No description available.

Recent research has revealed many similarities between episodic memory, scene construction, and imagination of the future. It has been suggested that scene construction is the common process underlying memory and imagination, but no study to date has directly compared all three abilities. The present study compared retrieval time, ratings of detail and vividness for episodic memories, remembered scenes and imagined future events cued by landmarks of high and low familiarity. Memories, scenes, and imagined episodes based on a more familiar landmark as a cue were more quickly retrieved, more detailed, and more vivid. This study was the first to demonstrate the effects of frequent encounters with a cue on memory, scene construction and imagination of the future. Additionally, consistent results across conditions, as well as stronger effects in the scene construction condition, provide further evidence of a possible interdependence of episodic memory, imagination of the future, and scene construction.

Recent research has revealed many similarities between episodic memory, scene construction, and imagination of the future. It has been suggested that scene construction is the common process underlying memory and imagination, but no study to date has directly compared all three abilities. The present study compared retrieval time, ratings of detail and vividness for episodic memories, remembered scenes and imagined future events cued by landmarks of high and low familiarity. Memories, scenes, and imagined episodes based on a more familiar landmark as a cue were more quickly retrieved, more detailed, and more vivid. This study was the first to demonstrate the effects of frequent encounters with a cue on memory, scene construction and imagination of the future. Additionally, consistent results across conditions, as well as stronger effects in the scene construction condition, provide further evidence of a possible interdependence of episodic memory, imagination of the future, and scene construction.

The major objective of this study is to explore empirically the effects of permission, interactivity, vividness and personalisation upon attitude, behavioural intention and recommendation to e-mail marketing (the latter two variables being proxies for behaviour). The proposed model is based on the integrated framework of Fishbein and Ajzen's Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), Triadis's Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and Rettie's 2002 Basic E-mail Response Process Model. For data collection, qualitative and quantitative studies were used. The qualitative results from four semi-structured interviews reveal New Zealand enterprises' strong trust in permission-based e-mail marketing and how they implement it as one of their marketing strategies. The quantitative component presents and empirically tests the proposed model in terms of a personalisation (presence/absence), interactivity (low/high) and vividness (low/medium/high) (2*2*3) between-subjects factorial design, where subjects were exposed to an e-mail advertisement for a mobile phone. From 650 responses collected by clicking on an e-mail link through an online web survey, the data was analysed with analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Based on strong suggestions in the literature and findings in the qualitative study on the importance of permission-based marketing, attitude toward permission e-mail was examined as one of the dependent variables in the quantitative study. Results reveal similarities and differences in the effects of interactivity, vividness and personalisation respectively between the low and high attitude toward permission based e-mail marketing groups. Although significant effects of interactivity on attitude and behavioural intention were observed, the nature of those effects proved contrary to the author's expectation. In terms of vividness, results showed significant effects on attitude and behavioural intention in both groups as anticipated. Conversely, personalisation was shown to have no effect on attitude and behavioural intention in any group, however, a positive effect on response rates was indicated. Two three-way interaction effects between interactivity, vividness and personalisation on attitude toward brand and friend recommendation were found only in the high group. This study strongly encourages e-mail marketers to respect their customers' privacy and to employ a permission-based marketing concept within their business strategy. The design of the e-mail (moderate to high vividness) and personalisation (use of recipient's name) are indicated to have a positive impact on the effectiveness of an e-mail ad. Future research should examine a permission-based marketing construct as a longitudinal study, and investigate personalisation at a higher level (based on recipients' preferences).

The two primary objectives for this thesis are (1) to understand the effectiveness of different types of mobile phone based advertisements and (2) to identify if the amount of time users spent viewing an advertisement can be used as a measure of advertising effectiveness. To achieve these objectives, this study first conducted qualitative studies consisting of a focus group with consumers and an interview with a mobile advertising technology provider. Qualitative study results identified the following variables of interest; vividness of the advertisement, product involvement, and consumer goals. Supported by existing literature on advertising, these variables were then used to develop a conceptual model outlining the relationship between the variables and measures of advertising effectiveness. To empirically examine this model, this study conducted a 3x2x4 experiment of high, medium and low advertisement mode vividness, high and low product involvement and four stages of pre-purchase consumer goals. A total of 288 responses were collected from a student sample from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. The dependence relationships outlined in the conceptual model were then analysed using ANCOVA, logistic regression, linear regression, and various other non-parametric analysis techniques. The results of this study suggest that level of advertisement mode vividness and product involvement both exert a strong influence on the effectiveness of the advertisement. However, results on consumer goals suggest that the effectiveness of the advertisement is only affected by whether a consumer goal existed before viewing the advertisement. This study was unable to identify any relationship between the effectiveness of an advertisement and the amount of time users spent viewing an advertisement on a mobile phone.

Thesis advisor: Elizabeth A. Kensinger / Research in four parts examines the effects of valence on the neural processes that support emotional memory formation and retrieval. Results show a consistent valence-specific enhancement of visuocortical engagement along the ventral visual stream and occipital cortex that supports negative memories to a greater extent than positive memories. Part I investigated the effects of valence on the interactions between trial-level physiological responses to emotional stimuli (i.e., heart rate deceleration) during encoding and subsequent memory vividness. Results showed that negative memory vividness, but not positive or neutral memory vividness, is tied to arousal-related enhancements of amygdala coupling with early visual cortex during encoding. These results suggest that co-occurring parasympathetic arousal responses and amygdala connectivity with early visual cortex during encoding influence subsequent memory vividness for negative stimuli, perhaps reflecting enhanced memory-relevant perceptual enhancements during encoding of negative stimuli. Part II examined links between individual differences in post-encoding increases is amygdala functional connectivity at rest and the degree and direction of emotional memory biases at retrieval. Results demonstrated that post-encoding increases in amygdala resting state functional connectivity with visuocortical and frontal regions predicted the degree of negative memory bias (i.e., better memory for unpleasant compared to pleasant stimuli) and positive memory bias, respectively. Further, the effect of amygdala-visuocortical post-encoding coupling on behavioral negative memory bias was completely mediated by greater retrieval-related activity for negative stimuli in visuocortical areas. These findings suggest that those individuals with a negative memory bias tend to engage visual processing regions across multiple phases of memory more than individuals with a positive memory bias. While Parts I-II examined encoding-related memory processes, Part III examined the effects of valence on true and false subjective memory vividness at the time of retrieval. The findings showed valence-specific enhancements in regions of the ventral visual stream (e.g., inferior temporal gyrus and parahippocampal cortex) support negative memory vividness to a greater extent than positive memory vividness. However, activation of the parahippocampal cortex also drove a false sense of negative memory vividness. Together, these findings suggest spatial overlap in regions that support negative true and false memory vividness. Lastly, Part IV utilized inhibitory repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to test if a portion of occipito-temporal cortex that showed consistent valence-specific effects of negative memory in Parts I-III was necessary for negative memory retrieval. Although some participants showed the hypothesized effect, there was no group-level evidence of a neuromodulatory effect of occipito-temporal cortex rTMS on negative memory retrieval. Together, the results of the current dissertation work highlight the importance of valence-based models of emotional memory and consistently implicated enhanced visuosensory engagement across multiple phases of memory. By identifying valence-specific effects of trial-level physiological arousal during encoding, post-encoding amygdala coupling during early consolidation, and similarities and differences between true and false negative memories, the present set of work has important implications for how negative and positive memories are created and remembered differently. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2019. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Psychology.

Stockholm den 7 april 2017, klockan 14:59: rapporter om en lastbil som körde på människor längs Drottninggatan i centrala Stockholm, nådde allmänheten. Det konstaterades snabbt vara en terrorattack. Kort efter attacken började uppgifter om skottlossning på olika platser runt Stockholm att spridas. Ryktena cirkulerade i drygt en timme innan polisen kunde dementera dem, efter att ha avsatt resurser för att undersöka de påstådda skjutningarna. Skottlossning hade aldrig inträffat.             Studiens syfte var att undersöka retoriska dimensioner och persuasiva funktioner hos fake news samt vilka konsekvenser fake news kan få vid en krissituation. Visuell retorisk analys var den metodologiska utgångspunkten som, genom en abduktiv forskningsstrategi, kombinerades med teoretiska perspektiv för kris, ethos, vividness och fake news. Analysmaterialet utgjordes av fyra nyhetsutdrag: SvT Nyheter, Dagens Nyheter (2 st.) och Expressen var källorna bakom dessa.             Analysen visade att nyheterna om skottlossning mottogs som visuella intryck, som i kombination med starka ethos och högt förtroende för nyhetskällorna, utgjorde trovärdiga nyheter som allmänheten accepterade som sanna. Därtill konkluderades att fake news kan förstås som mentala bilder. / Stockholm, 7th of April 2017, 2:59 pm, reports said a lorry had hit several people along the pedestrian street Drottninggatan in the city centre, which was quickly labelled a terrorist attack. Shortly afterwards, news flashes warned people of alleged open gunfire observed at several other spots in the city. The rumours circulated for over one hour before the Police were able to refute them, after firstly having investigated the claims themselves. There had been no shootings.          The purpose of this study was to explore the rhetorical dimensions and persuasive functions of fake news and which consequences these can lead to in a crisis. Visual rhetorical analysis has been the methodological approach which, through an abductive research strategy, was combined with the theoretical perspectives of crisis, ethos, vividness and fake news. The material analysed consisted of four news excerpts: SvT Nyheter, Dagens Nyheter (2) and Expressen.             The analysis showed that the news of the alleged gunfire were perceived as visual impressions which, in combination with strong ethos and high trust for the source of news, were deemed as credible and therefore true by the readers. In addition, it was concluded that fake news can be understood as mental pictures.

The goal of this dissertation is to investigate the impact of presentation formats on nonprofessional investors’ impressions of firm performance in the context of digital annual reports. The dissertation implements a three-essay approach. Essay 1 examines whether the effect of positive/negative financial performance news on nonprofessional investors’ impressions of management and firm performance depends on whether the graphical display of that news is vivid or pallid. Conducting a 2 x 2 between-participants experiment with 470 participants from Amazon Mechanical Turk (M-Turk), I find that when the news is positive, presenting graphs vividly allows nonprofessional investors to have a more positive impression of management and firm performance. In contrast, when the news is negative, presenting graphs vividly has little effect on nonprofessional investors’ impressions. The essay informs regulators and practice by demonstrating that vivid graphical website disclosures can significantly affect the behavior of nonprofessional investors when the financial performance news is positive, but the effect is minimal when the news is negative. The essay also contributes to the financial disclosure literature by demonstrating the impact of graphical vividness in presenting financial performance information. Essay 2 conducts a 2 x 2 between-participants experiment with 565 participants from M-Turk. I investigate whether varying the user interactivity and graphical vividness of the presentation of non-financial good news counteracts bad news presented in the audited financial data. I find a positive effect of user interactivity when the graphical presentation of non-financial information is vivid but not when it is pallid. In mediation analyses, I find unexpected results in that user engagement negatively mediates the effects of user interactivity on nonprofessional investors’ perceptions of firm performance and investment-related judgments and decisions. Subsequent analyses indicate that user interactivity alone reduces nonprofessional investors’ satisfaction with digital annual reports, but the joint effect of user interactivity and graphical vividness overcomes this negative effect. These results have implications for designers of digital annual reports, investor groups consuming this information, and regulators concerned about the need for assurance on the (unregulated) non-financial disclosures in annual reports. Essay 3 studies whether using hyperlinks that connect summarized financial graphs with detailed financial statement information reduces the effect of graphical distortions on nonprofessional investors’ perceptions of firm performance. Using 385 participants from M-Turk, I find that while distorted graphs do bias nonprofessional investors’ perceptions of firm performance, the provision and use of hyperlinks to the underlying source information eliminate those effects (i.e., debias). Using the dual-process theory of cognitive processing (Kahneman and Frederick 2002; Evans 2006, 2008), I find that hyperlinks enhance the overriding effect of System 2 processing (i.e., analytical processing) on System 1 processing (i.e., intuitive processing) and indirectly reduce the decision-biasing effect of distorted graphs on nonprofessional investors’ perceptions. The study contributes to standard setting as well as financial reporting practice by providing empirical evidence that the SEC’s policy guidance on implementing hyperlinks has benefits to nonprofessional investors. Second, it contributes to both the literature on distorted graphs and hyperlinks by suggesting hyperlinking to source data as a technique to mitigate the effects of graphical distortions. The findings of the three essays have implications for the designers of digital annual reports, investor groups consuming this information, and regulators concerned about the need to standardize the presentation formats in digital annual reports and potentially require auditor oversight of graphical displays of both financial and non-financial data in these reports.

This thesis investigated how information on a firm’s website presented with richmedia employee testimonials differs compared to a poor media descriptioncommunicating the same content in its ability to positively influence potential jobseekersperceptions about a firms employer brand values, in particular social valuedue to its potential in differentiation. A problem was identified being that firms areexperiencing difficulties with communicating social value of the firm to potential jobseekers. The authors used a mixed-method research design containing explorativeexpert interviews, an explanatory experiment where potential job-seekers wereexposed to two different versions of a firms’ website (one containing rich mediaemployee testimonial, and one containing a written text description of the samecontent), and a number of focus groups with the aim to further explain the findingsfrom the experiment. The findings indicate that rich media employee testimonials embedded in afirm's website increase potential job-seekers perceptions about a firm in terms of bothsocial value and identification with the firm. These findings suggest that firms shouldconsider using rich media employee testimonials on their career websites as analternative to the more commonly used poor media written descriptions.

This research aims to explain the process that previous researchers have discussed concerning the consumer virtual experience, using three-dimensional (3D) product visualisations, within online retailers. In addition, this research aims to identify the main advantages of using 3D product visualisation in comparison to two-dimensional (2D) static pictures within online retailers. Moreover, using the online Stimulus-Organism-Responses (S-O-R) paradigm, this research aims to model the effect of 3D product visualisation on consumers’ perception and responses towards the online retailer environment. Given that the appearance of the notion of telepresence or presence and their implications on the online retailer, many scholars attempt to build and develop models that can suit these notions online. However, this thesis argues that the notion of 3D telepresence is not the proper terminology to be used within the online retail context and therefore, this research raises the following question “how do consumers perceive 3D product virtualisation (telepresence) compared with 3D product authenticity on online retailers’ websites?” The effects of 3D product visualisation and 2D static pictures have been raised during the past decade to determine which is better for the online consumers. Marketers and information system scholars started wondering about the best device that can generate hedonic and utilitarian values for the consumers. To investigate the main impact of 3D product visualisation and 2D static pictures on hedonic and utilitarian values, this research raises the following questions: How do consumers perceive 3D hedonic values compared with 2D hedonic values on online retailers’ website? How do consumers perceive 3D product visualisation utilitarian values compared with 2D utilitarian values on online retailers’ website? This thesis, based on the previous literature in interactivity and vividness, narrowed down the 3D authenticity antecedents to the control and animated colour constructs. Moreover, to determine the effect of the progressive levels of control and animated colour constructs on the 3D authenticity construct, it raises the following research question: How do different levels of 3D control and animated colours influence 3D authenticity? To determine the effects of the progressive levels of 3D hedonic and utilitarian values on behavioural intention construct, this thesis raises the following research question: How do different levels of 3D hedonic and utilitarian levels influence behavioural intentions? Based on the online S-O-R framework, previous studies investigate the impact of the whole website e-retail environment (many stimuli) on consumers’ responses. Yet, this is the first study that is using one stimulus, namely 3D laptop product visualisation to investigate its impacts on consumers’ perceptions and responses using the online S-OR paradigm. Therefore, this thesis raises the following research question: How do control, animated colours, 3D authenticity, hedonic and utilitarian values affect consumers’ behavioural intention? The results reveal significant differences between 3D telepresence and 3D authenticity constructs. 3D telepresence involves an illusion or a sense of being transported to another place, whereas 3D authenticity refers to the ability to imagine a virtual object as real. The 3D authenticity construct is more significant in simulating an online retailer’s products. The proposed online S-O-R conceptual model achieves acceptable fit and the hypothesised paths are all valid. This research adds to the marketing literature the notion of 3D authenticity and contributes a valid scale to measure that new variable. Moreover, it is the first study that connects and uses the antecedents of 3D authenticity (S), control and animated colours, to investigate their impact on 3D authenticity, hedonic and utilitarian values (O), and the impact of the Organism constructs (O) on behavioural intention (R). Furthermore, the final framework considers the first framework that has studied the impact of one stimulus using the online S-O-R framework on an electronic retailer website environment. Indeed, to the best of the researcher’s knowledge, this is the first study that uses a UK sample to investigate the effects of an authentic 3D product visualisation in an electronic e-retailing industry (i.e., laptops).