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Formal modeling is rare in communication studies. Still, several mathematical models have been proposed regarding the persuasive effects of message discrepancy, the difference between a message’s advocated position and a message recipient’s initial position. With numerical simulations, we analyzed four formal models to identify their strengths and weaknesses. Based on analyses of previous models, we proposed a modified psychological discounting model by solving a differential equation regarding the rate of change of the probability of message acceptance with respect to psychological discrepancy. Whereas previous models predicted nonmonotonic relationships between message discrepancy and belief change, the new model predicts that as message discrepancy increases, belief change monotonically increases unless facilitating factors change due to extremely discrepant messages. We discuss differences between the previous models and the new model, and their significance and implications for theories of persuasion as well as the limitations of the new model.

Effective public health communication should take into the consideration how communicated risk perceptions might influence the public. Although many health behavior theories claim that high perceived risk likelihood motivates preventive health behaviors, this general prediction is complicated by different ways of estimating risk likelihood. Our review of 14 previous studies on perceived risk of infectious diseases revealed different measures of risk likelihood and inconsistent findings regarding the relationship between perceived risk likelihood and behavioral intention. Drawn from the review, we examined the predictive power of different types of risk likelihood on intention to prevent infectious diseases. Using two separate data sets, collected during the 2015 outbreak of the Middle East respiratory syndrome (

There exist two distinctive hypotheses on the relationship between perceived risk and protection behavior: the behavioral motivation hypothesis (i.e., a higher risk perception motivates protection behaviors) and the risk reappraisal hypothesis (i.e., protection behaviors reduce perceived risk). To test these competing hypotheses, we examined how risk perception, behavioral intention, and behavior are affected by conditional risk information. In a two-wave panel experiment conducted online in South Korea (Time 1 N = 450; Time 2 N = 276), we manipulated the risk level (high vs. low) of gum disease in a health message both for the inaction of the recommended preventive behavior (flossing) and for the action of the behavior. The results showed that information about high (vs. low) inaction conditional risk indirectly led to greater flossing intention via changing inaction risk perception. In contrast, information about high (vs. low) action conditional risk increased action risk perception, which was negatively linked to flossing intention. Greater inaction risk perception at Time 1 significantly increased actual flossing behavior at Time 2. The decrease in risk perception between Time 1 (inaction conditional) and Time 2 (unconditional) was greater with increasing intentions at Time 1 and with actual behavioral engagement between Time 1 and Time 2. The findings of this study supported both the behavioral motivation hypothesis and the risk reappraisal hypothesis.

본 연구는 침묵의 나선 이론을 토대로 한 연구들이 사용했던 고립에 대한 두려움의 측정 문항들을 검토하여 이를 고립을 두려워하는 개인적 성향, 특정 상황에서 발생할 것으로 예상되는 고립에 대한 두려움, 그리고 논쟁 성향으로 분류하였다. 이후 각 변수가 의견 분위기에 대한 지각과 의사표현 여부의 매개 변수로 작용하는지를 검증하였다. 본 연구는 또한 의견 분위기에 대한 지각과 의사표현 여부에 대한 논쟁에서의 성공 가능성 지각의 매개 효과를 검증했다. 최저임금 인상안을 주제로 면대면 상황(N = 367)과 온라인 상황(N = 327)에서의 의사표현 여부를 검증한 결과, 고립에 대한 개인적 성향은 고립에 대한 상황적 두려움에 영향을 미쳤으나 고립에 대한 상황적 두려움은 다수 의견에 대한 지각과 의사표현 여부의 매개 변수로 작용하지 않았다. 논쟁에서의 성공 가능성 지각은 다수 의견에 대한 지각이 의사표현 여부에 미치는 영향을 매개했고, 주장의 상대적 견고성과 자신의 의견에 대한 확신 정도가 논쟁에서의 성공 가능성 지각에 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 이상의 결과에 대한 이론적 함의가 논의되었다.

Although many health communication studies have substantiated the role of self-efficacy as one of the most proximal determinants of behavioral intention, a recent body of research has also shown that high self-efficacy does not always translate into intention to perform a recommended health behavior. Recognizing the common ground among three independent lines of research on outcome expectancy, goal attainability, and expectation of success, the present study proposed success expectancy, or perceived likelihood of goal achievement, as a mediator between self-efficacy and health behavior intention, which may explain the inconsistent findings on self-efficacy. An online experiment (

Many media and communication journals have adopted the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA style) as the guidelines for their authors to prepare manuscripts. The APA style has been the standard of writing research papers in social and behavioral sciences. Our aim is to provide practical guidance on the APA style. We delineate the main points of APA style that are essential to manuscript preparation: manuscript format and structure, numbers and statistics, reporting results, and references. We focus on style rules that may confuse those unfamiliar with the APA format and offer examples and samples to increase immediate applicability. Writing in APA style requires persistent attention to detail, which is essential part of successful writing.

Scientific progress depends on replication even though replications are generally not recognized for their research contributions. Recently many behavioral sciences have paid a great deal of attent...

Purpose This paper aims to investigate whether citizens censor their own expressions regarding large corporations in social networking sites (SNS) and how self-censorship is associated with the perceived power of, knowledge about and media exposure about large corporations. Design/methodology/approach A nationwide survey was conducted in South Korea (N = 455). The data were analyzed with structural equation modeling. Findings As exposure to news about large corporations increased, the degree of self-censorship regarding large corporations increased. This effect of media exposure on self-censorship was mediated by the amount of knowledge about large corporations and the perceived power of large corporations. Research limitations/implications Although this study focused on the SNS context, the results of this study cannot provide the features of the self-censorship process that are distinct in SNS compared to other contexts. Although a causal model was provided based on theoretical reasoning, the nature of the data is correlational. Thus, one should be cautious when interpreting the results. Practical implications The findings suggest that, while establishing privacy protection policies with regard to the SNS, policy makers need to consider how to prevent invasion of privacy and misuse of personal data by large corporations, interest groups and the unspecified public. Originality/value This study extends the literature related to self-censorship by identifying the effects of economic power and the psychological factors involved in self-censorship.

A mathematical function for belief trajectories in response to a series of negative incongruent pieces of information was proposed based on the sequential information integration model (SIIM), and the function was tested in two studies. In Study 1 ( N = 167), political candidates’ party affiliation information was given for initial candidate evaluation, and then belief change over time (11 times) in response to a series of negative incongruent information about the candidates was observed. Consistent with the hypothesized mathematical function, in both studies, belief trajectories monotonically decreased. In Study 2 ( N = 177), negative incongruent information regarding candidates caused a greater over-time decline in candidate evaluation for those who did not receive initial issue-position information than for those who did receive initial issue-position information, and a greater over-time decline in candidate evaluation for those with weak party identification than for those with strong party identification was observed.

Regarding the effect of the third-person perception on censorship attitudes, the present study first highlighted logical weaknesses of previously proposed rationales and limitations of previously used statistical models to test the effect. This study reanalyzed data from past research on the effect of the third-person perception. In Study 1, the average effects of the other-self perceptual gap in the media influence on censorship attitudes were estimated based on reports from 13 previous studies (total N = 6,414). Study 2 reanalyzed Schmierbach, Boyle, Xu, and McLeod's (2011) correlational data (N = 692). The results of these two studies showed that the presumed effect on others is a stronger predictor of censorship attitudes than the other-self differential in perceived media effect.

Using an extended model of information integration theory, the sequential information integration model (SIIM), the effects of initially presented information on belief trajectories were investigated. SIIM predicts (a) damped oscillatory trajectories when congruent information and incongruent information are presented alternately; and (b) smaller amplitudes of trajectories when initial beliefs have greater weight. An experiment was conducted that utilized a hypothetical election (N=201). Participants initially received specific (vs. no) information about candidates’ positions on issues and then indicated their evaluation of the candidates 11 times in response to additional pieces of information that were provided over time. As predicted, belief trajectories were found to have damped oscillatory patterns. The amplitude of the trajectories was smaller for participants with strong party identification than for those with weak party identification. Implications of these findings for theories of persuasion and...

PurposeThis study aims to analyze how the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) market in Korea will evolve, the opportunities and/or threats of network operators and how the MVNO market will be forged in the future.Design/methodology/approachThis study provides competitive analysis, market evaluation and current regulatory assessment of the Korean MVNO marketplace.FindingsWhile there are many positive prospects of MVNO in Korea, a series of complicated techno‐economic issues arise.Practical implicationsThe current development of MVNO sheds light on the growing challenges of the dynamics of industry, regulation and technology.Social implicationsWhile MVNOs continue to flourish in some markets, their diffusion in other regions is often very limited and continues to drastically decrease.Originality/valueThe results suggest a sustainable ecosystem of MVNO and propose an appropriate policy to promote MVNO diffusion.

This study investigated the time course of belief change from univalent versus mixedvalence messages, both while the message was being received and after receipt while it was being considered. Hypotheses about the temporal patterns of belief change were tested with belief trajectories from S. E. McGreevy (1996), valid N = 78, with an average number of time points per person = 5,267 (126.41 seconds) for the message-receipt phase and 2,467 (59.22 seconds) for the postmessage phase. Results showed that while receiving a message, beliefs changed according to the value and the order of presentation of information in the message. A greater number of positive belief changes were generated in response to a positive univalent message than to a mixed-valence message. In the postmessage phase, a greater oscillatory pattern of belief change was found for a mixed-valence message than for a univalent message. Theoretical and methodological implications of these findings are discussed. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2958.2008.00329.x In an ideal world, with no constraints on data collection, the observation of sets of variables over time would provide all the information necessary for laying out the system of causal relations which tied the variables together. (Coleman, 1968, p. 475) Belief change refers to the difference between an initial belief position before receipt of a new message and the subsequent final belief position after processing the message. During message processing, a belief moves from its initial position to its new equilibrium position. But how does the belief change? Does the belief position steadily approach its final position or does it drastically change to the final position at a specific time point, for example, after the message information has been cognitively integrated with the prior constellation of beliefs? These are questions about the time course of belief change.

Two models of belief change, Laroche's (1977) comparative statics model and the single-push with friction dynamic model (Kaplowitz, Fink, & Bauer, 1983), were combined and tested. Beliefs about two issues (criminal sentencing and tuition increase) were measured every 77 ms, N=95. Eleven time points from each participant's belief trajectory were analyzed. Message discrepancy and source credibility were manipulated. As predicted, belief change monotonically increased over time and the rate of belief change decreased for both issues. For the criminal-sentencing issue, the relationship between message discrepancy and belief change was found to be positive and monotonic for messages from a high-credibility source but nonmonotonic for messages from a low-credibility source. For the criminal-sentencing issue the predicted overtime increase of the effect of message discrepancy on belief change for a high-credibility source and an over-time increase of the effect of source credibility on belief change were found.

Two studies investigated the effect of fact or fiction labeling on the processing of advocacy communication. Labeling a communication as fact, rather than fiction, appeared to enhance critical processing (scrutiny). In 2 experiments, 392 students, who were low or high in need for cognition (NC) read a speech (nonnarrative). This discrepant speech, reported to be an actual event or a dramatic creation, enabled variation of label (fact/fiction), argument quality (strong/weak), and personal-outcome relevance (unspecified, Experiment 1; enhanced/reduced, Experiment 2). When personal relevance was unspecified (or reduced), speeches with a fact label instigated scrutiny for low-NC individuals; high-NC individuals engaged in scrutiny regardless of fact/fiction label. Under enhanced relevance, scrutiny was observed regardless of fact/fiction label and NC level. Across the experiments, communications labeled as fact were no more persuasive than those labeled as fiction.

This research investigated how voters select, process, are affected by, and recall political information in a dynamic campaign environment. It was hypothesized that voters' information selection, processing, and recall are subject to a negativity bias (i.e., negative information dominates over positive information), a congruency bias (i.e., positive information about the preferred candidate and negative information about the opponent candidate dominate over negative information about the preferred candidate and positive information about the opponent), and a candidate bias (i.e., information about the preferred candidate dominates over information about the opponent). Motivated by an initial candidate preference, participants were also expected to develop more polarized candidate evaluations over time. Participants were exposed to quickly changing information in the form of newspaper-style headlines on a dynamic, computer-based information board. The results generally supported negativity bias and candidate bias, whereas congruency bias was only found during information recall. At the information selection and processing stages, participants with a strong initial candidate preference showed a disproportionate preference for negative information about the preferred candidate. However, they developed more positive attitudes at the evaluation and recall stage. This finding suggests that participants were engaged in motivated information processing by counterarguing negative information about their preferred candidate.

This study investigates how language is used to make sense of influence attempts. More specifically, the perceived potency and evaluation of both influence agents and targets and the influence tactic used are examined for their effect on the actors' perceived power and influence success. The two influence tactics examined are threats and attempts to persuade. A pilot study (N=145) and main experiment (N=189) were conducted to create 84 simple sentences, the units of analysis for this investigation. Agents are perceived as more powerful than targets of influence. The tactic used to secure compliance (threaten versus attempt to persuade) does not affect the perceived power of either the agent or the target. A bad agent is seen as more powerful than a good agent, and a bad target is considered more powerful than a good target. Furthermore, good agents have more success in gaining compliance by using persuasion than by using threats, and they have more success when influencing a good target than a bad target....

Listening competencies are widely recognized as central for getting jobs and succeeding at jobs. The study reported in this article examined college students' self-perceived listening competencies, particularly as related to their participation in a basic speech communication course. Pre- and post-surveys of 469 students indicated that the students tended to enter a basic communication course with inflated perceptions of their listening behaviors, and end the semester with distinctly lower self-ratings of their listening behaviors. The results suggest that direct instruction in listening enhances students' awareness of their listening inadequacies, resulting in more realistic appraisals of their listening competencies. Some insignificant findings, however, indicate that the impact of a single listening unit in a basic course is limited.

Based on theories of innuendo effects, the effect of false scandal information about politicians and the effect of different types of corrective messages (negation vs. simple affirmation vs. schema-free affirmation) on candidate evaluation were investigated. Initial preference about the politicians was modeled as the moderating variable. An experimental study (N=199), using a hypothetical election situation, found that (a) participants with positive initial preference about a candidate did not fully correct the damaged reputation of the target; (b) participants with either negative or neutral initial preference about a candidate corrected the damaged reputation of the target. Three different types of corrective messages did not render a difference in the amount of correction by corrective messages. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings were discussed.