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From May 1, 2016 until September 3, 2017, 234 individual scholars offered 562 sets of peer review comments for manuscripts submitted for publication consideration—this time span marks the complete ...

In reflection of Communication Research Reports shift to requiring (rather than suggesting) effect size reporting with all manuscripts as of Volume 34, a few remarks explaining the context of this shift for submitting authors are offered, including a brief explanation of the complementary relationship between p-values and effects sizes, and the reasons that both are critical to providing readers with a more complete sense of any manuscript’s evidential value.

Extant research has established that racially based brawn and brain frames are common within sports media. Framing theory suggests that these brawn and brain frames should influence audience members’ behaviors and attitudes, but little empirical evidence to support this notion exists. This study used a quasi-experimental design (Frame x Athlete Race) to understand how exposure to sports news articles that emphasize the physical or mental attributes of White and Black athletes may result in audiences’ subsequent observable behaviors or character judgments toward athletes. Results indicated that frames influenced audiences’ behaviors in a simulated environment and attitudes regarding athletes’ mental abilities, whereas athlete race influenced audiences’ attitudes of athletes’ physical abilities. These findings support sports scholars’ assertions about framing effects and underscore the potential dangers of current sports media trends.

Advancements in wearable technology have allowed for extradyadic social cues to be inserted directly (albeit conspicuously) into face-to-face interactions. The current study simulated a fictitious “Looking Glass” program that (a) autodetects (via facial recognition) one’s partner and (b) displays that person’s last 12 social media posts on a pair of Google Glass. In a randomized case/control experiment, nonwearers were more likely to perceive Glass wearers as physically attractive and socioemotionally close, while feeling lower self-esteem and having higher mental and physical demand with the conversation. Open-ended data suggested Glass wearers to be less attentive to the conversation, and Glass-present conversations were less on topic. These data, while preliminary and based on a small sample of users, hold implications for future application and research on cyborgic face-to-face interactions.