Colin's Digital Research Blog

"Using fear appeal theories to understand the effects of location information of patients on citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic" Here I found a great study on how fear appeal was studied in relation to the geolocation of an individual. I found a lot of good information I'll attach Findings: "Fear appeal theories include two predominant theoretical frameworks: protection motivation theory (PMT) and the extended parallel process model" Fear Appeal: "According to fear appeal theories, a fear appeal is defined as a message that presents threat information to cause fear, focusing on the severity and probability of occurrence of a threat to promote safer behavior " "Health messages about threats such as fear appeals are widely used in health communication (Ruiter et al., 2014), and varied threat information will cause different levels of negative emotions such as fear and anxiety" -"In periods of pandemics, such as SARS, citizens pay more a...

"Fear appeals to promote better health behaviors: an investigation of potential mediators" Analysis: This study wanted to highlight first how there are different agencies that do and don't use fear appeal due to the ongoing arguments that they may not be effective. After recruiting 230 subjects, they found that portraying a highly effective efficacy is crucial for good results when using fear appeal towards individuals.  Important Findings: "In fact, research into whether or not fear appeals are effective has failed to produce unequivocal findings, leading to an ongoing debate among scholars that dates back as least as far as Higbee (1969). " "-Products that are perceived to overcome a specific risk or dangers, fomenting fear, and more successful in reducing perceptions of danger, attract higher purchases (Mcdaniel & Zeithaml, 1984). We based on this to predict that, in the wake of the continuous spread of the deadly COVID-19;" -Conclusion: "O...

"FEAR APPEALS: THE EXTENDED PARALLEL PROCESS MODEL" The website explains how using fear appeal is effective when used correctly using the Extended Parallel Process Model "The Extended Parallel Process Model describes when a message with fear will be effective and when it will not. " "The Extended Parallel Process Model states that message acceptance leads to behavior change;" "The Extended Parallel Process Models states that personalistic language or imagery can be used to increase perceptions that someone is susceptible to a specific health threat." "Various message strategies could be used to increase a message reader’s perceived self-efficacy. For example, the message could provide examples of others who have successfully performed the behavior (e.g., “If they can do it, I can do it”), provide verbal encouragement (e.g., “You can do it!”; O’Keefe, 2016), or explicitly state that the recommended behavior is affordable, easy to implement, a...

"Fear-Based Appeals Effective at Changing Attitudes, Behaviors After All" This article summarizes a meta-analysis on Fear-Appeal effectiveness. This study looked at 127 research articles on this theory totalling over 27,000 people in 1,962 experiments. "They found fear appeals to be effective, especially when they contained recommendations for one-time only (versus repeated) behaviors and if the targeted audience included a larger percentage of women. They also confirmed prior findings that fear appeals are effective when they describe how to avoid the threat (e.g., get the vaccine, use a condom)." -"Fear-based appeals appear to be effective at influencing attitudes and behaviors, especially among women, according to a comprehensive review of over 50 years of research on the topic, published by the American Psychological Association." -“These appeals are effective at changing attitudes, intentions and behaviors. There are very few circumstances under which...

"THE FEAR APPEAL (ADVERTISING)" Analysis: This site has a list of uses for using fear appeal as a tactic for marketing products and services in order to persuade people to donate or follow a service.  Findings : -"Fear Appeal persuades people to feel that they are assuming a risk if they do or do not purchase a certain product. The idea is that if consumers don’t use the product you are advertising, you make them feel like there may be undesirable consequences as a result." When Should I Use the Fear Appeal? -"particularly if there are consequences for not purchasing a product. For example, if you sell fire extinguishers and your advertising strategy is to show how you may save your family members’ lives if you have an extinguisher during a fire, you are appealing to a fear in consumers that if they don’t buy a fire extinguisher, they are risking their family members’ lives." How to apply fear appeal in advertising -"use images and phrasing designed s...

 I found a study done in Beijing, China that could greatly support my research into Media Dependency. It surveyed over 200 college students and found a direct correlation between Covid-19 stress and an increase in social media addiction in individuals.  Below are excerpts I am especially interested in: "Due to policies to limit the spread of the virus, such as the “shelter-in-place” order (1), people, willing or not, are undergoing a transition from offline to online activities (2). In addition to remote work or remote learning, many people spent increased time on social media (SM), such as Facebook and Twitter, which could satisfy their need for disaster-related information, entertainment as well as interpersonal communication (3, 4)" "The present study examined the relationship between COVID-19 stress, active use, SM flow, and addictive SMU in a sample of Chinese college students. Consistent with Hypothesis 1a, COVID-19 related stress was associated with a greater tend...

I was researching past studies that supported my second bullet, in that social issues are the second benefactor in media dependency. This study by Matthew loveless found that an individual's media use is both heightened and follow the media closely in a time of political change. By surveying media use of  citizens from Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria; a media dependency can be seen by those seeking information on their transitioning into a democratic government. It shows that political change in these individuals' countries leads to a reliance on media for consolation.  Matthew Loveless. (2008, February). Media Dependency: Mass Media as Sources of Information in the Democratizing Countries of Central and Eastern Europe (No. 162–183). ResearchGate. https://doi.org/10.1080/13510340701770030

In my previous post, I found information into how Facebook was using Engagement Based-Ranking as a way to show individuals content that would cause an immediate reaction, even if it's toxic to the person's personality such as anorexia. The article stated that Facebook was protected by Section 230, which states that "No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider." In short, this means that social media platforms are immune to being sued for things that other people/businesses post onto it. What this legislation doesn't take into account however are algorithms, and Facebook is exploiting that loophole.  Perhaps this is one of the reasons why people are turning to social media for news and getting rid of newspapers, because Newspaper publishers are still held liable for the content it produces.  Pietsch, B., Asher Hamilton, I., & Canales, K. (...

I just remembered the recent Facebook Whistleblower who spoke to Congress under oath about Facebook's handling of its algorithm. There is plenty of material from this hearing that is relevant to my topic so below are three passages I will most likely fit into my analysis.       According to the Washington post: “engagement-based ranking,” a term that refers to the practice of social media platforms like Facebook using algorithms that prioritize content in users’ feeds that generate strong reactions, and more clicks, from users." "Haugen said engagement-based ranking is causing teens to be exposed to more anorexia content, fueling rifts within families and fueling ethnic violence in Ethiopia." "Eliminating engagement-based ranking would be difficult as it forms the bedrock of most social media platforms" Zakrzewski, C., Lima, C., Dwoskin, E., & Oremus, W. (2021, October 5). Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen tells lawmakers that meaningful reform is n...

According to Sprout Social, Brands and Media Platforms are doing all they can to have content creators that are highly liked by the public. The key reason is because an active audience is needed to keep users actively interested in wanting to return to the application, and the best way to keep an active audience is by incentivizing  users with money to create interesting content. This is where the term 'content creator' comes from, and they are crucial for opening the door to important discussions on social media. An example of this can viewed by Kerry Smith, a Content Strategist for Twitter's content creator network. She states that  "Creators are well positioned to lend a human voice, personality, perspective and expertise to a brand. They can facilitate conversations that otherwise would not have happened.” Kim, K. (2021, June 29). Social media is all-in on the content creator economy. What does that mean for brands? Sprout Social. Retrieved July 5, 2022, from http...

What I Found: Britannica Lists a summarized and easy to understand definition of how Media Dependency Works and how the spine of the framework functions. Its is basically a relationship in which the fulfillment of a party's needs is reliant on the resources that media provides. A sort of dependency relationship that an audience has with modes of media. Basic Definition: Media dependency theory , a systematic approach to the study of the effects of mass media on audiences and of the interactions between media, audiences, and social systems. It was introduced in outline by the American communications researchers Sandra Ball-Rokeach and Melvin DeFleur in 1976. "Two of the basic propositions put forward by Ball-Rokeach and DeFleur are: (1) the greater the number of social functions performed for an audience by a medium (e.g., informing the electorate, providing entertainment), the greater the audience’s dependency on that medium, and (2) the greater the instability of a society (e...

The Uses and gratification theory explains that people use media for various cognitive reasons and will continue until those needs are satisfied. The reasons for why someone may be absorbed into media depends on the person, but it could be due to acquiring intellectual knowledge, evoke emotions similar to a sad movie, or release self-esteem. In addition, there are more unhealthy reasons for why one would be strongly attracted to media; which is as a form of escapism from reality and stress or even as a way to feel like socializing with family and friends without actually interacting with them. The Uses and Gratification theory is more psychologically-oriented and doesn't take into account the power of media like the Media Dependency framework does.  Uses and Gratification Theory . (n.d.). Uses and gratification theory . Communication Theory. Retrieved July 1, 2022, from https://www.communicationtheory.org/uses-and-gratification-theory/

Excerpt: According to this theory, there is an internal link between media, audience and large social system. The audience learning from the real life is limited, so they can use media to get more information to fulfil their needs. An extensive use of media generates dependent relation in audience. Also Media can able to create dependence relationship with target audiences to achieve their goals by using its media power. The degree of dependence is directly proportional to : Individual : The media have ability to satisfy the audience needs. An individual will become more dependent on media, if the medium satisfy his/her needs. Otherwise the media dependence will become less Social Stability : The audience reconsider their beliefs, practice and behaviours when strong social change, conflicts, riot or election which will force to re-evaluate and make new decisions. During this period media dependency is dramatically increased, because there is a strong need for information, support and a...

I found an excerpt from 'Very Well Mind' that perfectly summarizes Situation Leadership Theory:  The situational theory of leadership suggests that no single leadership style is best. Instead, it depends on which type of leadership and strategies are best-suited to the task. According to this theory, the most effective leaders are those that are able to adapt their style to the situation and look at cues such as the type of task, the nature of the group, and other factors that might contribute to getting the job done. They continue to talk about how there are various leadership styles and different levels of maturity that best suit the scenario, which is why leaders should be open to adapting to situations in order to follow both the needs of their subordinates and goals.  https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-situational-theory-of-leadership-2795321

Risk Compensation/Risk Homeostasis Theory is According to Campbell Institute "people tend to take more risks when they feel a greater sense of security. In other words, individuals adjust their level of risk-taking behavior depending on the safety measures that are in place (Wilde, 1994)." I find this theory very interesting because it can easily be applied to the Netflix series Squid Games, where hundreds of people willingly fight fight for the death for a chance to become a billionaire. Even though it's a fictional show, it perfectly fits the framework of this theory's risk-reward parameters.  Risk Compensation is a subsidiary of Risk Perception Theory- which simply means the study of one's ability to accept or discern a risk. https://www.thecampbellinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Campbell-Institute-Risk-Perception-WP.pdf