. June 19, 2017
  This study investigates the role of couple identity gaps in romantic partners' communicative and physiological management of stress during a conflict‐inducing discussion task. A total of 118 couples participated in a laboratory study in which they engaged in a conflict‐inducing discussion. Perceptions of intra‐ and extrarelationship couple identity gaps were associated with greater self‐reported anxiety and stress for men and greater negativity for women during the conversation. Extrarelationship identity gaps were also significantly associated with heightened cortisol and (salivary alpha‐amylase) sAA reactivity and delayed recovery, especially for women. The study extends the research on couple identity by introducing the concept of identity gaps into relational contexts to help explain why couples vary in their ability to manage stress.

  June 19, 2017   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12110   open full text
• The Relationship Between Media Multitasking and Attention Problems in Adolescents: Results of Two Longitudinal Studies.
  Susanne E. Baumgartner, Winneke A. van der Schuur, Jeroen S. Lemmens, Fam te Poel.
  Human Communication Research. June 15, 2017
  The increased prevalence of media multitasking among adolescents has raised concerns that media multitasking may cause attention problems. Despite cross‐sectional evidence of the relationship between media multitasking and attention problems, no study has yet investigated this relationship longitudinally. It is therefore unclear how these two variables are related. Two 3‐wave longitudinal studies with 3‐ and 6‐month time lags were conducted. In total, 2,390 adolescents aged 11–16 provided data on media multitasking and attention problems. Findings from random intercept autoregressive cross‐lagged models suggest that media multitasking and attention problems were strongly related between individuals. Empirical evidence for a potential detrimental long‐term effect of media multitasking on attention problems was only found among early adolescents but not among middle adolescents.

  June 15, 2017   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12111   open full text
• Pornography Consumption and Satisfaction: A Meta‐Analysis.
  Paul J. Wright, Robert S. Tokunaga, Ashley Kraus, Elyssa Klann.
  Human Communication Research. March 02, 2017
  A classic question in the communication literature is whether pornography consumption affects consumers' satisfaction. The present paper represents the first attempt to address this question via meta‐analysis. Fifty studies collectively including more than 50,000 participants from 10 countries were located across the interpersonal domains of sexual and relational satisfaction and the intrapersonal domains of body and self satisfaction. Pornography consumption was not related to the intrapersonal satisfaction outcomes that were studied. However, pornography consumption was associated with lower interpersonal satisfaction outcomes in cross‐sectional surveys, longitudinal surveys, and experiments. Associations between pornography consumption and reduced interpersonal satisfaction outcomes were not moderated by their year of release or their publication status. But analyses by sex indicted significant results for men only.

  March 02, 2017   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12108   open full text
• The Battle of the Screens: Unraveling Attention Allocation and Memory Effects When Multiscreening.
  Claire M. Segijn, Hilde A. M. Voorveld, Lisa Vandeberg, Edith G. Smit.
  Human Communication Research. February 21, 2017
  Multiscreening, the simultaneous usage of multiple screens, is a relatively understudied phenomenon that may have a large impact on media effects. First, we explored people's viewing behavior while multiscreening by means of an eye‐tracker. Second, we examined people's reporting of attention, by comparing eye‐tracker and self‐reported attention measures. Third, we assessed the effects of multiscreening on people's memory, by comparing people's memory for editorial and advertising content when multiscreening (television–tablet) versus single screening. The results of the experiment (N = 177) show that (a) people switched between screens 2.5 times per minute, (b) people were capable of reporting their own attention, and (c) multiscreeners remembered content just as well as single screeners, when they devoted sufficient attention to the content.

  February 21, 2017   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12106   open full text
• Comprehension Models of Audiovisual Discourse Processing.
  Courtney Anderegg, Fashina Aladé, David R. Ewoldsen, Zheng Wang.
  Human Communication Research. February 16, 2017
  Comprehension is integral to enjoyment of media narratives, yet our understanding of how viewers create the situation models that underlie comprehension is limited. This study utilizes two models of comprehension that had previously been tested with factual texts/videos to predict viewers' recall of entertainment media. Across five television/film clips, the landscape model explained at least 29% of the variance in recall. A dual coding version that assumed separate verbal and visual representations of the story significantly improved the model fit in four of the clips, accounting for an additional 15–29% of the variance. The dimensions of the event‐indexing model (time, space, protagonist, causality, and intentionality) significantly moderated the relationship between the dual coding model and participant recall in all clips.

  February 16, 2017   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12107   open full text
• The Effects of Accumulated Underaccommodation on Perceptions of Underaccommodative Communication and Speakers.
  Jessica Gasiorek, Marko Dragojevic.
  Human Communication Research. January 17, 2017
  This study examined the effects of repeated instances of underaccommodation (i.e., insufficiently adjusted communication) on people's perceptions and evaluations of communication and speakers. Participants (N = 179) completed a series of three map‐based tasks that required them to follow directions that contained insufficient information. Consistent with hypotheses, as underaccommodation accumulated across tasks, participants inferred less positive motives for the speaker's communication, and inferences about motive for each task contributed directly and indirectly to overall evaluations of both the speaker and their communication. These results indicate that accumulated underaccommodation is consequential, and underscore the theoretical importance of motive attributions to predicting reactions to underaccommodation.

  January 17, 2017   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12105   open full text
• Parental Communication of Responsiveness and Control as Predictors of Adolescents' Emotional and Behavioral Resilience in Families with Alcoholic Versus Nonalcoholic Parents.
  Marie C. Haverfield, Jennifer A. Theiss.
  Human Communication Research. December 28, 2016
  Interactions between parents and children establish norms for managing emotions and behavior, which are markers of resilience. This study examines how features of interpersonal communication between parents and children facilitate the resilience of children of alcoholic parents versus nonalcoholic parents. Parent–adolescent dyads (30 families of alcoholics, 30 families of nonalcoholics) were invited to participate in two videotaped interactions, which were then rated for parental responsiveness and control and adolescent emotion regulation and behavioral impulsivity. Parental responsiveness was positively associated with emotion regulation, and parental control was negatively associated with emotion regulation and positively associated with impulsivity. Moderation analyses point to several notable differences in the effects for alcoholic versus nonalcoholic families.

  December 28, 2016   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12102   open full text
• Connections Between Family Communication Patterns, Person‐Centered Message Evaluations, and Emotion Regulation Strategies.
  Susanne M. Jones, Graham D. Bodie, Ascan F. Koerner.
  Human Communication Research. November 25, 2016
  In this study, we theorize that family communication patterns (FCPs) and 2 emotion regulation strategies (reappraisal and suppression) explain variations in person‐centered (PC) supportive message evaluations. Specifically, we forward an emotion regulation model that predicts reappraisal and suppression will mediate the relation between FCPs and PC message evaluations. Results (N = 361) suggest that conversation orientation positively predicted reappraisal and negatively predicted suppression; conformity orientation positively predicted suppression only. Reappraisal positively and suppression negatively predicted the extent to which people discriminated among PC message evaluations. Reappraisal also mediated the relation between conversation orientation and PC message evaluations. These results have implications for how capable people are to evaluate and ultimately profit from beneficial support when coping with negative emotions.

  November 25, 2016   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12103   open full text
• The Influence of Unrestricted Information Exchange on Willingness to Share Information With Outsiders.
  Wang Liao, Katherine A. McComas, Y. Connie Yuan.
  Human Communication Research. November 15, 2016
  This study addressed how engaging in different forms of information exchange within a group is related to group members' willingness to share risk information with outsiders. Drawing from social exchange theories, we focused on 3 unrestricted forms of information exchange: pure‐generalized, group‐generalized, and productive. We hypothesized that individuals' intentions to share information with outsiders would be associated positively with engagement in pure or group‐generalized exchanges and negatively with productive exchange. The hypotheses were supported with data from a national survey of U.S. growers (N = 452) that examined their information‐sharing behaviors with other parties inside and outside their local region. The findings have broad implications for understanding information sharing within and across groups.

  November 15, 2016   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12104   open full text
• Can the Media Help Women Be Better at Math? Stereotype Threat, Selective Exposure, Media Effects, and Women's Math Performance.
  Kate T. Luong, Silvia Knobloch‐Westerwick.
  Human Communication Research. November 07, 2016
  This study examines women's media selections when under the gender–math stereotype threat and the subsequent media effects on their math performance through the lens of the Selective Exposure Self‐ and Affect‐Management (SESAM) model, mood management theory, and social comparison theory. Female college students were randomly assigned to the stereotype threat condition or the control condition; then, they selectively browsed magazine pages showing female role models in stereotypical domains (beauty or family) and counterstereotypical domains (career or science) before taking the math test. The results show that women spent more time on career magazines when under threat, and this selective exposure's effect on their math performance was moderated by their assimilation to the role models.

  November 07, 2016   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12101   open full text
• Social Norms, Behavioral Payment Programs, and Cooperative Behaviors: Toward a Theory of Financial Incentives in Normative Systems.
  Maria Knight Lapinski, John M. Kerr, Jinhua Zhao, Robert S. Shupp.
  Human Communication Research. October 22, 2016
  Descriptive and injunctive social norms communicated among groups are known to influence behavior, yet little is known about how they evolve over time and how financial incentives influence norms. This article tests hypotheses about the ways in which monetary incentives can disrupt normative impact while facilitating cooperative behavior. The results of a public goods experiment indicate that the presence of a financial incentive for behavior can reduce the impact of perceived descriptive norms on behavior, and this reduction continues once the incentive is removed. The findings show that group identification enhances the effects of perceived descriptive norms on contribution behavior. The study results form the basis for theory building on the role of financial incentives in normative systems (FINS).

  October 22, 2016   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12099   open full text
• Tailoring the Mode of Information Presentation: Effects on Younger and Older Adults' Attention and Recall of Online Information.
  Minh Hao Nguyen, Julia C. M. van Weert, Nadine Bol, Eugène F. Loos, Kristien M. A. J. Tytgat, Anthony W. H. van de Ven, Ellen M. A. Smets.
  Human Communication Research. October 21, 2016
  Previous studies have mainly focused on tailoring message content to match individual characteristics and preferences. This study investigates the effect of a website tailored to individual preferences for the mode of information presentation, compared to 4 nontailored websites on younger and older adults' attention and recall of information, employing a 5 (condition: tailored vs. text, text with illustrations, audiovisual, combination) × 2 (age: younger [25–45] vs. older [≥65] adults) design (N = 559). The mode‐tailored condition (relative to nontailored conditions) improved attention to the website and, consequently, recall in older adults, but not in younger adults. Younger adults recalled more from nontailored information such as text only or text with illustrations, relative to tailored information.

  October 21, 2016   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12097   open full text
• Adolescents' Sexual Media Use and Willingness to Engage in Casual Sex: Differential Relations and Underlying Processes.
  Johanna M. F. van Oosten, Jochen Peter, Laura Vandenbosch.
  Human Communication Research. October 20, 2016
  The present study investigated the relationship between different types of sexual media use (i.e., sexually explicit internet material, sexually oriented reality TV, and sexy self‐presentations on social network sites) and adolescents' willingness to engage in casual sex, as well as underlying sociocognitive processes of this relationship. Drawing on a longitudinal three‐wave panel study among 1,467 adolescents (aged 13–17, 50% female), we found that exposure to sexually explicit Internet material directly predicted adolescents' willingness to engage in casual sex. Exposure to sexy self‐presentations of others on social network sites and sexually oriented reality TV predicted adolescents' willingness to engage in casual sex indirectly through descriptive peer norms on casual sex.

  October 20, 2016   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12098   open full text
• Beauty is Good: The Appearance Culture, the Internalization of Appearance Ideals, and Dysfunctional Appearance Beliefs Among Tweens.
  Jolien Trekels, Steven Eggermont.
  Human Communication Research. October 20, 2016
  Dysfunctional appearance beliefs have been identified as important risk factors in the development of body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behaviors among early adolescents. The current two‐wave study among 10–14‐year‐olds (N = 1,597, Mage = 11.25, SD = 1.05) aimed to delineate factors that contribute to the endorsement of such beliefs. Results showed that tweens discussed appearance‐related topics with their friends more often when they frequently watched tween television programs (all time 1). Both media exposure and peer conversations (time 1) were related to attributing benefits to attractiveness (time 1), which, in turn, predicted the internalization of appearance ideals (time 1). The internalization of appearance ideals positively predicted the endorsement of dysfunctional appearance beliefs 6 months later.

  October 20, 2016   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12100   open full text
• Testing the Ideology of Openness: The Comparative Effects of Talking, Writing, and Avoiding a Stressor on Rumination and Health.
  Tamara D. Afifi, Ariana F. Shahnazi, Samantha Coveleski, Sharde Davis, Anne Merrill.
  Human Communication Research. October 05, 2016
  A persistent assumption across the psychological literature is that talking and writing about one's stress is inherently more beneficial than avoiding it. This study compared the effects of these stress management strategies on personal and relational health. Two hundred and fifty‐one dating individuals focused on a stressor that was a current source of rumination. Writing about one's stressor for 5 consecutive days (without talking about it) decreased anxiety the most. Talking continuously about one's stressor to a dating partner harmed the relationship more than writing about or avoiding it. The effect of talking repeatedly about one's stressor on relationship quality and brooding, however, depended upon the emotional support received from one's dating partner and the ability to reappraise (positively or neutrally) the stressor.

  October 05, 2016   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12096   open full text
• Talking Health With a Machine: How Does Message Interactivity Affect Attitudes and Cognitions?
  Saraswathi Bellur, S. Shyam Sundar.
  Human Communication Research. September 15, 2016
  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.

  September 15, 2016   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12094   open full text
• When Misery Avoids Company: Selective Social Comparisons to Photographic Online Profiles.
  Benjamin K. Johnson, Silvia Knobloch‐Westerwick.
  Human Communication Research. September 14, 2016
  Social networking site usage may affect subjective well‐being. Two experiments examined how selective exposure to profiles of other users facilitated mood management via self‐enhancing social comparisons. In Study 1, when given detailed impression management cues, such as photographs and status updates, users in a negative mood sought upward rather than downward social comparisons. Study 2 found that relatively low levels of group identification with the social networking site community led to upward social comparisons by users in a negative mood. High group identifiers spent more time viewing upward comparisons, regardless of mood. Regarding exposure effects, upward social comparisons to profiles improved subsequent mood when the comparison involved career success. High group identifiers experienced greater positive mood following upward social comparisons.

  September 14, 2016   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12095   open full text
• Overconfidence at the Keyboard: Confidence and Accuracy in Interpreting Affect in E‐Mail Exchanges.
  Monica A. Riordan, Lauren A. Trichtinger.
  Human Communication Research. August 08, 2016
  Gesture, voice, expression, and context add richness to communications that increase chances of accurate interpretation. E‐mails lack much of this richness, leading readers to impose their own richness. Three experiments tested the effect of communicator relationship and availability of context on e‐mail writer and reader confidence levels and accuracy. Effects of nonverbal and verbal behavior were also investigated. Results showed that confidence levels for both writers and readers were high, yet somewhat unwarranted based on accuracy rates. Further, writers had more confidence that friends would correctly interpret e‐mails than strangers, although friends showed no more accuracy. Findings suggest that reliance upon friendship and context, as well as verbal and nonverbal cues, to interpret emotion in e‐mail is ineffective, sometimes detrimental.

  August 08, 2016   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12093   open full text
• The Implications of Computer‐Mediated Communication (CMC) for Social Support Message Processing and Outcomes: When and Why Are the Effects of Support Messages Strengthened During CMC?
  Stephen A. Rains, Steven R. Brunner, Chelsie Akers, Corey A. Pavlich, Eric Tsetsi.
  Human Communication Research. July 08, 2016
  Widespread use of computer‐mediated communication (CMC) for exchanging social support has raised questions about the support‐related implications of CMC. This study drew from the dual‐process theory of supportive message outcomes and examined the implications of CMC for support message processing and outcomes. We hypothesized that the reduced social cues in CMC would encourage greater elaboration on support message content and lead support messages to have a greater impact than in face‐to‐face interaction. The results of the experiment showed that, although the support message was held constant, participants in the CMC condition reported the strongest motivation to receive support, engaged in the greatest level of message elaboration, and experienced the most beneficial changes in worry and uncertainty discrepancy.

  July 08, 2016   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12087   open full text
• Motivations for Political Discussion: Antecedents and Consequences on Civic Engagement.
  Homero Zúñiga, Sebastián Valenzuela, Brian E. Weeks.
  Human Communication Research. July 08, 2016
  Scholarship on informal discussion of politics and current events has mainly focused on its cognitive, attitudinal, and behavioral effects. In comparison, fewer studies have addressed the antecedents of political talk. Using 2‐wave U.S. panel survey data, this study sheds light over 2 sets of motivations people may have for engaging in political conversation: civic‐oriented and social‐oriented goals; and their effects over civic participation. Using structural equation modeling, results suggest that both civic and social motivations are positive predictors of frequency of political discussion, and indirectly associated with civic engagement. From a theoretical perspective, these findings cast political talk as a more complex phenomenon than what deliberative theory suggests, and point to social motivations as an additional path to civic life.

  July 08, 2016   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12086   open full text
• Candidate Vulnerability and Exposure to Counterattitudinal Information: Evidence From Two U.S. Presidential Elections.
  Dustin Carnahan, R. Kelly Garrett, Emily K. Lynch.
  Human Communication Research. July 08, 2016
  Politically motivated selective exposure has traditionally been understood through the lens of long‐standing attitudes and beliefs, but the role of environment in shaping information exposure practices merits further consideration. Citizens might respond to the political environment in their information‐seeking behavior for numerous reasons. Citizens who believe their position is politically vulnerable have specific cognitive and affective needs that may make them uniquely attuned to counterattitudinal information. In the context of a presidential election, this means that as the defeat of a supported candidate appears more likely, attention to counterattitudinal content will increase. Data collected in the 2008 and 2012 U.S. Presidential elections support this prediction, although this relationship was observed primarily among supporters of the Republican candidate in both elections.

  July 08, 2016   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12088   open full text
• Do Our Facebook Friends Make Us Feel Worse? A Study of Social Comparison and Emotion.
  Jiangmeng Liu, Cong Li, Nick Carcioppolo, Michael North.
  Human Communication Research. July 08, 2016
  People often compare themselves to others to gain a better understanding of the self in a process known as social comparison. The current study discusses how people engage in a social comparison process on Facebook, and how observing content from their Facebook friends may affect their emotions. A 2 (comparison direction) × 2 (relational closeness) × 2 (self‐esteem) between‐subjects experiment was conducted with 163 adult participants. The results revealed a significant 3‐way interaction such that people with high self‐esteem would be happier receiving positive information than negative information from their close friends, but the effect would be the opposite if the information was from a distant friend. There was no such difference for people with low self‐esteem.

  July 08, 2016   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12090   open full text
• Media Multitasking Effects on Cognitive vs. Attitudinal Outcomes: A Meta‐Analysis.
  Se‐Hoon Jeong, Yoori Hwang.
  Human Communication Research. July 08, 2016
  Despite the recent proliferation of research on media multitasking, a comprehensive meta‐analytic review of its effects has not been available. Based on a review of 49 media multitasking studies, this meta‐analysis showed that multitasking has negative effects on cognitive outcomes, whereas it has positive effects on attitudinal (or persuasion‐related) outcomes. Moderator analyses suggested that the negative effects of multitasking on cognitive outcomes varied by (a) user control, (b) task relevance, and (c) task contiguity. Specifically, multitasking had greater effects (a) when media users had less control over the media, (b) for tasks that were unrelated, and (c) for tasks that were physically distant. Implications for future multitasking research are further discussed.

  July 08, 2016   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12089   open full text
• Partisan Provocation: The Role of Partisan News Use and Emotional Responses in Political Information Sharing in Social Media.
  A. Hasell, Brian E. Weeks.
  Human Communication Research. July 08, 2016
  Citizens increasingly rely on social media to consume and disseminate news and information about politics, but the factors that drive political information sharing on these sites are not well understood. This study focused on how online partisan news use influences political information sharing in part because of the distinct negative emotions it arouses in its audience. Using panel survey data collected during the 2012 U.S. presidential election, we found that use of proattitudinal partisan news online is associated with increased anger, but not anxiety, directed at the opposing party's presidential candidate and that anger subsequently facilitated information sharing about the election on social media. The results suggest partisan media may drive online information sharing by generating anger in its audience.

  July 08, 2016   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12092   open full text
• Relational Turbulence Theory: Explaining Variation in Subjective Experiences and Communication Within Romantic Relationships.
  Denise Haunani Solomon, Leanne K. Knobloch, Jennifer A. Theiss, Rachel M. McLaren.
  Human Communication Research. July 08, 2016
  This essay extends the relational turbulence model as a framework for understanding communication in romantic relationships. Following the relational turbulence model, relational turbulence theory identifies relational uncertainty and interdependence as parameters that shape subjective experiences, but the theory clarifies the theoretical processes underlying their distinctive effects. In addition, relational turbulence theory articulates causal processes linking cognitive appraisals and emotions to communication. Relational turbulence theory also describes how episodes characterized by biased appraisals, intense emotions, and volatile communication coalesce into global evaluations of relationships as turbulent. In turn, the theory addresses the effect of relational turbulence on personal, relational, and social outcomes. Finally, the theory explains how communication can contribute to the development of both turbulence and resilience in romantic relationships.

  July 08, 2016   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12091   open full text
• The Role of Person‐Culture Fit in Chinese Students' Cultural Adjustment in the United States: A Galileo Mental Model Approach.
  Lin Zhu, Meina Liu, Edward L. Fink.
  Human Communication Research. June 23, 2016
  This article used a Galileo multidimensional scaling model to explain how intercultural communication affected sojourners' wellbeing in their host culture through the convergence of the mental models between sojourners and host nationals with whom the sojourners communicated. Participants were 126 sojourning Chinese in the United States and 30 associated domestic Americans. Data were collected shortly after the Chinese sojourners arrived in the United States and again 3 months later. A measure of person‐culture fit was generated by comparing each Chinese sojourner's mental model with the aggregate mental model of the associated domestic Americans. Results showed that the amount of intercultural communication had a significant effect on person‐culture fit, in turn affecting sojourners' adaptation outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.

  June 23, 2016   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12084   open full text
• Mothers' Impact on Daughters' Cardiovascular Reactivity in a High‐Threat Context: An Immersive Virtual Environment Study.
  Walid A. Afifi, Katlyn Gangi, Jim Blascovich, Tamara D. Afifi, Jessica E. Cornick, Anne F. Merrill, Will Ryan, Ken Sterling.
  Human Communication Research. June 23, 2016
  Applying Attachment Theory, research on confirmation, the Entropy Model of Uncertainty, and the Biopsychosocial Model of Challenge and Threat, this investigation examined the role of mothers' communication on adolescents' cardiovascular response to threat. An experimental design allowed for the manipulation of maternal response to daughters experiencing a rapidly approaching wildfire in an immersive virtual environment. Results revealed complexities in the relative benefits of maternal vocalic presence during high‐threat situation, with the mother's history of confirming feedback playing an important role in daughters' cardiovascular response. Implications for knowledge are addressed and methodological possibilities of using immersive virtual environments are noted.

  June 23, 2016   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12085   open full text
• Slacking Off or Winding Down? An Experience Sampling Study on the Drivers and Consequences of Media Use for Recovery Versus Procrastination.
  Leonard Reinecke, Wilhelm Hofmann.
  Human Communication Research. March 29, 2016
  Today's constant availability of media content provides users with various recreational resources. It may also challenge self‐control, however, once media exposure conflicts with other goals and obligations. How media users deal with these self‐regulatory chances and risks in their daily lives is largely unknown. Our study addressed the predictors and consequences of recreational and procrastinatory media use using experience sampling methodology (N = 215; 1,094 media use episodes). Results suggest that trait (self‐control, performance goal orientation) as well as state variables (exhaustion) are significant predictors of media use for recovery versus procrastination. Whereas recreational media use showed a positive effect on entertainment, which in turn enhanced subjective well‐being, negative self‐evaluation elicited by procrastinatory media use negatively affected well‐being.

  March 29, 2016   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12082   open full text
• An Examination of Functional Difficulties From Internet Use: Media Habit and Displacement Theory Explanations.
  Robert S. Tokunaga.
  Human Communication Research. March 21, 2016
  Seminal studies concerning the Internet brought legitimacy to public concerns about its dissocializing effects. Although the negative social and professional outcomes of the Internet are still attributed to the time users spend online, scholars have more recently turned their attention to media habits in explaining these effects. This investigation tests the displacement and media habit perspectives on the consequences of Internet use. Study 1 uses cross‐sectional data to test the displacement and Internet habit positions. The data support media habit theory explanations but find little support for displacement theory. Study 2 replicates the results of Study 1 with longitudinal data from incoming college freshmen. Study 3 holds time constant and examines the causal direction between functional difficulties and habit strength

  March 21, 2016   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12081   open full text
• Characterizing the Linguistic Chameleon: Personal and Social Correlates of Linguistic Style Accommodation.
  Kate Muir, Adam Joinson, Rachel Cotterill, Nigel Dewdney.
  Human Communication Research. March 17, 2016
  Linguistic style accommodation between conversationalists is associated with positive social outcomes. We examine social power and personality as factors driving the occurrence of linguistic style accommodation, and the social outcomes of accommodation. Social power was manipulated to create 144 face‐to‐face dyadic interactions between individuals of high versus low power and 64 neutral power interactions. Particular configurations of personality traits (high self‐monitoring, Machiavellianism and leadership, and low self‐consciousness, impression management and agreeableness), combined with a low‐power role, led to an increased likelihood of linguistic style accommodation. Further, greater accommodation by low‐power individuals positively influenced perceptions of subjective rapport and attractiveness. We propose individual differences interact with social context to influence the conditions under which nonconscious communication accommodation occurs.

  March 17, 2016   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12083   open full text
• A Review and Meta‐Analysis Examining Conceptual and Operational Definitions of Problematic Internet Use.
  Robert S. Tokunaga, Stephen A. Rains.
  Human Communication Research. March 01, 2016
  This study examined different conceptual and operational definitions of problematic Internet use (PIU). 3 perspectives of PIU are described along with a meta‐analytic review (K = 112) conducted to explore the implications stemming from how PIU is measured. The results offer evidence to support the construct validity of measures developed from the impulse control disorder and relationship resource deficits traditions but raise questions about substance dependence measures of PIU. Additionally, there were small but noteworthy differences in the associations between PIU and key antecedents and outcomes that could be attributed to PIU measurement tradition. Suggestions for developing a more robust body of scholarship on PIU are offered.

  March 01, 2016   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12075   open full text
• Is the Third‐Person Effect Real? A Critical Examination of Rationales, Testing Methods, and Previous Findings of the Third‐Person Effect on Censorship Attitudes.
  Sungeun Chung, Shin‐Il Moon.
  Human Communication Research. February 24, 2016
  Regarding the effect of the third‐person perception on censorship attitudes, the present study first highlighted logical weaknesses of previously proposed rationales and limitations of previously used statistical models to test the effect. This study reanalyzed data from past research on the effect of the third‐person perception. In Study 1, the average effects of the other‐self perceptual gap in the media influence on censorship attitudes were estimated based on reports from 13 previous studies (total N = 6,414). Study 2 reanalyzed Schmierbach, Boyle, Xu, and McLeod's (2011) correlational data (N = 692). The results of these two studies showed that the presumed effect on others is a stronger predictor of censorship attitudes than the other‐self differential in perceived media effect.

  February 24, 2016   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12078   open full text
• Explaining the Durable Effects of Verbal Person‐Centered Supportive Communication: Indirect Effects or Invisible Support?
  Andrew C. High, Denise Haunani Solomon.
  Human Communication Research. February 24, 2016
  Researchers have documented benefits from receiving supportive messages high in verbal person‐centeredness (VPC), but the processes through which such messages produce longitudinal effects remain unclear. This study evaluated two perspectives (i.e., indirect effects and invisible support) that address how supportive messages can produce durable effects and tested sex differences in those effects. 255 dyads completed a laboratory‐based interaction in which level of VPC and sex of the support provider were manipulated. 3 weeks later, support receivers evaluated the conversations and their stressor. Variations in VPC produced durable effects both when messages were positively evaluated initially and when they were evaluated as supportive by providers or third‐party observers but judged low in supportiveness by receivers. Provider sex moderated the results.

  February 24, 2016   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12077   open full text
• Cultivating the Opinionated: The Need to Evaluate Moderates the Relationship Between Crime Drama Viewing and Scary World Evaluations.
  Lennert Coenen, Jan Van den Bulck.
  Human Communication Research. February 24, 2016
  The literature on cultivation processes assumes that second‐order judgments (e.g., attitudes) are repeatedly updated during viewing (i.e., on‐line) and can be reported when asked. In this article, we propose this reasoning only holds for people high in their need to evaluate (NTE). Low‐NTE individuals do not update their opinions on‐line and have to construct their attitudes memory‐based, limiting the likelihood of finding second‐order relationships. Results from a cross‐sectional survey among 226 adolescents indicate that crime drama viewing and scary world beliefs are only correlated among high‐NTE individuals. NTE does not moderate cultivation through nonfiction. The theoretical implications of memory‐based attitudes for second‐order cultivation are discussed, and suggestions are made for future research on attitudinal media effects.

  February 24, 2016   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12080   open full text
• I Don't Like You Because You're Hard to Understand: The Role of Processing Fluency in the Language Attitudes Process.
  Marko Dragojevic, Howard Giles.
  Human Communication Research. February 08, 2016
  Two experiments examined the effects of processing fluency—that is, the ease with which speech is processed—on language attitudes toward native‐ and foreign‐accented speech. Participants listened to an audio recording of a story read in either a Standard American English (SAE) or Punjabi English (PE) accent. They heard the recording either free of noise or mixed with background white noise of various intensity levels. Listeners attributed more solidarity (but equal status) to the SAE than the PE accent. Compared to quieter listening conditions, noisier conditions reduced processing fluency, elicited a more negative affective reaction, and resulted in more negative language attitudes. Processing fluency and affect mediated the effects of noise on language attitudes. Theoretical, methodological, and practical implications are discussed.

  February 08, 2016   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12079   open full text
• Story Perspective and Character Similarity as Drivers of Identification and Narrative Persuasion.
  Hans Hoeken, Matthijs Kolthoff, José Sanders.
  Human Communication Research. February 02, 2016
  Identification with a character is an important mechanism of narrative persuasion. In 2 studies, the impact of character similarity on identification was pitted against that of story perspective. Participants read stories in which a lawyer (Study 1) and a general practitioner (GP; Study 2) had a conflict with another character. Perspective was manipulated by describing the events as experienced and narrated by the lawyer (GP) or their opponent. In Study 1 (N = 120), 60 participants were law students, in Study 2 (N = 120) 60 were medical students. Both perspective and program of study influenced identification, which mediated the impact of perspective on attitude. If participants felt highly similar to the professional's opponent, the mediating effect of identification was blocked.

  February 02, 2016   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12076   open full text
• The Allure of Aphrodite: How Gender‐Congruent Media Portrayals Impact Adult Women's Possible Future Selves.
  Ashley R. Kennard, Laura E. Willis, Melissa J. Robinson, Silvia Knobloch‐Westerwick.
  Human Communication Research. October 13, 2015
  This study investigated how media exposure affects how noncollege women envision their futures. Over 5 days, a prolonged exposure experiment presented childless women (aged 21–35) with magazine portrayals of females in gender‐congruent (mother/homemaker or beauty ideals) or gender‐incongruent (professional) social roles. Responses to an open‐ended question revealed that 3 days after media exposure, only gender‐congruent roles remained salient. Exposure to homemaker portrayals induced more thoughts about possible future selves (PFSs) and fostered concerns about motherhood and career roles; it also produced more positive affective valence compared with exposure to portrayals of professional women, particularly among women with gender‐congruent life circumstances. Exposure impacts were mediated by the extent to which women linked the magazine portrayals to their own PFSs.

  October 13, 2015   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12072   open full text
• Contemplating Tragedy Raises Gratifications and Fosters Self‐Acceptance.
  Guan Soon Khoo.
  Human Communication Research. October 12, 2015
  Despite the reflective nature of tragedy, little research has focused on reflection's impact on “pleasure” and personal growth. Drawing from entertainment, literary, and health research, this study assessed the degree to which contemplating tragedy increases gratifications and promotes self‐acceptance. The moderating effects of life events were also examined. In an experiment, participants (N = 120) were randomly instructed to either watch a Hollywood drama and reflect, or only watch the movie (control). Results showed significant main effects on appreciation and enjoyment. Reflection increased gratifications for participants with remote loss (≥2 years) but not recent loss, and it strengthened the link between self‐perceptual depth and a 4‐week change in self‐compassion. The benefits and drawbacks of reflecting on tragedy are discussed.

  October 12, 2015   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12074   open full text
• Effects of Self‐Affirmation, Narratives, and Informational Messages in Reducing Unrealistic Optimism About Alcohol‐Related Problems Among College Students.
  Hye Kyung Kim, Jeff Niederdeppe.
  Human Communication Research. October 12, 2015
  This study examines intervention approaches to improve the accuracy of risk judgments among college students with unrealistic optimism about alcohol‐related problems. We conducted a randomized experiment with 2 self‐affirmation (affirmed, nonaffirmed) and 3 message conditions (narrative, informational, no treatment control). Results indicate that providing risk information to unrealistic optimists, while concomitantly protecting their self‐concept via either self‐affirmation or narratives, may reduce defensive reactions and align their perceived risk more closely with their actual risk. Self‐affirmation reduced unrealistic optimism only among those exposed to an informational message, not those exposed to a narrative. The narrative message appeared to increase perceived risk among unrealistic optimists via transportation and identification with the character. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of this work.

  October 12, 2015   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12073   open full text
• Implications of Pro‐ and Counterattitudinal Information Exposure for Affective Polarization.
  R. Kelly Garrett, Shira Dvir Gvirsman, Benjamin K. Johnson, Yariv Tsfati, Rachel Neo, Aysenur Dal.
  Human Communication Research. May 06, 2014
  The American electorate is characterized by political polarization, and especially by increasingly negative affective responses toward opposing party members. To what extent might this be attributed to exposure to information reinforcing individuals' partisan identity versus information representing the views of partisan opponents? And is this a uniquely American phenomenon? This study uses survey data collected immediately following recent national elections in two countries, the United States and Israel, to address these questions. Results across the two nations are generally consistent, and indicate that pro‐ and counterattitudinal information exposure has distinct influences on perceptions of and attitudes toward members of opposing parties, despite numerous cross‐cultural differences. We discuss implications in light of recent evidence about partisans' tendency to engage in selective exposure.

  May 06, 2014   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12028   open full text
• Medical Dramas and Viewer Perception of Health: Testing Cultivation Effects.
  Jae Eun Chung.
  Human Communication Research. April 29, 2014
  By using a national representative sample (N = 11,555), the current study tested cultivation theory and aimed at understanding the relationship between medical drama watching and viewer perception and beliefs related to health. Findings suggest that heavy viewers of medical dramas tend to underestimate the gravity of chronic illnesses such as cancer and cardiovascular disease and undermine the importance of tackling these issues. Heavier viewers of medical dramas, compared to lighter viewers, also tend to take a more fatalistic perspective about cancer. Theoretical implications for cultivation theory and practical implications for health policy makers and drama producers are discussed.

  April 29, 2014   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12026   open full text
• Proactive vs. Retroactive Mediation: Effects of Mediation's Timing on Children's Reactions to Popular Cartoon Violence.
  Eric E. Rasmussen.
  Human Communication Research. April 29, 2014
  An experiment with 150 children aged 5–7 and 10–12 revealed that children's reactions to violent TV shows differed based on when they received negatively valenced, evaluative mediation. Results also showed that the effect of mediation's timing consistently depended on children's age. Older children responded better to pre‐exposure mediation than they did to postexposure mediation. In some cases, older children exhibited reactance to postexposure mediation. For younger children, on the other hand, mediation given at any time was more beneficial than no mediation at all. Therefore, the timing of active mediation may be an important factor in interpreting research and in the design and implementation of mediation interventions.

  April 29, 2014   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12030   open full text
• Linking Emotion to the Conflict Face‐Negotiation Theory: A U.S.–China Investigation of the Mediating Effects of Anger, Compassion, and Guilt in Interpersonal Conflict.
  Qin Zhang, Stella Ting‐Toomey, John G. Oetzel.
  Human Communication Research. April 29, 2014
  This study linked emotion to the theoretical assumptions of the face‐negotiation theory and probed the critical role of anger, compassion, and guilt in understanding the complex pathways of their relationships with self‐construal, face concerns, and conflict styles in U.S. and Chinese cultures. Results showed that anger was associated positively with independent self‐construal, self‐face concern, and the competing style, and compassion was associated positively with interdependent self‐construal, other‐face concern, and the integrating, compromising, and obliging styles. Guilt was related positively with interdependent self‐construal and the obliging style in the United States, and with interdependent self‐construal and the avoiding style in China. Overall, emotion mediated the effects of self‐construal and face concerns on conflict styles in both cultures, but cultural differences also emerged.

  April 29, 2014   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12029   open full text
• The Effects of Truth–Lie Base Rate on Interactive Deception Detection Accuracy.
  Timothy R. Levine, David D. Clare, Tracie Green, Kim B. Serota, Hee Sun Park.
  Human Communication Research. April 29, 2014
  Consistent with the Park and Levine's (PL) probability model of deception detection accuracy, previous research has shown that as the proportion of honest messages increases, there is a corresponding linear increase in correct truth–lie discrimination. Three experiments (N = 120, 205, and 243, respectively) varied the truth–lie base rate in an interactive deception detection task. Linear base‐rate effects were observed in all 3 experiments (average effect r#x02009;= .61) regardless of whether the judges were interactive participants or passive observers, previously acquainted or strangers, or previously exposed to truths or lies. The predictive power of the PL probability model appears robust and extends to interactive deception despite PL's logical incompatibility with interpersonal deception theory.

  April 29, 2014   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12027   open full text
• Victim and Perpetrator Accounts of Hurtful Messages: An Actor–Partner Interdependence Model.
  Rachel M. McLaren, Denise Haunani Solomon.
  Human Communication Research. April 16, 2014
  This study examined how message characteristics and relational turbulence correspond with victim and perpetrator experiences of hurtful messages. Romantic partners described 2 events: one where each of them was a victim of the partner's hurtful message. Trained judges evaluated qualities of hurtful messages and participants reported relationship qualities, intensity of hurt experienced as a victim, and the partner's hurt feelings when the respondent was the perpetrator. Third‐party ratings of hurtfulness were associated with victims' intensity of hurt. For females, relational turbulence was associated with their intensity of hurt as victims. For males, relational turbulence was associated with their perception of the female victims' hurt. The authors discuss the implications for the work on hurtful messages and relational turbulence.

  April 16, 2014   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12031   open full text
• Humiliate My Enemies or Mock My Friends? Applying Disposition Theory of Humor to the Study of Political Parody Appreciation and Attitudes Toward Candidates.
  Amy B. Becker.
  Human Communication Research. February 18, 2014
  The research examines politically entertaining media through a mass communication lens, applying the disposition theory of humor toward the study of political parody appreciation and the effects of exposure to varied humor types on political attitudes. The analyses rely on experimental data (N = 269) collected in 2013. The results of the first analysis suggest that the interaction of disposition and exposure to different types of humor significantly influences variation in political parody appreciation. The findings from the second analysis show that negative affect toward the opposing candidate, or the presumed victor of a humorous situation, can dampen attitudes toward the victim given exposure to critical humor. The strategic implications for campaigns looking to engage with humor are discussed.

  February 18, 2014   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12022   open full text
• Flow, Diversity, Form, and Influence of Political Talk in Social‐Media‐Based Public Forums.
  Sujin Choi.
  Human Communication Research. February 04, 2014
  By investigating social‐media‐based public forums and using network and content analyses, this study explores how political discussions flow, how diverse they are, and what forms of political discussions are influential. The results suggest that the flow of political discussions is not notably centralized and cliquish. Participants refer primarily to the remarks of like‐minded fellow citizens. Political discussions are more emotional than cognitive and express more anger than anxiety, but it appears that cognitive discussions are more influential than emotional ones. Among cognitive components, assertive and strong discussions have greater influence than analytical ones. These results have implications for the practice of citizenship and the theory of selective exposure as well as for future directions in political communication research.

  February 04, 2014   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12023   open full text
• Local News Media Cultivation of Host Receptivity in Plainstown.
  Kelly McKay‐Semmler, Shane M. Semmler, Young Yun Kim.
  Human Communication Research. February 03, 2014
  This message‐system and cultivation analysis investigated the influence of local news on the host receptivity of native‐born “Plainstown” residents toward immigrants. The message‐system analysis revealed that regional television and newspaper immigration coverage was more pessimistic, while local newspaper immigration coverage was more optimistic. A cultivation analysis confirmed that attention to pessimistic coverage interacted with conversations about immigration to reduce host receptivity. This research contributes to the study of cross‐cultural adaptation by constructing and validating a measure of Y. Y. Kim's (2001) concept of host receptivity. By demonstrating that second‐order cultivation is the product of on‐line cognitive processes, this research provided additional validation of Shrum's (2004) online model of second‐order cultivation. Findings suggest that optimistic immigration news frames may facilitate host receptivity.

  February 03, 2014   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12024   open full text
• Problem‐Focused Content in the Job Search: Two Tests of the Cognitive‐Emotional Theory of Esteem Support Messages.
  Amanda J. Holmstrom, David D. Clare, Jessica C. Russell.
  Human Communication Research. January 28, 2014
  The Cognitive‐Emotional Theory of Esteem Support Messages posits that messages intended to enhance recipients' state self‐esteem focus on cognitions and/or behaviors. In the current studies, problem‐focused message content (i.e., content focused on enacting behavior to alleviate the esteem threat) was of particular interest. College students (Study 1, n= 227) applying for postgraduation jobs and unemployed, underemployed, and/or displaced workers recruited from a government one‐stop career center (Study 2, n = 292) rated esteem support messages varying in degree of focus on behaviors vs. cognitions relevant to the job search process. Messages focused on behavior were rated as less effective than those focusing on cognitions relevant to the esteem threat, although support for this result was stronger in Study 2.

  January 28, 2014   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12025   open full text
• Expressive Writing to Cope with Hate Speech: Assessing Psychobiological Stress Recovery and Forgiveness Promotion for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Queer Victims of Hate Speech.
  John Patrick Crowley.
  Human Communication Research. December 06, 2013
  This study examined whether expressive writing could help lesbian, gay, bisexual, or queer (LGBQ) hate speech victims increase forgiveness for offenders, and accelerate cortisol recovery following a discussion task in which they recalled the details of their experiences. Participants (N = 46) were assigned to a benefit‐finding, traumatic disclosure writing, or control condition. The findings indicate that benefit‐finding promoted forgiveness and reduced cortisol values, whereas traumatic disclosure writing only accelerated cortisol recovery. Analyses of the linguistic features of victims' narratives revealed that the amount of emotion‐related words related to cortisol recovery, whereas the greater use of cognitive words was related with forgiveness. Implications for theory, methodological comparison, and future research are discussed.

  December 06, 2013   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12020   open full text
• Diagnostic Utility: Experimental Demonstrations and Replications of Powerful Question Effects in High‐Stakes Deception Detection.
  Timothy R. Levine, J. Pete Blair, David D. Clare.
  Human Communication Research. November 27, 2013
  The concept of diagnostic utility was used to create questions that would differentially affect deception detection accuracy. Six deception detection studies show that subtle differences in questioning produced accuracy rates that were predictably, substantially, and reliably above and below chance. The first 3 detection studies demonstrate that diagnostically useful questioning can reliably achieve accuracy rates over 70% with student and experienced judges. The fourth and fifth experiments demonstrated negative diagnostic utility among federal investigators but not students. The final experiment crossed 3 sets of interview questions with experience. Strong question effects produced a swing in accuracy from 32 to 73%. A questioning by experience interaction was also obtained.

  November 27, 2013   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12021   open full text
• The Role of Conversation in Developing Accurate Political Perceptions: A Multilevel Social Network Approach.
  William P. Eveland, Myiah J. Hutchens.
  Human Communication Research. June 27, 2013
  We employed social network data from 25 randomly sampled voluntary associations to understand the factors associated with accurate perceptions of candidate preferences of group members. We analyzed relationships at the dyadic level, but also considered the overall accuracy of perceptions by each ego of all alters (“perceptiveness”) and the overall accuracy of perception by all alters of each ego (“explicitness”) regarding candidate preferences using multilevel modeling techniques. We found low levels of accuracy on average, but high variability and differential patterns of prediction of perceptiveness and explicitness. There was a strong, consistent link between the frequency of communication and accuracy both at the dyadic and aggregate levels which was moderated by the homophily of political preferences within the group.

  June 27, 2013   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12011   open full text
• Developing and Validating the Perceived Parental Media Mediation Scale: A Self‐Determination Perspective.
  Patti M. Valkenburg, Jessica Taylor Piotrowski, Jo Hermanns, Rebecca de Leeuw.
  Human Communication Research. June 27, 2013
  The aim of this study was to develop the Perceived Parental Media Mediation Scale (PPMMS). The PPMMS measures adolescents' perceptions about how frequently their parents restrict or actively discuss their media use, and in what style (i.e., autonomy‐supportive, controlling, or inconsistent). In a first study among 761 preadolescents and early adolescents (10–14 years), we confirmed that the subscales of the PPMMS could be distinguished. In a second study, in which 499 adolescents were surveyed again, the test–retest reliability and validity of the PPMMS were established. The PPMMS met the standards of reliability, validity, and utility. Subscales correlated in the expected directions with general parenting styles, family conflict, prosocial behavior, and antisocial behavior.

  June 27, 2013   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12010   open full text
• Pornography Consumption and Attitudes Toward Homosexuality: A National Longitudinal Study.
  Paul J. Wright, Soyoung Bae.
  Human Communication Research. June 22, 2013
  This study utilized national panel data gathered in 2008 (T1) and 2010 (T2) to examine associations between Black and White U.S. adults' pornography consumption and homosexuality attitudes (indexed via moral judgments of homosexuality and attitudes toward same‐sex marriage). Pornography consumption at T1 predicted interindividual change in attitudes toward more acceptance of homosexuality at T2 for moral individualists, Whites, and men. Women expressed more positive homosexuality attitudes than men, but their attitudes did not vary with exposure to pornography. Homosexuality attitudes at T1 did not predict interindividual change in the probability of pornography consumption at T2. Results were parallel when moral judgments of homosexuality and attitudes toward same‐sex marriage were analyzed separately or were combined into a composite index.

  June 22, 2013   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12009   open full text
• Testing the Model of Influence of Presumed Influence in a Boundary Condition: The Impact of Question Order.
  Lijiang Shen, Christin Huggins.
  Human Communication Research. June 18, 2013
  We argue that evidence for and utility of the Influence of Presumed Influence (IPI) model lies in a robust causal chain in the form of self‐exposure → other‐exposure → perceived effects on others → behavior. A review of extant literature reveals competing theoretical explanations, as well as the possibility that a method factor (question order) could have driven the obtained models in structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses. The IPI model was tested in the boundary condition of different question orders using data from a web‐based experimental study. The results from 2‐group model SEM analyses show that the causal directions among presumed influence and media effects schema variables are indeed a function of question order.

  June 18, 2013   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12013   open full text
• “You Need to Stop Talking About This!”: Verbal Rumination and the Costs of Social Support.
  Tamara Afifi, Walid Afifi, Anne F. Merrill, Amanda Denes, Sharde Davis.
  Human Communication Research. June 18, 2013
  This study examined whether the type of support individuals receive when they are verbally ruminating affects their cognitive rumination (brooding), anxiety, and relationship satisfaction; 233 young adults were randomly assigned to be the subject, 233 others the confederate. The confederate was trained to provide “good support” or “poor support” to the subject who talked about a topic he/she had been verbally ruminating about recently. When individuals verbally ruminated and received poor support, they became more anxious and dissatisfied with the friendship. When individuals received good support, they were more satisfied with their friendship, but their anxiety was not significantly reduced. In addition, verbal rumination was directly associated with more brooding after the conversation, regardless of the type of support provided.

  June 18, 2013   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12012   open full text
• Engagement With Novel Virtual Environments: The Role of Perceived Novelty and Flow in the Development of the Deficient Self‐Regulation of Internet Use and Media Habits.
  Robert Shota Tokunaga.
  Human Communication Research. May 22, 2013
  This article extends theory on the deficient self‐regulation (DSR) of Internet use and media habits by integrating predictors relevant to technology use. It introduces novelty perceptions of a technology and flow as conditions that increase the likelihood of experiencing DSR and media habits. An experiment, with between‐ and within‐subjects components, was undertaken to test whether the relationships of DSR hypothesized at various stages of technology use are substantiated. Results demonstrated that the perceived novelty of a technology initiated flow, which in turn predicted growth of DSR during initial engagement with virtual environments. Growth of DSR in familiar stages of technology use corresponded to the formation of media habits over time.

  May 22, 2013   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12008   open full text
• Reactance, Restoration, and Cognitive Structure: Comparative Statics.
  Elena Bessarabova, Edward L. Fink, Monique Turner.
  Human Communication Research. May 22, 2013
  This study (N = 143) examined the effects of freedom threat on cognitive structures, using recycling as its topic. The results of a 2(Freedom Threat: low vs. high) × 2(Postscript: restoration vs. filler) plus 1(Control) experiment indicated that, relative to the control condition, high freedom threat created a boomerang effect for the targeted attitude (recycling) as the attitude and behavioral intention changed in the opposite direction to the one advocated in the message. For the associated but untargeted attitude (energy conservation), reactance effects were less pronounced. Furthermore, a restoration postscript was examined as a reactance mitigation strategy. The restoration postscript was effective for high‐ but not low‐threat messages.

  May 22, 2013   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12007   open full text
• Reduction of Perceived Social Distance as an Explanation for Media's Influence on Personal Risk Perceptions: A Test of the Risk Convergence Model.
  Jiyeon So, Robin Nabi.
  Human Communication Research. May 22, 2013
  The risk convergence model proposes reduction of perceived social distance to a mediated personality as a mechanism through which the mass media can influence audiences' personal risk perceptions. As an initial test of the model, this study examined whether 5 audience variables known to facilitate media effects on personal risk perceptions—identification, parasocial interaction, personal relevance, transportation, and perceived realism—would exert their influences through the reduction of perceived social distance. The results indicate that reduction of perceived social distance fully explained the process of identification and transportation influencing personal risk perceptions, while partially mediating the relationship between personal relevance and personal risk perceptions. Theoretical and practical implications for health risk communication and entertainment education are discussed.

  May 22, 2013   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12005   open full text
• Person‐Centered Emotional Support and Gender Attributions in Computer‐Mediated Communication.
  Erin L. Spottswood, Joseph B. Walther, Amanda J. Holmstrom, Nicole B. Ellison.
  Human Communication Research. May 22, 2013
  Without physical appearance, identification in computer‐mediated communication is relatively ambiguous and may depend on verbal cues such as usernames, content, and/or style. This is important when gender‐linked differences exist in the effects of messages, as in emotional support. This study examined gender attribution for online support providers with male, female, or ambiguous usernames, who provided highly person‐centered (HPC) or low person‐centered (LPC) messages. Participants attributed gender to helpers with gender‐ambiguous names based on HPC versus LPC messages. Female participants preferred HPC helpers over LPC helpers. Unexpectedly, men preferred HPC messages from male and gender‐ambiguous helpers more than they did when HPC messages came from females. Implications follow about computer‐mediated emotional support and theories of computer‐mediated communication and social influence.

  May 22, 2013   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12006   open full text
• A Self‐Categorization Explanation for Opinion Consensus Perceptions.
  Jinguang Zhang, Scott A. Reid.
  Human Communication Research. May 22, 2013
  The public expression of opinions (and related communicative activities) hinges upon the perception of opinion consensus. Current explanations for opinion consensus perceptions typically focus on egocentric and other biases, rather than functional cognitions. Using self‐categorization theory we showed that opinion consensus perceptions flow from cognitions regarding the fit between issues and group prototypes. Strong normative fit enhanced perceptions of ingroup opinion consensus (Experiments 1 and 2), and consensus perceptions varied as a function of comparison outgroups (Experiment 3), ingroup prototype salience (Experiment 4), and levels of identity threat (Experiment 5). Self‐categorization theory has the potential to integrate a variety of cognitive and motivational processes to provide a comprehensive explanation for opinion consensus perceptions.

  May 22, 2013   doi: 10.1111/hcre.12004   open full text