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Building upon recent theoretical perspectives on emotional flow and the dynamic nature of fear appeals specifically, this study examined the sequencing effects of the emotions (i.e., fear and hope) induced from a fear appeal on persuasion in the context of MMR vaccination. Specifically, an experiment (N = 386) with 2 video messages was conducted that manipulated the sequence in which participants experienced fear and hope, resulting in a fear → hope appeal and a hope → fear appeal. The findings show that the fear → hope appeal was more effective in increasing activism intentions than the hope → fear appeal. Fear and hope at different time points served as mediators for this effect. In addition, issue relevance was a moderator for this effect such that the fear → hope appeal was more effective only among those perceiving the issue as highly relevant. Discussions and implications are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked hostility against Chinese immigrants and sojourners in the U.S. and other countries. Making the situation worse, strong resentment against this group has also emerged in China due to the fear of returnees spreading the disease. Integrating research on acculturation and hostile media perception, we examined how such bilateral hostility along with different acculturation components (i.e., cultural identification, COVID-19-related media use, and individualistic-collectivistic value) influenced U.S.-dwelling Chinese's psychological well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the results from a two-wave survey assessing the cultural identity and value, COVID-19-related media use, and psychological distress of a group of relatively young and highly educated U.S.-dwelling Chinese (N = 1,256) between March and April 2020, we found that identification with both U.S. and Chinese cultures alleviated immigrants and sojourners' psychological distress. Further, COVID-19-related media use served as a stressor during the pandemic, and perceived hostility from China led to stronger psychological distress among U.S.-dwelling Chinese. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence of recovery journey self-disclosures on social media among individuals with substance use and mental disorders has increased in recent years. However, the effects of exposure to such self-disclosures on public attitudes towards these groups remain poorly understood. To address this research gap, this study investigated the impact of viewing a series of Instagram posts depicting a person's sober journey that ends positively on the attitudes and policy support of 1437 self-selected U.S. adults. The experiment employed a 2 (relapse narrative: present vs. absent) × 2 (viewing order: chronological vs. reverse-chronological) × 4 (media persona with different genders and races) between-subjects factorial design. While the experimental manipulations did not have a total effect on attitudes and policy support, the study found that the presence of a relapse narrative within a sober journey story increased perceived perseverance, parasocial interaction, and identification, which in turn affected attitudes and policy support in different ways. Furthermore, the viewing order of the posts moderated the effects of a relapse narrative on these variables. The results are discussed in terms of their theoretical contributions and practical implications. • Effects of relapse narratives on Instagram were examined. • Relapse narratives increased perceived perseverance. • Relapse narratives enhanced parasocial interaction and identification. • Viewing orders moderated the effects of relapse narratives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]