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This research attempts to both replicate initial research on media prescriptions - the assignment of small doses of positively-valenced media for the purposes of reducing perceived stress - and, through the lens of the broaden-and-build theory, shed light on the process through which this effect might emerge. Two longitudinal data sets were collected, one with college students (

Most research examines parasocial relationships (PSRs) with cross-sectional designs. However, by nature, relationships evolve over time and need to be managed and nurtured if they are to thrive. The chapter offers an account of the key predictors in the initiation and evolution of positive, amicable PSRs. This chapter addresses the dynamic nature of PSRs by providing an overview of the literature concerning factors that predict the initiation and continued growth of PSRs. The chapter then turns to describe three theoretical models that conceptualize PSRs as an ever-evolving process. The chapter concludes by highlighting several promising areas for future research into the initiation and development of PSRs.

In the United States, a growing number of television shows have introduced storylines involving abortion and reproductive health which have the potential to inform and educate viewers. In light of this increase in both the number and diversity of representations, there remain questions regarding their impact on audience attitudes toward this contentious issue. Using a 3 (

The impact of misinformation about vapes' relative harms compared with smoking may lead to increased tobacco-related burden of disease and youth vaping. Unfortunately, vaping misinformation has proliferated. Despite growing attempts to mitigate vaping misinformation, there is still considerable ambiguity regarding the ability to effectively curb the negative impact of misinformation. To address this gap, we use a meta-analysis to evaluate the relative impact of interventions designed to mitigate vaping-related misinformation. We searched (from January 2020 till August 2021) various databases and gray literature. Only English language, original studies that employed experimental designs where participants were randomly assigned either to receive mitigating information or to a no-mitigation condition (either misinformation-only or neutral control) were included. Meta-analysis was conducted for the four eligible studies. The mean effect size of attempts to mitigate vaping misinformation was positive but not statistically significant (d = 0.383, 95% CI [-0.029, 0.796], p = .061, k = 5) with lack of evidence for publication bias. Given limited studies included, we were unable to determine factors affecting the efficacy of interventions. The limited focus on non-US studies and youth populations is concerning given the popularity of vaping in low- to middle-income countries (LMICs) and among youth. The findings of this meta-analysis describe the current state of the literature and prescribe specific recommendations to better address the proliferation of vaping misinformation, providing insights helpful in limiting the tobacco mortality burden and curtailing youth vaping.

Formation of accurate risk perceptions and adoption of protective measures play a key role in reducing transmission and stopping the spread of infectious diseases. Extant research, however, has shown that perceptions of risk are not necessarily correlated with the level of actual risk, including that of COVID-19. Informed by the social amplification of risk framework (SARF), we test whether having a parasocial relationship with a celebrity who has COVID-19 makes the risk of contracting the virus more real, thus amplifying the perceived susceptibility to the virus and reducing the biased sense of optimism that one is safe. Findings from Study 1, a national survey (N = 493), suggest that having a parasocial friend contract COVID-19, is related to increased perceived susceptibility, especially for those for whom it would otherwise seem abstract and vague. Study 2 (N = 228) complements these findings by identifying a potential underlying mechanism for the observed relationship between PSR and perceived susceptibility – attenuation of the optimism bias. Findings are discussed in terms of their contribution to understanding the underlying mechanisms of the potential role played by celebrities in health and risk communication.

This study examines the role of an entertainment-education intervention in informing Mexican adolescents and parents about sexual and reproductive health-related discussion and information-seeking. A survey of young adult (

While teen pregnancy rates in the United States have been declining for decades, they remain the highest of all western countries. Within the U.S., Black and Latina teens experience disproportionate rates of unplanned pregnancy.

Although the prominence of fact-checking in political journalism has grown dramatically in recent years, empirical investigations regarding the effectiveness of fact-checking in correcting misperce...

Resistance to vaccines has hindered attempts to contain and prevent outbreaks of infectious diseases for centuries. More recently, however, the term "vaccine hesitancy" has been used to describe not necessarily outright resistance but also a delay in acceptance or uncertainty regarding vaccines. Given concerns about hesitancy and its impact on vaccine uptake rates, researchers increasingly shifted the focus from resistance to vaccines toward vaccine hesitancy. Acknowledging the urgency to accurately assess the phenomenon, it is critical to understand the state of the literature, focusing on issues of conceptualization and operationalization. To carry out this systematic review, we collected and analyzed all published empirical articles from 2000 to 2021 that explicitly included quantitative self-report measures of vaccine hesitancy (

Research identifies contradictory effects of anger in political communication, engendering heuristic processing of information that exacerbates partisan bias in some situations, but increasing attention and deepening information processing in others. This study addressed these contradictions by positing subjective hope as a moderator of anger’s effects on message processing and persuasion. Employing an experimental design (N = 538) in the context of the U.S. immigration debate, the study assessed two long-standing mechanisms associated with the persuasive effects of anger—psychological reactance and message elaboration—with subjective hope as a moderator of those processes. Results confirmed that experienced anger increases reactance and superficial information processing. Critically, however, subjective hope emerged as a key moderator capable of reversing anger’s negative effects. These findings offer an important clarification of the boundary conditions governing the effects of anger and highlight the need for further study of interacting emotional processes in political communication.

The current meta-analysis synthesizes four decades of research (k = 120) on the antecedents and effects of parasocial relationships (PSRs). In line with contemporary theorization of PSRs as an extension of, rather than as a substitution for social relationships, the meta-analysis does not find a significant relationship between social deficiencies and PSRs. PSRs are also strongly correlated with factors that facilitate interpersonal bonds (e.g., homophily), other forms of involvement (e.g., identification, transportation), and persuasive outcomes. Furthermore, the analysis validates the theoretical distinction between PSRs and parasocial interactions (PSIs) revealing only a moderate correlation between the two constructs. Likewise, while PSRs and PSIs did not differ with respect to effects on persuasive outcomes, PSRs emerge as a stronger predictor of media involvement. The findings are discussed in relation to theoretical models of media involvement and effects

The duration and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic depends largely on individual and societal actions which are influenced by the quality and salience of the information to which they are exposed. Unfortunately, COVID-19 misinformation has proliferated. Despite growing attempts to mitigate COVID-19 misinformation, there is still uncertainty regarding the best way to ameliorate the impact of COVID-19 misinformation. To address this gap, the current study uses a meta-analysis to evaluate the relative impact of interventions designed to mitigate COVID-19-related misinformation. We searched multiple databases and gray literature from January 2020 to September 2021. The primary outcome was COVID-19 misinformation belief. We examined study quality and meta-analysis was used to pool data with similar interventions and outcomes. 16 studies were analyzed in the meta-analysis, including data from 33378 individuals. The mean effect size of interventions to mitigate COVID-19 misinformation was positive, but not statistically significant [d = 2.018, 95% CI (-0.14, 4.18)

Abstract. The current study assessed whether vicariously experiencing story characters granting a small favor can induce similar intentions from its audiences. Acting upon the perspectives of story characters, audiences may agree to a subsequent larger request to the same cause, as in the case of vicarious foot-in-the-door (VFITD). Study 1 found that a VFITD story was more effective in eliciting prosocial intentions than a non-VFITD story and a non-narrative message. That is, the VFITD condition generated greater intentions to volunteer in a series of activities, with attitudes mediating this process. Study 2 replicated this result. It also showed that when a VFITD story can generate sufficient levels of identification, it is more effective than a non-VFITD narrative in eliciting prosocial intentions. Implications of this study are also discussed.

CONTEXT Entertainment television can impact viewers' knowledge, attitudes, and reproductive health behaviors, yet little research has examined the impact of scripted abortion plotlines on viewers' abortion knowledge or social supportiveness for those having abortions. We examined the impact of an abortion storyline from Grey's Anatomy on US-based viewers. METHOD We conducted an online survey of likely Grey's Anatomy viewers prior to the episode's airing, assessing abortion ideology, knowledge, and support. After airing, we resurveyed respondents (including both those who had and had not viewed the target episode). We tested three hypotheses: episode exposure would (1) improve abortion knowledge and (2) increase support for medication abortion and decrease support for self-induced abortion, and (3) the effects on knowledge and supportive intention would be moderated by state support for abortion. We used independent samples t tests to examine hypotheses 1 and 2 and PROCESS macro to test the moderated effects (hypothesis 3). RESULTS The results of the pretest/posttest analysis indicated that exposure to the episode significantly improved medication abortion knowledge. Increases in medication abortion knowledge were tied to explicit educational dialogue and did not translate into an increase in general abortion knowledge or social supportiveness. Notably, abortion-related state policy significantly moderated the influence of exposure for respondents in states with policies favorable to abortion access. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that entertainment television can contribute to meaningful increases in viewers' knowledge about abortion, but that the potential for impact of entertainment-education is closely linked to episode content and moderated by state-level abortion policy.

Despite its growing prominence in news coverage and public discourse, there is still considerable ambiguity regarding when and how fact-checking affects beliefs. Informed by theories of motivated r...

Although recent streams of research have suggested that emotions play a key role in generating framing effects, little is known about the affective dimension of gain and loss framing and its potential impact on persuasion. The current study adopted a meta-analytical approach, synthesizing over 30 years of literature ( k = 25, N = 5,772), to investigate this issue. The results indicate that message frame type directs the emotional response elicited in the audience, with gain frames inducing positive emotions ( d = .31, p = .02) and loss frames inducing negative emotions ( d = .22, p = .001). In turn, the experience of positive emotions enhances the influence of gain frames ( b = .18, p = .045), whereas negative emotions augment the effects of loss frames ( b = −.70, p = .01). These findings confirm that emotional responses may offer a pathway through which gain- and loss-framed messages exert persuasive influence. The study integrates the results with the emotions-as-frames perspective and proposes several promising avenues for future research.

A meta-analysis was conducted to examine the extent of continued influence of misinformation in the face of correction and the theoretical explanations of this phenomenon. Aggregation of results from 32 studies ( N = 6,527) revealed that, on average, correction does not entirely eliminate the effect of misinformation ( r = –.05, p = .045). Corrective messages were found to be more successful when they are coherent, consistent with the audience’s worldview, and delivered by the source of the misinformation itself. Corrections are less effective if the misinformation was attributed to a credible source, the misinformation has been repeated multiple times prior to correction, or when there was a time lag between the delivery of the misinformation and the correction. These findings are consistent with predictions based on theories of mental models and offer concrete recommendations for practitioners.

Empirical research has found that self-affirmation that precedes exposure to threatening information can reduce resistance and exert a positive effect on attitudes and beliefs. However, the effortful methods currently used to induce self-affirmation (e.g., writing an essay about an important value) limit its applicability. Informed by narrative persuasion literature, we present an experimental study designed to assess the potential of vicarious-affirmation (i.e., affirmation through a relevant exemplar in a fictional story) to influence perceived risk and behavioral intent among college-age electronic cigarette users (N = 832). Similar to traditional self-affirmation, a story that affirmed its character (by winning an award) before introducing tobacco-related risk information, led to greater perceived risk and increased intentions to stop using electronic-cigarettes. Identification with the character led to more positive self-appraisal, which, in turn, reduced message derogation and enhanced perceived risk. We conclude by discussing the theoretical and applied implications of integrating narrative persuasion with self-affirmation theory.

According to the cognitive perspective, the generation of counterarguments is a key obstacle to persuasion. Following the metacognitive view, however, the experience of difficulty that acco...

Background: The impact of misinformation about vapes’ relative harms compared with smoking may lead to increased tobacco-related burden of disease. To date, no systematic efforts have been made to chart interventions that mitigate vaping-related misinformation. We plan to conduct a scoping review that seeks to fill gaps in the current knowledge of interventions that mitigate vaping-related misinformation.Methods: A scoping review focusing on interventions that mitigate vaping-related misinformation will be conducted. We will search (no date restrictions) MEDLINE, Scopus, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science Core Collection, Global Health, ERIC and Sociological Abstracts. Grey literature will be identified using Disaster Lit, Google Scholar, Open Science Framework, governmental websites and preprint servers (e.g. EuropePMC, PsyArXiv, MedRxiv, JMIR Preprints). Study selection will conform to Joanna Briggs Institute Reviewers’ Manual 2020 Methodology for JBI Scoping Reviews. Only English language, original studies will be considered for inclusion. Two reviewers will independently screen all citations, full-text articles, and abstract data. A narrative summary of findings will be conducted. Data analysis will involve quantitative (e.g. frequencies) and qualitative (e.g. content and thematic analysis) methods.Discussion: Original research is urgently needed to design interventions to mitigate vaping-related misinformation. The planned scoping review will help to address this gap.Systematic Review registrations: Systematic Review Registration: Open Science Framework (osf/io/hy3tk).

Background: The duration and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic depends in a large part on individual and societal actions which is influenced by the quality and salience of the information to which they are exposed. Unfortunately, COVID-19 misinformation has proliferated. To date, no systematic efforts have been made to evaluate interventions that mitigate COVID-19-related misinformation. We plan to conduct a scoping review that seeks to fill several of the gaps in the current knowledge of interventions that mitigate COVID-19-related misinformation.Methods: A scoping review focusing on interventions that mitigate COVID-19 misinformation will be conducted. We will search (from January 2020 onwards) MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science Core Collection, Africa-Wide Information, Global Health, WHO Global Literature on Coronavirus Disease Database, WHO Global Index Medicus, and Sociological Abstracts. Grey literature will be identified using Disaster Lit, Google Scholar, Open Science Framework, governmental websites and preprint servers (e.g. EuropePMC, PsyArXiv, MedRxiv, JMIR Preprints). Study selection will conform to Joanna Briggs Institute Reviewers’ Manual 2020 Methodology for JBI Scoping Reviews. Only English language, original studies will be considered for inclusion. Two reviewers will independently screen all citations, full-text articles, and abstract data. A narrative summary of findings will be conducted. Data analysis will involve quantitative (e.g. frequencies) and qualitative (e.g. content and thematic analysis) methods.Discussion: Original research is urgently needed to design interventions to mitigate COVID-19 misinformation. The planned scoping review will help to address this gap.Systematic Review registrations: Systematic Review Registration: Open Science Framework (osf/io/etw9d).

Background The duration and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic depends in a large part on individual and societal actions which is influenced by the quality and salience of the information to which they are exposed. Unfortunately, COVID-19 misinformation has proliferated. To date, no systematic efforts have been made to evaluate interventions that mitigate COVID-19-related misinformation. We plan to conduct a scoping review that seeks to fill several of the gaps in the current knowledge of interventions that mitigate COVID-19-related misinformation. Methods A scoping review focusing on interventions that mitigate COVID-19 misinformation will be conducted. We will search (from January 2020 onwards) MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science Core Collection, Africa-Wide Information, Global Health, WHO Global Literature on Coronavirus Disease Database, WHO Global Index Medicus, and Sociological Abstracts. Gray literature will be identified using Disaster Lit, Google Scholar, Open Science Framework, governmental websites, and preprint servers (e.g., EuropePMC, PsyArXiv, MedRxiv, JMIR Preprints). Study selection will conform to Joanna Briggs Institute Reviewers’ Manual 2020 Methodology for JBI Scoping Reviews. Only English language, original studies will be considered for inclusion. Two reviewers will independently screen all citations, full-text articles, and abstract data. A narrative summary of findings will be conducted. Data analysis will involve quantitative (e.g., frequencies) and qualitative (e.g., content and thematic analysis) methods. Discussion Original research is urgently needed to design interventions to mitigate COVID-19 misinformation. The planned scoping review will help to address this gap. Systematic review registrations Systematic Review Registration: Open Science Framework (osf/io/etw9d).

Many sharing economy platforms require users to reveal personal information on their profiles, which may open the door for racial biases against certain users. This study explores the relationship between race and labor outcomes in this environment, taking into account the role of reputation systems (i.e., free-form reviews). Specifically, in the context of the popular lodging marketplace Airbnb, we examine potential customers’ booking intentions in response to the racial identity of a host, feedback given to the host, and the behavior of the host themselves. Using an experimental design (N = 630) that manipulated the racial identity of the host (Black/White), the Airbnb review (Negative/Positive), and the response to the host’s response to the review (aggressive/non-aggressive/no response), we find that participants indicate a lower average likelihood of booking with a Black host than with a White host when the accommodation ad contained a negative review, while indicating to be more likely to book an Airbnb with a Black host when the ad contained a positive review. Since there is no evidence of racial bias for accommodation ads that do not contain reviews, the results demonstrate the importance of considering reviews when examining racial disparity in labor outcomes on online labor platforms. We probe potential explanations for the findings, ultimately scrutinizing the role of sharing economy platforms and its affordances in facilitating hiring discrimination.

The current article tests the metacognitive proposition that the relative ease or difficulty with which narrative messages are processed can affect subsequent judgment. Challenging the assertion th...

Social media poses a threat to public health by facilitating the spread of misinformation. At the same time, however, social media offers a promising avenue to stem the distribution of false claims - as evidenced by real-time corrections, crowdsourced fact-checking, and algorithmic tagging. Despite the growing attempts to correct misinformation on social media, there is still considerable ambiguity regarding the ability to effectively ameliorate the negative impact of false messages. To address this gap, the current study uses a meta-analysis to evaluate the relative impact of social media interventions designed to correct health-related misinformation (

Purpose: To assess the efficacy and safety of amniotic fluid therapy injections in patients with mild to moderate trigger finger. Methods: All participants received 1 mL of amniotic fluid injected into the tendon sheath of the affected tendon. Pretreatment and posttreatment data were collected for triggering frequency, Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) questionnaire scores, and numerical pain rating scale scores. Results: Of 111 digits from 96 patients, 51% experienced clinically notable improvement and did not receive an alternative treatment. Average length of follow-up was 11 months. From baseline to end of follow-up, average pain score (0–10) decreased from 5.19 to 1.19 (P < .001), median triggering per day decreased from 5 to 0 (P < .001), and median DASH score (1–100) decreased from 20 to 6.03 (P < .001). There was a 50% success rate in patients with diabetes and a 52.6% success rate in digits diagnosed with concomitant Dupuytren contracture in the same hand. Conclusions: Amniotic fluid therapy injections may offer a biologic alternative for conservative treatment of trigger finger, particularly for patients with diabetes. Decreased pain, decreased triggering, and improved DASH scores offer preliminary evidence supporting the use of amniotic injections for stenosing tenosynovitis. Type of study/level of evidence: Therapeutic IV.

The study explored the role of second-screen use and binge-watching in moderating entertainment education (EE) effects. A pretest/posttest experiment of 273 viewers of East Los High measured the ef...

The continued fragmentation of information and the proliferation of communication resources necessitate a shift toward perspectives that situate communication practices in a multilevel ecosystem. The current article offers a method to map and analyze communication ecologies—defined as the networks of communication connections that individuals depend on in order to construct knowledge and achieve goals—as social networks. To demonstrate the potential of communication ecologies as an analytical tool in science communication, we report on the results of a feasibility study ( N = 654) in the context of climate science and vaccine safety. The article discusses the theoretical and practical implications of the communication ecology approach.