Prior tax compliance literature has examined the use of persuasive messages that emphasize audit and sanctions as a way to increase compliance. This work has been done in single period experiments using either survey or field study methodologies. Results from the prior studies are mixed. The theory of reasoned action is a theory of social behavior that promotes emphasizing direct consequences of actions to motivate specific behavior. Persuasive messages based on this theory have been found to be effective in a number of different disciplines. The theory of reasoned action has been used in the field of tax compliance to explain compliance behavior and examine the behavioral beliefs related to compliant reporting, but has not been used to design persuasive messages aimed at increasing compliance. In this dissertation, I conduct a laboratory experiment that examines the effects of two types of messages - a traditional message consisting of a simple reminder of audit risk and a message designed based on the theory of reasoned action. Consistent with prior research on tax compliance, I test the messages in an initial single period but I extend prior research by also examining the effects of the messages over repeated periods. Neither the traditional message nor the message based on the theory of reasoned action have a significant effect on initial period compliance. The interaction effect of the traditional message and time on tax compliance is positive and significant and the interaction effect of the theory of reasoned action message and time on tax compliance is positive and marginally significant. These results provide evidence that the messages may be effective in increasing an individual's tax compliance over time. In the repeated period data, the theory of reasoned action message exhibits a positive and significant impact on the amount of income reported when an individual reports less than 100% of their earned income, providing evidence that messages designed based on the theory of reasoned action may be an effective tool in reducing the tax gap. / Ph. D.

In this thesis, I am concerned with the language of advertising. By analyzing advertising from a discourse perspective, this paper further examines the context of communication and the participants’ roles in the context. This study focuses on commercial advertising, based on the assumption that the intended meaning of the advertiser is to persuade the viewer to perform a purchase. Therefore this study observes persuasive messages and how they are presented in advertising. To analyze and compare real texts from a discourse perspective present an opportunityto examine social changes that might have taken place in a society due to different temporal settings. The social changes are examined by comparing assigned gender roles in advertisements published in 1956 and advertisements published in 2014. The material consists of a total of eleven transcripts description of printed advertisements collected from The New Yorker. The examples used for this study have been hand picked to illustrate theories described in the background, such as those provided by Leech (1966), Hermerén (1999), Romaine (1999), Cronin (2000) and Hillier (2004). The framework for the analysis is based on Leech’s (1966) concept of primary and secondary situations with corresponding primary and secondary participants. The findings suggest that advertisers can persuade the viewer by addressing the viewer directly and by using exophoric references, or by inserting secondary participants to convey the message. In addition, the assigned role of women seems to have changed more than the assigned role of men in advertising discourse.

The purpose of this study is to explore how to make persuasive messages effective to sufficiently motivate individuals to form good security practice through two aspects - affect valence-based message and message framing effect. The two emotional appeals examined in this study include traditional fear appeals and humor appeals. Fear appeals, arousing people's fear to persuade them to take precautionary actions, are predominant in the literature of information security. By contrast, humorous messages have been found to induce positive affect, reduce negativity, and enhance message acceptance. In addition, messages can be illustrated in a broader context or can be presented with particular examples tailored to individuals' decision-making. The effects of these two ways - thematic and episodic frames - are also investigated in the fear and humor appeals. A multi-group experimental design is adopted to examine the hypotheses. 577 valid responses were collected from college students at Mississippi State University via a professional platform. Followed by a number of rigorous analysis, the results indicate that a humor appeal is more effective when framed in a thematic frame. Furthermore, issue relevance and gender difference are salient factors that can influence the interaction between affect valence and message frame. Additionally, both abstract and concrete fear appeals demonstrated a stronger impact than concrete humor appeals on individuals' intent to follow the positive security practice. However, there is no evidence that concrete fear appeals are more superior to abstract ones. It's not found that humor appeals are more effective than traditional fear appeals when promoting cybersecurity threats.

Master of Science / Department of Psychology / Laura A. Brannon / Self-monitoring was examined as a moderator of the effectiveness of persuasive messages for reducing college student binge drinking. Low self-monitors tend to be influenced by their personal values and attitudes, while high self-monitors tend to be influenced by the behavior of those around them. Via a website simulation, college students were presented with one of three types of anti-binge drinking messages: a self-schema message, which highlighted how responsible drinking is consistent with the message recipient’s personal values and attitudes; a social norms message, which explained that most college students drink less than one might think they do; or a control message, which stated in general terms that people can experience a variety of problems from binge drinking. Overall intended drinking behavior in the self-schema message condition was almost identical to that of the social norms message condition, both of which were lower than drinking intentions in the control message condition. When presented with a self-schema matched message, low self-monitors intended to drink less alcohol than did high self-monitors, but these means were not significantly different. However, high self-monitors intended to drink significantly less than did low self-monitors when presented with a social norms message. The results suggest that self-schema matched messages may be effective at reducing binge drinking for most students, and that social norms messages may be equally as effective but only for high self-monitors.

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This two-part research project evaluated the effectiveness of interpretive messages at Fossil Butte National Monument in conveying knowledge about the place and its resources and promoting respect for the fossil resource. The first study measured the short and long-term knowledge gains from a trip to the Visitor Center and the influence of a specially designed fossil respect message on the fossil protection beliefs of Monument visitors. The Visitor Center was successful in conveying information about the fossil resource and story of Fossil Lake, and that knowledge was retained for at least several weeks. However, neither the Visitor Center nor the special message, were successful in improving the fossil respect beliefs of respondents. The second study combined a visitor survey with direct observations of visitor behavior to evaluate the effectiveness of interpretive materials along a nature trail in improving the knowledge of ancient Fossil Lake, increasing fossil respect beliefs, and reducing depreciative behaviors. Six different treatments were applied that evaluated an interpretive sign, box of fossils that visitors were invited to touch, and participation in an interactive interpretive program. Only the interpretive program increased knowledge of the Fossil Lake story. None of the trail interpretive materials improved fossil respect beliefs. The sign was somewhat effective in reducing entry into a closed research quarry. While it is generally thought that those most knowledgeable about natural resources will have the higher resource protection beliefs, Fossil Butte visitors who reported being the most interested in fossils had the greatest knowledge of the Fossil Lake story but had the lowest fossil protection beliefs. Therefore, there was some evidence that fossil enthusiasts were the least likely to respect the resource. / Ph. D.

This study extended previous research by applying Higgins (2007) theory of Regulatory Fit to the context of performance feedback. Participants worked on an in-basket task in two 30 minute segments. Following the first 30 minutes segment, they were given recommendations for improving their performance framed in a manner that either did or did not fit their motivational orientation. Hypotheses predicted that compared to instances of non-fit, conditions of regulatory fit between recommendation frame (Eager vs. Vigilant) and motivational orientation (Promotion vs. Prevention) would have a significantly greater, positive impact on the following three outcomes: 1) Variety and Frequency of Feedback Use, 2) Feedback Recall, and 3) Attitudes Following Feedback. Overall results supported this assertion. Participants in condition of regulatory fit engaged in a significantly greater variety of behaviors and did so more frequently than those assigned to non-fit conditions. And while the effect of regulatory fit on feedback recall was not significant, it did approach significance (p = .07) and produced a pattern of results consistent with the predictions of regulatory fit. Counter to previous research, regulatory fit did not have significant impact on Attitudes Following Feedback in the current study. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed. / Ph. D.