Health issues, such as sexually transmitted infections, would traditionally be addressed in information campaigns such as print or commercial (radio or video) public service
announcements (PSAs). However, these information-based campaigns have been found to have unintended negative effects and cause resistance to the message, such as psychological reactance and
counterarguing. Health messages included in entertainment programming, called entertainment education, are thought to be more effective than the information-based campaigns more blatant
attempts at persuasion. This dissertation investigated 1) if modeling a safe sex behavior in combination with an injunctive norms cue (depiction of social sanctions that indicated a reward
for an adaptive behavior and/or a punishment for a maladaptive behavior) in an entertainment program significantly influenced norms perceptions, 2) if modeling a safe sex behavior in
combination with an injunctive norms cue in an entertainment program significantly influenced the accessibility of norms perceptions, 3) whether including an explicit descriptive norms cue
(depiction of the prevalence of a safe sex behavior) in addition to the modeled behavior with an injunctive norms cue increased the influence of the program on norms perceptions/the
accessibility of norms perceptions, and 4) if perceptions/the accessibility of norms perceptions were mediating factors between identification/perceived similarity with characters and
behavioral intent. In study one (n = 106), participants were randomly assigned to view one of two conditions: a health message that featured a modeled behavior with an injunctive norms cue or
a control message. Results demonstrated that a) exposure to a health message that featured a modeled behavior with an injunctive norms cue can influence the accessibility of injunctive norms
perceptions in viewers and b) the effect of identification and perceived similarity on behavioral intent was mediated by the accessibility of injunctive norms regarding sexual health
behavior. A second study was conducted to replicate the results of study one and investigate if the addition of an explicit descriptive norms cue was more influential than just the modeled
behavior with an injunctive norms cue. In study two (n = 140), participants were randomly assigned to view one of three conditions: a health message that featured a modeled behavior with an
injunctive and descriptive norms cue, a health message that featured a modeled behavior with an injunctive norms cue only, or a control message. Results of study two demonstrated that a) a
single mediated message can influence the perceptions of injunctive norms in viewers, b) the effect of identification and perceived similarity on behavioral intent were mediated by the
perceptions/accessibility of injunctive norms perceptions, and c) the addition of an explicit descriptive norms cue was not more influential than just the modeled behavior with an injunctive
norms cue. The results as well as theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Further, suggestions for future research are offered. / A Dissertation submitted to the School of Communication in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2014. / November 3, 2014. / Includes bibliographical references. / Laura Arpan, Professor Directing Dissertation; Juliann Cortese, Committee Member; Arthur Raney, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_252901 |
| Contributors | Toole, Jennifer (authoraut), Arpan, Laura M. (professor directing dissertation), Glueckauf, Robert L. (university representative), Cortese, Juliann (committee member), Raney, Arthur A. (committee member), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Communication and Information (degree granting college), School of Communication (degree granting department) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource (247 pages), computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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