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The Boster et al. (2012) superdiffuser model predicts that a health behavior change can be diffused through a social network by recruiting superdiffusers, a type of opinion leader who possesses 3 key traits, to promote that health behavior change. Yet, that model does not specify how to recruit opinion leaders for applied contexts. This pair of studies sought to demonstrate that the self-schema matching model of persuasion can be used to design recruitment messages for a potential campaign. Study 1 (N = 342) used an online survey to identify the self-schema of health mavens, one of the three superdiffuser traits. Study 2 conducted an online message experiment (N = 393) and demonstrated that targeting the health maven's self-schema increases the persuasiveness of a message designed to recruit them for a word-of-mouth behavior change campaign to promote COVID-19 vaccines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing effective messages to promote climate action requires an understanding of how these messages are processed by different groups. Though the influence of partisan identity on this processing is well established, much less is known about the role of preexisting climate beliefs. Furthermore, scholars have recently raised the possibility that what appear to be partisan effects on message judgments may simply be byproducts of accuracy-driven differences in perceived source credibility. Three online experiments revealed evidence that speaks to these conversations. The results show that message source, political affiliation, and preexisting climate beliefs combine nonadditively to affect persuasion. Furthermore, their effects are mediated by perceived source credibility. However, the evidence also suggests that this pattern emerged not because accuracy goals drive different perceptions of credibility but because credibility judgments are equally susceptible to directional motivated reasoning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The self-concept approach explains motivated reasoning in terms of self-concept defense. To test that prediction, a study with a quasi-experimental design was conducted (N= 356). Participants were exposed to a short, meme-style message attacking either the American Democratic or Republican Party. Party affiliation of participants predicted reactions to the messages such that those that attacked the participant's party were received less favorably than those attacking the opposition party. As predicted by the self-concept approach, this effect was moderated by self-esteem such that it was stronger among those with high self-esteem than those with low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel, public behaviors, such as masking, should be susceptible to normative influence. This paper advances the theory of normative social behavior by considering a new set of moderators of normative influence — superdiffuser traits — and by clarifying the antecedents and consequences of exposure to collective norms. We use data from a two-wave survey of a cohort living in one U.S. county during the pandemic (N = 913) to assess normative effects on masking. We also used a bipartite network (based on people shopping for food in the same stores) to examine exposure to collective norms. The results show different superdiffuser traits have distinct effects on the relationship between perceived injunctive norms and masking intentions. Exposure to collective norms influences masking, but this influence depends on how people interact with their social environments. Network analysis shows that behavioral homophily is a significant predictor of selective exposure to collective norms earlier (but not later) in the pandemic. Implications for understanding normative influence in a context where opinion leadership matters are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Boster et al.'s (2006) dimensions of diffusion ability were used to determine if the argumentation of superdiffusers of health information (those who are well-connected, persuasive, and knowledgeable about healthy lifestyles) is different from those who are not. In Study 1, 164 undergraduates completed the measures of diffusion ability. They were then asked how they would try to persuade a target either to lose weight or to avoid smoking. The scenario they were given was either simple or complex. For the participants who responded to the avoiding smoking scenario a 2 (superdiffuser or not) X 2 (scenario complexity.' simple or complex) interaction was found such that superdiffusers who responded to the complex scenario produced more arguments, more overall themes in their arguments, and addressed more elements of the scenario than any of the other three groups. Superdiffusers produced more arguments when they responded to the weight loss scenario. A second study was conducted with 35 participants who were interviewed about their beliefs on dieting. Their responses were coded for argument complexity. Superdiffusers produced more complex arguments than non-superdiffusers. In sum, results indicated that superdiffusers argue in ways that would facilitate the effective diffusion of health information. Key words: superdiffuser, health communication, argument complexity, diffusion, connector, persuader, maven, Scholars in the field of communication have long been interested in the diffusion of ideas, products, and behavior through a network (Dearing et al., 1996; DeFleur, 1987; Greenberg, 1964; LaRose [...]

This essay attempts to describe the apples and oranges problem in meta-analyses. Essentially, some meta-analyses combine original studies of various variables that are not the same pairs of variables. Metaphorically, they meta-analyze the effects of fruit when they should conduct separate meta-analyses of apples and oranges. This practice is inconsistent with the assumptions behind the meta-analytic formulae concerning sampling error and makes meta-analytic estimates difficult to interpret. Meta-analysis teams are advised to justify their choices and types of evidence are described to assist researchers and reviewers in assessing and justifying when constructs can and cannot be combined together in a meta-analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social network sites such as Facebook offer opinion leaders an unprecedented ability to attempt to persuade people about politics. This survey (N = 295) sought to explore opinion leader types of and motives for producing political messages aimed at persuading others on Facebook. The results indicated that mavens, a type of opinion leader, were more likely to broadcast messages aimed at persuading their network as well as target individuals using Facebook's affordances. Furthermore both intrinsic and extrinsic motives were identified that moderated the strength of these relationships. This study contributes to both understanding opinion leadership as well as political persuasion attempts in social media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two studies assessed the construct validity of the value-relevant involvement scale (Cho & Boster, 2005), (N = 308 and N = 285). Study 1 assessed the extent to which VRI was related to attitude structure and self-reports of behavior about a topic. Study 2 tested the extent to which VRI can predict reactions to counterattitudinal messages. The data were consistent with the hypotheses proposing that VRI is associated with the strength of biased processing outcomes including perceiving bias in the source, the belief that the source's supporters have been misled, and arguing about the topic on Facebook. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing the impact of an individual's social network on an individual is difficult without administering a large number of surveys. Online social networks with built-in data collection circumvent this problem. The data collected by an exercise-focused social media website and mobile app allowed the estimation of the effect of both the behavior of the social network and the size of that network on the behavior of individual service users (31,200 users reporting 67,699 exercise events with a potential range of 87 weeks). The results are consistent with the theory of normative social behavior in that the amount of exercise reported by the user's social network as well as the size of the user's on-site social network affected the user's exercise behavior over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]