Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1968. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--West Virginia University, 2000. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains iv, 23 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 21-22).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Santa Cruz, 1993. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 56-58).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1968. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

The purpose of this research was to look more closely at the relationships between narrative and non-narrative persuasive messages, and to begin to determine how and why these message formats might work together. I situated this study within Rogers’ roadmap for future theoretical work on entertainment education (E-E), and specifically addressed Slater and Rouner’s call for more research on the impact of epilogues in E-E. Synthesizing components of the elaboration likelihood model with recent theorizing regarding persuasion through narrative, I made predictions regarding the effect of transportation and character identification on perceived salience, attitudes, behavioral intention, and behavior in narrative, argument, and narrative + argument conditions. Undergraduate students were asked to watch one of seven videos. After watching the videos participants were asked to respond to questions reflecting their views of the subject matter in the videos, their experience while watching the videos, and their opinion of the video quality. The questionnaire included scales measuring transportation into the narrative and character development, measures of perceived issue relevance, and persuasion toward the topic of mandatory H1N1 vaccinations. Findings showed no relationship between the narrative format and transportation or perceived salience, however, transportation did predict perceived salience in messages combining both argument and narrative + argument formats. Recommendations were made for modification and future applications of the instruments used in the study and for continued research in the various stages of persuasion through narrative, argumentative, and combined format messaging.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among and between three factors that were hypothesized to affect a reader's evaluation of an author of persuasive material as credible or not. The three factors examined were the following: (1) the occupational status of an author; (2) the gender of an author; and (3) the gender of the reader. The instruments used in the study included a questionnaire, ranking and rating scales, and a set of four persuasive articles with corresponding response scales. The questionnaire was used to obtain a list of relevant and controversial topics. The ranking and rating scales were used to determine the order of preference or importance of each topic and the attitudes concerning the issue. The four persuasive articles were written by the researcher in a letter-to-the-editor format. Each article was attributed to a male author associated with a high and low status occupation. Each article version was accompanied by a response scale. Subjects were to rate their feelings regarding the credibility of each author. Subjects for the study were freshman and sophomore sociology students at The University of Arizona. A total of 223 students participated in the study. Significant differences were found regarding author occupational status. For two of the persuasive articles, the high occupational status author was rated as more credible than the low status occupation author regardless of author or reader gender. Significant differences were also found for reader gender. Female readers overall rated authors as more credible than did male readers for two of the persuasive articles. No significant differences were found regarding author gender.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / In this thesis we explore the potential for using content placed on the Internet as a vehicle for influencing public opinion. We conducted an experiment with 110 subjects to test whether subtle changes in a headline for a news article, without changing the content of the article, can affect a user's perception of the news event reported in the article. These online news articles were assembled from a number of major news organizations. The subjects were divided into three groups, each of which was exposed to a different version of the headline: positively biased, negatively biased, and unchanged from the original headline. Afterwards the subjects completed a survey to indicate their views on the news events. We then analyzed this data to determine the cause-effect relationship between perception of the news event and the version of the headline. We found a detectable influence when using positively biased headlines to lessen the impact of negatively biased news stories, although the influence was not statistically significant. No evidence regarding the influence of negatively biased headlines on negatively biased news stories was discovered. This research was focused on detecting the potential influence of subtle changes and does not address the potential influence of less subtle changes. / Ensign, United States Navy

No description available.

Thesis (M.S. in Systems Technology)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2003. / Thesis advisor(s): James Bret Michael, Raymond Buettner. Includes bibliographical references (p. 93-94). Also available online.