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Abstract.To examine the psychological mechanisms involved in value framing effects, the present study extends previous research on competitive frames and tests the mediating role of ambivalence in value framing effects. The current research delves into the nuances of value framing effects and helps explain processes such as applicability. Two web-based experiments were conducted using value frames related to two different issues, civil liberties and gay rights. Findings from moderated-mediation models indicate that when individuals are exposed to competitive frames they feel ambivalent. Because of this ambivalence, participants were more willing to seek information and showed increased online information-seeking behavior. However, these findings are true only in cases of individuals who are motivated to process the information. Implications are discussed.

While many Americans support the right to protest, increased animus has recently been directed at protesters themselves, often along partisan ideological lines and in partisan media content. However, there is a lack of research on attitudes toward treatment of protesters in the context of political violence and selective exposure to likeminded partisan sources of information. This study finds that a significant, positive relationship exists between self-identified Republicans and thinking that disruptive protesters deserve to be “roughed up,” while identifying as a Democrat produced a negative relationship in the same circumstance. Likewise, consumption of conservative partisan media was found to have a positive relationship with the idea of “roughing up” disruptive protesters, while liberal partisan media was found to have a negative relationship. However, selective exposure to attitude-affirming media only had a significant impact among self-identified Democrats, in the sense that Democrats’ selective exposure to left-leaning media was associated with lesssupport for “roughing up” disruptive protesters.

In this social semiotic analysis, we examined visuals of Rohingya refugees in two U.S. newspapers: The New York Timesand The Washington Post. We identified prominent tropes and themes exemplifying those tropes. Visuals connoted refugee vulnerability and subscribed to gender stereotypes. Media also leaned on familiar themes to translate “distant suffering.” Our study has addressed the urgent need to bridge academic/critical work on journalism and journalistic practice in the field. Our hope is that media practitioners will take steps to delink refugees from negative connotations.

Purpose To examine strategies that help motivate social correction behaviors to combat COVID-19-related health misinformation on social media.Design 2 (message types: narrative vs statistics) x 2 (social frames: individual vs collective) between-subjects experiment.Setting Qualtrics-based online experiment via Lucid.Subjects The final sample consisted of 450 participants (Mage= 45.31).Measures Manipulation check, discussion and correction intentions, and need for cognition (NFC).Analysis ANCOVA and PROCESS model 3 were used to analyze the data.Results Significant interaction effects emerged between message types and social frames on discussion intention, F(1, 442) = 5.26, P= .022, and correction intention, F(1, 442) = 4.85, P= .028. Collectively framed narrative correction (Mdiscussion= 3.15, Mcorrection= 3.17) was more effective than individually framed narrative correction (Mdiscussion= 2.73, Mcorrection= 2.77). Individually framed statistical correction (Mdiscussion= 3.10, Mcorrection= 2.95) was more persuasive than collectively framed statistical correction (Mdiscussion= 2.89, Mcorrection= 2.69). The interaction effects were more evident for people low on NFC, P= .031.Conclusion In motivating social correction behaviors, a story is better told with an emphasis on collective interests, and numbers are better presented with personal gains and losses. Future interventions should identify the target audience based on the level of NFC.

Purpose To assess how previous experiences and new information contributed to COVID-19 vaccine intentions.Design Online survey (N = 1264) with quality checks.Setting Cross-sectional U.S. survey fielded June 22-July 18, 2020.Sample U.S. residents 18+; quotas reflecting U.S. Census, limited to English speakers participating in internet panels.Measures Media literacy for news content and sources, COVID-19 knowledge; perceived usefulness of health experts; if received flu vaccine in past 12 months; vaccine willingness scale; demographics.Analysis Structural equation modelling.Results Perceived usefulness of health experts (b= .422, P< .001) and media literacy (b= .162, P< .003) predicted most variance in vaccine intentions (R-squared=31.5%). A significant interaction (b= .163, P< .001) between knowledge (b= −.132, P= .052) and getting flu shot (b= .185, P< .001) predicted additional 3.5% of the variance in future vaccine intentions. An increase in knowledge of COVID-19 associated with a decrease in vaccine intention among those declining the flu shot.Conclusion The interaction result suggests COVID-19 knowledge had a positive association with vaccine intention for flu shot recipients but a counter-productive association for those declining it. Media literacy and trust in health experts provided strong counterbalancing influences. Survey-based findings are correlational; thus, predictions are based on theory. Future research should study these relationships with panel data or experimental designs.

Purpose The main purposes of the current study are to examine 1) the influence of narrative vs statistics messages on COVID-19 related information seeking and COVID-19 vaccine intention and 2) the moderating role of perceived behavioral control (PBC).Design Data for a between-subject randomized experiment were collected online. The manipulation messages were presented as screenshots from the CDC’s Facebook page.Setting The participants were recruited from Amazon MTurk.Subjects A total of 300 subjects participated in the study, who were 18 years and above (M= 38.40).Measures Intention to seek information, COVID-19 vaccine intention, and PBC.Analysis To test the hypotheses, we utilized Hayes’s (2014) PROCESS for SPSS (Model 1). For intention to seek information, the main effect of the message manipulation (narrative vs statistics) [b= −2.10, t(300) = −4.14, P < .001] and the interaction [b= .41, t(300) = 3.88, P< .001] were significant. For vaccine intention, the main effects of message manipulation [b= 1.64, t(300) = −2.61, P< .005] and the interaction [b= .34, t(300) = 2.64, P< .005] were significant.Results Our research found that narrative messages were more persuasive for both information seeking and vaccine intention. But this was true only in the case of individuals whose PBC was low.Conclusions Our findings have critical implications for vaccine promotion research.

Objective: Numerous studies examined HPV vaccination promotional strategies. However, an overview of theory use, a synthesis of strategies’ effectiveness and an examination of the moderating influence of theory are absent.Data Source: We retrieved studies from Academic Search Complete, Business Source Complete, PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science, CMMC, CINAHL, and MEDLINE.Study Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria: 1) peer-reviewed articles written in English, 2) experimental or quasi-experimental, 3) measure HPV vaccination-related outcomes, 4) had to contain a control condition and report statistics necessary for conversion (for meta-analysis only).Data Extraction: 70 and 30 studies were included for the systematic review and meta-analysis respectively.Data Synthesis: Four major categories were coded: study information, theory use, type of theory, and outcomes. Two independent coders coded the sample (Cohen’s Kappa ranged from .8 to 1).Results: Most of the studies were based in the U.S. (77%, k = 54) with convenient samples (80%, k = 56), targeted toward females (46%, k = 32), and around a quarter did not employ any theories (47%, k = 33). Among theory-driven studies, the most commonly used were Framing (22%, k = 19), Health Belief Model (HBM; 13%, k = 12), and Narrative (7%, k = 6). Among controlled studies, promotional strategies were significantly more effective compared to the control (r+ = .25, p < .001). Strategies guided by the information, motivation, behavioral skills model (IMB) were more effective (r+ = .75, p < .001) than studies guided by framing theory (r+ = −.23, p < .001), HBM (r+ = .01, p < .001), and other theories (r+ = .11, p < .001).Conclusion: This review contributes to HPV vaccination promotion literature by offering a comprehensive overview of promotional strategies and practical suggestions for future research and practices.

Early adulthood is a critical developmental period when many youth transition from living at home to the relative autonomy of college. This transition results in increased opportunity for positive growth and identity development – and for risky substance use and sexual behaviors. Parents continue to influence young adult behavior even from a distance; however, few studies have rigorously tested parent-college student interventions.