Texting is ubiquitous; the International Association for the Wireless Telecommunications Industry reported that 4.1 billion text messages were sent per day in the first half of 2009. In isolation, texting does not injure individuals; however, when combined with driving, lives have changed for the worse. The National Safety Council estimates that 1.6 million crashes per year can be attributed to distracted drivers either talking on cell phones or texting while driving and nearly 28 percent of all crashes in the United States can be ascribed to these behaviors. An increasing number of texting while driving fear appeal campaigns are being utilized in the media. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to create and test theoretically-based messages aimed at discouraging texting while driving. Formative research along with the Extended Parallel Process Model was used for guidance in the creation of the fear appeal messages. No low threat message was used for the main study after repeated message validations failed. For the study, three high threat messages varied only by a single paragraph which targeted beliefs about benefits, mastery, and ubiquity of texting while driving. 155 undergraduates at Texas A & M University completed a pretest, read the high threat message, and answered a posttest. Need for cognition and sensation seeking tendencies were measured in order to understand the effects such personality traits have on message perceptions. Five major outcomes were revealed even though numerous hypotheses were unsupported. There was a significant interaction between perceived threat and sensation seeking tendencies on message realism. There was a significant interaction between perceived threat and need for cognition on message realism. There was a significant interaction between perceived threat and need for cognition on message accuracy. There was a significant interaction between perceived threat and need for cognition on attitudes. There was a significant positive correlation between perceived threat and perceived message sensation value. This project provides support that sensation seeking tendencies and need for cognition do interacted with perceived threat on perceptions of message effectiveness and that perceived message sensation value was positively related to perceived threat. Results also revealed the prevalence of texting while driving behavior and relationships between personality traits and texting while driving. Sensation seeking tendencies were positively correlated with initiating text messages while driving. Need for cognition was negatively correlated with reading and replying to text messages while driving.

This dissertation study examined how the activation of national identity influences consumer evaluations of ads using patriotic appeals. Specifically, this study proposed that (1) priming of national identity through the cues within media-context would activate consumers’ national identity, making it momentarily salient, and this increased national identity salience, in turn, would affect consumer responses to the ads using patriotic themes; and (2) the impact of national identity salience on evaluations of patriotic ads among ethnic minority consumers (i.e., Asian Americans) would be different from that among majority consumers (i.e., Caucasian Americans). As expected, findings from this study showed that activating consumers’ national identity through a national identity prime (i.e., a news story about a national event) led to favorable responses to the ads featuring patriotic themes. Further, results of this study indicated that the effect of national identity salience on increasing evaluations of ads using patriotic themes was significantly stronger for ethnic minority consumers than was for majority consumers. / text

This dissertation augmented Kahlor’s (2010) planned risk information seeking model (PRISM). According to the PRISM, people’s intentions to seek risk information hinge on their attitudes toward seeking, seeking-related subjective norms, perceived control over seeking, affective response to the perceived risk, and information need. As well, this dissertation examined the role of self-identity as an information seeker, independent self-construal, past risk information seeking, involvement, and motivation orientation in people’s intention to seek risk information about radon and poor indoor air quality. In a pilot study of a convenience sample (N = 59), I derived an information-seeking self-identity scale and a novel instrument for measuring information need. The main study of a national probability sample (N = 602) evaluated the proposed structural model, tested several hypotheses, and explored several research questions. Both the pilot and main study gathered data via online surveys. Results supported the proposed model (R2 = .62) and several hypotheses. Notably, information-seeking self-identity and past risk information seeking positively predicted seeking intention. Also, the effects of attitudes and norms on seeking intention were stronger among more independent respondents. Finally, in a series of multiple regression analyses, I detailed the roles of involvement and various motivation orientations in each model component. An unexpected finding was that perceived control over seeking did not significantly predict seeking intention. Post-hoc analysis revealed that the strength of the control-intention relationship was—at least with the current sample—inversely related to socioeconomic status (SES), where at higher levels of SES, the importance of perceived control over seeking diminished. / text

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The aim with this essay is to cast a light upon the brainwashing carried out by the totalitarian Party in George Orwell’s dystopian novel, 1984, and induce a deeper understanding of its persuasive effect on Winston Smith, the main character. Winston passionately hates the Party and its leader Big Brother who govern the country Oceania in which he lives. However, after having undergone brainwashing that also includes torture, Winston surrenders to the ideology of the Party and at the end of the novel his hatred towards Big Brother has turned to love. In order to understand Winton’s conversion I carry out a close reading of the novel and apply the three rhetorical means of persuasion, ethos, logos and pathos, to the novel and demonstrate when and how these appeals are used on Winston. Against this rhetorical background the analysis shows that the Party’s usage of rhetorical appeals can explain why the brainwashing works successfully in its persuasive aim. This result also demonstrates that these three appeals play a prominent role over a course of several years in the Party’s indoctrination of Winston. Additionally, the presence of rhetoric proves that there is more than Winston being tortured to his conversion. Thus, Winston is not only tortured into repeating the principles of the party, he is also persuaded into actually believing in them and loving Big Brother by the Party’s strategic appeals to ethos, logos and pathos. / Syftet med detta arbete är att belysa hjärntvätten utförd av det totalitära Partiet i George Orwells dystopiska roman, 1984, och bidra till en djupare förståelse för dess övertygande effekt på huvudkaraktären Winston Smith. Han hatar innerligt Partiet och dess ledare Storebror som styr landet Oceanien, i vilket Winston lever. Efter att ha genomgått hjärntvätt, som också innebär tortyr, överlämnar han sig dock till Partiets ideologi och i slutet av romanen har hans hat för Storebror vänts till kärlek. För att förstå Winstons omvändelse analyserar jag romanen utifrån de tre retoriska övertalningsmedlen, ethos, logos och pathos och påvisar när och hur dessa används mot Winston. Mot denna retoriska bakgrund visar analysen att Partiets användning av dessa medel kan förklara varför hjärntvätten lyckas. Resultatet visar också att dessa medel spelar en viktig roll över en längre period i Partiets indoktrinering av Winston. Dessutom visar närvaron av retorik att hjärntvättens utfall inte endast är avhängigt Partiets tortyr. Winston är således inte enbart genom tortyr tvingad till att repetera Partiets ideologi, han övertygas också att tro omfatta denna och att älska Storebror genom Partiets strategiska användning av ethos, logos och pathos.

abstract: In the present research, two interventions were developed to increase sun protection in young women. The purpose of the study was to compare the effects of intervention content eliciting strong emotional responses to visual images depicting photoaging and skin cancer, specifically fear and disgust, coupled with a message of self-efficacy and benefits of sun protection (the F intervention) with an intervention that did not contain an emotional arousal component (the E intervention). Further, these two intervention conditions were compared to a control condition that contained an emotional arousal component that elicited emotion unrelated to the threat of skin cancer or photoaging (the C control condition). A longitudinal study design was employed, to examine the effects of condition immediately following the intervention, and to examine sun protection behavior 2 weeks after the intervention. A total of 352 undergraduate women at Arizona State University were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions (F n = 148, E n = 73, C n = 131). Several psychosocial constructs, including benefits of sun protection, susceptibility to and severity of photoaging and sun exposure, self-efficacy beliefs of making sun protection a daily habit, and barriers to sun protection were measured before and immediately following the intervention. Sun protection behavior was measured two weeks later. Those in the full intervention reported higher self-efficacy and severity of photoaging at immediate posttest than those in the efficacy only and control conditions. The fit of several path models was tested to explore underlying mechanisms by which the intervention affected sun protection behavior. Experienced emotion, specifically fear and disgust, predicted susceptibility and severity, which in turn predicted anticipated regret of failing to use sun protection. The relationship between this overall threat component (experienced emotion, susceptibility, severity, and anticipated regret) and intentions to engage in sun protection behavior was mediated by benefits. The present research provided evidence of the effectiveness of threat specific emotional arousal coupled with a self-efficacy and benefits message in interventions to increase sun protection. Further, this research provided additional support for the inclusion of both experienced and anticipated emotion in models of health behavior. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Psychology 2011

O objetivo desta dissertação é investigar se o exagero de exigência das formalidades aplicado no momento de admissibilidade impede o conhecimento dos recursos. / This dissertation analyses the formal aspects regarding permission to appeal especially to the Higher Courts. One of the main targets was to investigate whether exaggerated formalities, i.e., those imposed conditions on permission to appeal prevent hearing and considerations regarding the appeals\'merit.

Many cross-cultural advertising studies in the last decade focus on matching the advertising messages to consumers’ self-concepts. Despite the cultural differences in self-concept, research on self-concept still has some limitations given the lack understanding of the dialectical thinking style. Dialectical thinking represents one’s perception of conflicted information. To develop the understanding of dialectical thinking in predicting the persuasiveness of advertising messages, this research uses arguments proposed in the literature and validates the importance of dialectical thinking in predicting advertising appeals’ persuasiveness for East Asian bicultural consumers. In addition to dialectical thinking, Benet-Martinez et al. (2002) proposed the concept of Bicultural Identity Integration (BII) to group biculturals into high Bicultural Identity Integration individuals and low Bicultural Identity Integration individuals. Lau-Gesk (2003)’s work claimed that Chinese Americans who perceive Chinese and American cultures are compatible (high Bicultural Identity Integration) tend to favour ads appeals that emphasizing on both cultural values. Whereas, those individuals who perceive the two cultures are contradicted and compartmentalised tend to favour ads appeals that emphasizing on only one cultural value. This research aims to examine the role of product type in moderating the relationship between Bicultural Identity Integration and the persuasiveness of dual-focused advertising appeals. Building upon marketing and psychology literature, the aim of this research is to extend our understanding of impacts of dialectical thinking and Bicultural Identity Integration (BII) on the persuasiveness of dual-focused advertising appeals. This research adopts both qualitative and quantitative techniques to examine the research questions. Firstly, 10 in-depth interviews with Chinese participants from The University of Manchester were conducted to understand the predictors of dialectical thinking. To examine the impacts of dialectical thinking and Bicultural Identity Integration on the persuasiveness of dual-focused advertising appeals, 161 participants were recruited in Experiment 1 and 164 participants were recruited in Experiment 2. The findings suggest that individuals’ perspective-taking and flexibility and openness capabilities tend to predict one’s degree of dialecticism. In Experiment 1, the results showed that dialectical thinking only explains the attitudinal differences among the immigration-based Chinese bicultural group when shared products were promoted. The differences in attitudes among high and low dialectical globalisation-based Chinese biculturals were not significant when either shared or personal products were promoted. Bicultural Identity Integration explains the attitudinal differences within both immigration-based and globalisation-based bicultural groups when shared products were promoted. Experiment 2 results suggested that language cues tend to have a priming effect on immigration-based Chinese biculturals’ degrees of dialecticism. They have shown higher degree of dialecticism when advertising appeals were written in Chinese and are less likely to favour dual-focused advertising appeals; participants also reported lower degree of dialecticism when advertising appeals were written in English and favour dual-focused advertising appeals. However, such priming effects were not significant within the globalisation-based Chinese bicultural group.

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This research has focused on the representation of foreign cultures in four BBCdocumentaries. To be more precise, it looked into how public documentariesportray foreign cultures, specifically within a frame of development aid and whitesaviourism when watching documentaries by BBC Three, a channel which iscentred towards a young audience. Previous research on white saviourism andshock appeals analysed movies, documentaries and aid campaigns. Barely anyhave so far researched representation of minorities, foreign cultures and aid topicsin public documentaries. BBC Three is additionally focused only on a youngaudience and blends tv with social media engagement. This is an interesting angleas youth will be the next policy makers and as they are starting to create theirworldview. The research is based upon a visual and textual analysis, followingHall’s encoding/decoding model. It showed that all four documentaries (2016-2018) misrepresent their “subjects” by focusing more on the presenter’sperspective, e.g. concentrating on their emotional responses, asking loadedquestions, giving their opinions and solutions. All four documentaries alsopresented a simplified local situation through Scott’s shock appeals and a badgood guy perspective (where the presenters address the local government andstand up for the helpless subjects). One can therefore state that youth learn aboutforeign cultures through the eyes of a “North” girl/boy next door presenter basingupon a white saviourism perspective. The research additionally related thefindings to Goodman’s theory on iCare capitalism, the emphasis on creating abrand and self-value out of caring for others so that other’s suffering is turned intoa theatre play. This is also visible through BBC Three’s and the presenters’ socialmedia presence. This research opens the discussion and defines a need toresearch the responsibilities of public channels and the impact on youth whendeveloping opinions, views and stereotypes.