Individuals view an overwhelming number of mediated messages every day, even if most of these messages are merely glanced at or given minimal amounts of attention. It is not possible or advantageous for individuals to critically evaluate all messages they encounter. In that first glance or initial impression, however, our brains process the visual arguments designed by photo manipulation presented in messages. This happens instinctually, almost instantaneously, and most often underneath our radar of consciousness. Following, individuals decide to attend to the information (or not) though conscious processing. Regardless of decisions for elaborative processing, however, the initial visual processing of photo manipulated arguments influences how individuals think, feel, and behave – whether they are aware of it or not. This dissertation contributes to our understanding of the role of implied visual arguments for persuasive message processing in three ways. First, Experiment 1 identified and provided empirical evidence for effects of photo manipulation as a visual persuasion technique. This experiment was a necessary first step in exploring the cause-and-effect relationship of photo manipulation and attitudes to better understand influences on message perception. Second, Experiment 2 tested currently used dual processing approaches for persuasive messages to overcome the gaps that currently exist. Theoretical frameworks widely used in advertising and communication research – ELM and HSM – largely overlook the influence of visual communication and visual processing. These models do not account for the current understand of the brain mechanisms and processes for message processing. Findings from Experiment 2 provide evidence for the need to refine these models to account for influential visual processing variables that are largely absent from the literature. Third, findings from both experiments contributed to the conceptual refinement of visual literacy with evidenced-based support for the boundaries of when this concept is (or is not) influential for assigning meaning to visual messages. / text

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The purpose of this study was to explore the development of students' understanding through writing while immersed in an environment where there was a strong emphasis on a language-based argument inquiry approach. Additionally, this study explored students' spoken discourse to gain a better understanding of what role(s) talking plays in the development of understanding through writing. Finally, the study proposed a new concept of Discourse Space, which enabled researchers to improve their understanding of the characteristics of the development of student cognition through writing, and of the roles talking plays in cognitive development through writing. This study was guided by the research question: What patterns of the development of fifth grade students' cognition over time emerge in their private and public negotiations under a teacher who is ranked as a low-level implementer of the SWH approach? This question was divided into two sub-questions: (a) Throughout a unit, Ecosystems, what patterns emerge regarding the development of six fifth grade students' understanding through writing, and b) What patterns of the development of Discourse Space emerge through talking in three different contexts. In order to answer these questions, this qualitative research employed a generic qualitative study. Twenty-one fifth grade students participated in this study, and six students were purposefully selected through which to further investigate the development of an understanding of science through private negotiation while immersed in a language-based argument inquiry approach. Major data sources included students' writing samples, informal conversations with the teacher, researcher's field notes, and classroom videos. Additionally, the teacher's modified RTOP scores and semi-structured interviews were used to deepen the contextual understanding of the learning environment and the teacher's instructional performance. The data analysis was conducted by utilizing discourse analysis of writing and talking. The results showed (1) students' low level of engagement in evaluation impacted their reasoning and use of sources for making meanings, as well as their understanding of the topic. Compared to the results of a previous study, students' complexity of reasoning was relatively less developed, and similarly students' use of reflective sources was generally observed relatively less often. (2) The teacher and students in this study engaged in limited public negotiation, which focused more on articulating than on evaluating ideas. The limited public negotiation that was represented by the dialogical patterns in this study cannot support the development of understanding through writing or the practice of the roles of constructor and critiquer, which play a core function in the comprehension of scientific practice. This study has several implications for teacher education and research. Teacher education needs to be centered more on how to encourage students' engagement in the process of evaluation, since this plays an important function not only in the development of understanding, but also in providing opportunities to perform the roles of both constructor and critiquer. Teachers can use writing as an argumentative activity to encourage or foster students' engagement in the process of evaluation or critique. Additionally, this study provides insight into the importance of the learning environment in which the teacher and students create and develop; this learning environment needs to provide not only opportunities but also demands for students to engage in both constructing and critiquing ideas.

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The dissertation explores factors influencing consumers' payments in anonymous Pay-What-You-Want (PWYW) pricing contexts. Consumers often pay more than zero when given the opportunity to self-determine payments. However, most PWYW research has focused on contexts where the possibility of social influence from a salesperson or clerk is present. I suggest that in anonymous exchange contexts where social pressure does not exist, consumers will nevertheless make voluntary payments greater than zero. The present research explores PWYW in anonymous purchase contexts. Results from eight studies indicate that PWYW payment amounts are affected by heuristics and biases. In Essay 1, the influence of reference price on PWYW payments is explored. Firm-provided external reference prices (ERPs) framed as injunctive norms (e.g., suggested price) and descriptive norms (e.g., average payment) caused anchoring effects on voluntary payments such that those with higher ERPs reported higher payments. Further, ERPs framed as descriptive (vs. injunctive) norms were more predictive of payment amounts, but only when the ERP is high. Recalling internal reference price information is more effortful than simply reacting to a firm-provided price. The possibility that decreased cognitive processing results in higher payments, violating the concept of self-interest primacy, is explored in Essay 2. Four studies manipulate processing styles and demonstrate that when consumers use more effortful cognitive processing, they tend to make lower PWYW payments. These results suggest that consumers are likely to rely on a normal price heuristic when using more superficial processing. The dissertation demonstrates the importance of reference price information and cognitive processing styles when voluntary anonymous payments are made anonymously. PWYW decisions are influenced by the exchange context and how the information is cognitively processed. At a theoretical level, the findings demonstrate that consumers make voluntary payments in the absence of social pressure and that those payments can be predictably influenced by features in the exchange setting. Finally, the research suggests that consumers who exert less cognitive effort in PWYW situations make higher payments. It therefore appears that the first instinct is not to act self-interestedly by making little or no payments, but rather payments seem to be guided by heuristic-based decision making. / 2016-09-29

xv, 175 p. : ill. A print copy of this title is available through the UO Libraries under the call number: KNIGHT HM1033 .D535 2008 / Emotional reactions are a critical element in the motivation to help others. For the purpose of the current research, these reactions are broadly conceptualized as focused either on the self or on other human beings. Self-focused affect (e.g., anticipated regret) motivates helping through the reduction of an unpleasant emotional state, whereas other- focused affect (e.g., sympathy) motivates helping due to concern for the victim. This dissertation investigates the role of affective vs. deliberative information processing in the genesis and use of emotional reactions in decisions to provide financial aid to people in distress. In five studies, a model of affective vs. deliberative information processing is examined within the domain of prosocial behavior. Three main hypotheses investigated whether information processing mode influenced participants' donations, affective reactions, and the relationship between affective reactions and donations. Processing mode was manipulated by a cognitive load paradigm, a priming procedure, the number and identifiability of victims, serial vs. single presentations, and the addition of background statistics related to the victim's situation. Furthermore, participants' ability to visually focus on a single target presented with and without distractor victims was investigated as part of an attentional mechanism that generates affective responses. The results supported a model in which deliberative processing has potentially disruptive effects on the generation of other-focused affect and on the extent to which these types of emotions predicted donations. The importance of other-focused affect in donation decisions was augmented by reducing deliberative capacity, priming affective processing, and increasing the affective salience of victims by identifying them. The influence of self-focused affect on donations was robust to changes in information processing mode and appeared to be governed by different mechanisms than other-focused affect. Humanitarian aid organizations should be sensitive to these issues when eliciting donations from potential donors. Implications and future research are discussed. / Adviser: Paul Slovic

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This study applied dual processing theory, the theory of working memory, and the theory of cue summation to examine how the video and audio in a television news story interact with or against each other when the story uses pull quote graphics to convey key information to viewers. Using eye-tracking, the study produced visual depictions of exactly what viewers look at on the screen when the words in the reporter's voice track match the text in the pull quote graphic verbatim, when the reporter summarizes the text in the graphic, and when the reporter's voice track ignores the text in the pull quote. The study tested the effect on recall when viewers were presented with these three story conditions—high redundancy, medium redundancy, and low redundancy, respectively. Key findings included the following: first, that stories with low redundancy resulted in lower recall and memory sensitivity scores (a measure of memory strength) than pull quotes that the reporter either summarized or read verbatim on the air. Second, it was found that neither high-redundancy nor medium-redundancy stories were superior or inferior to the other when looking at the effect on recall and memory sensitivity. And finally, in high-, medium-, and low-redundancy conditions, subjects stated that they relied more on the reporter's narration than the pull quote to get information. The study states possible implications for news producers and reporters and suggests future research in the broadcast television news industry.

This study applied dual processing theory, the theory of working memory, and the theory of cue summation to examine how the video and audio in a television news story interact with or against each other when the story uses pull quote graphics to convey key information to viewers. Using eye-tracking, the study produced visual depictions of exactly what viewers look at on the screen when the words in the reporter's voice track match the text in the pull quote graphic verbatim, when the reporter summarizes the text in the graphic, and when the reporter's voice track ignores the text in the pull quote. The study tested the effect on recall when viewers were presented with these three story conditions—high redundancy, medium redundancy, and low redundancy, respectively. Key findings included the following: first, that stories with low redundancy resulted in lower recall and memory sensitivity scores (a measure of memory strength) than pull quotes that the reporter either summarized or read verbatim on the air. Second, it was found that neither high-redundancy nor medium-redundancy stories were superior or inferior to the other when looking at the effect on recall and memory sensitivity. And finally, in high-, medium-, and low-redundancy conditions, subjects stated that they relied more on the reporter's narration than the pull quote to get information. The study states possible implications for news producers and reporters and suggests future research in the broadcast television news industry.