Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2023, Communication

Perceived character depth is a concept relevant for understanding and predicting audience responses to narrative media, yet it has been largely unexplored in the field of media psychology. Through a careful review of diverse literatures, the current work offers a formal conceptualization of character depth as the extent to which a character's textual exposition evokes a detailed and multi-faceted mental conception of a character's psyche, behavior, and experience. After devising a series of items to measure character depth, this work then presents a series of experimental studies designed to test various aspects of validity of the proposed measurement scale and to test a causal path model of the relationship between character depth and processes specified by affective disposition theory (see Zillmann, 2000). Study 1 uses a known-groups approach and confirmatory factor analysis to test the predictive validity and measurement model of a 20-item proposed perceived character depth scale. Selective item retention results in a 6-item scale with excellent model fit. Studies 2 and 3 lend additional support to the validity of this 6-item scale's measurement model through tests of the scale in two different narrative contexts, both of which result in excellent model fit. Across Studies 1-3, evidence emerges of the convergent and discriminant validity of the scale in relation to other character perception variables. Study 4 applies this new measure in a 2 X 3 between-subjects experimental design that manipulates both character depth and character moral behavior independently. Results show that character depth impacts disposition formation and anticipatory responses above and beyond audience reactions to moral behavior. This finding has important theoretical implications for affective disposition theory (Zillmann, 2000), indicating that perceived character depth may serve as an additional predictor of disposition formation not specified in the original theory. Future research d (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Matthew Grizzard (Advisor); Emily Moyer-Guse (Advisor); Nicholas Matthews (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; Mass Communications; Mass Media; Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2015, Communication

Against the backdrop of declining public confidence in news media, this project explores the question of what could be contributing to increased skepticism toward the press and how the public's apparent reluctance to express trust in news media might be interpreted by scholars. In an effort to address this basic query, this research effort is designed to (a) advance an understanding of news media perceptions, and (b) consider news parody's role in influencing these perceptions. More specifically, this study explores the influence of news parody—conceptualized as a form of media criticism—on varied forms of media trust. By its very nature, news parody (such as The Daily Show and Last Week Tonight) is understood to offer both explicit and implicit commentary about the news media industry and media personnel. In so doing, it is argued here that news parody serves to endorse the notion of the news media serving important functions in society, even as the press may fail to meet its obligations. Furthermore, it is hypothesized that perceptions of news media importance have a meaningful influence on aspects of media trust. In an effort to better explore how parody-induced conceptions of news media importance may contribute to shaping perceptions of the industry's trustworthiness, this project first develops and validates a measure for gauging personal valuations of several normative news media functions, labeled here as Perceived News Media Importance (PNMI). It is expected that the explication and operationalization of the PNMI concept can serve as a tool for bringing greater clarity to patterns of public trust in the news media both within and beyond the scope of news parody. Employing survey data provided by a convenience sample (N=403) and a nationally representative sample (N=510), a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) indicates that the theorized PNMI measurement model fits the data well. Moreover, the proposed 12-item scale also exhibits appropriate convergen (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: R. Kelly Garrett (Advisor); R. Lance Holbert (Committee Co-Chair); Gerald Kosicki (Committee Member); Erik Nisbet (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; Journalism

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2011, Communication

Recent research has posited the influence of narrative message portrayals on message recipient's intergroup attitudes. This study furthers this line of inquiry in three ways. First the influence of exposure to narrative messages on people's perceptions regarding “model minorities” is examined. Second, by examining the mechanisms behind some of the narrative effects, the theory in this area is furthered. Finally, unlike previous research, this study examines the issue in the context of health communication thereby bridging the gap between media effects and processes, person perception, and health communication research. One-fourth of all physicians practicing medicine in the U.S. are considered international medical graduates and the majority of these physicians come from South Asian countries. Entertainment media's portrayal of this group of physicians could influence message recipient's affective and cognitive perceptions regarding international physicians as previous research is suggestive of unintended influences of entertainment portrayals. As evidenced by the findings in the research on patient-provider communication, perceptions regarding the healthcare provider can influence medical interaction, which in turn can influence patient's subsequent health behavior. Therefore, two experiments were conducted to understand the influence of narrative exposure on participant's a) out-group attitudes and intergroup anxiety and b) accessibility of attitudes and attributes regarding the out-group, on encountering attitude object that looks similar to the character in the narrative. Study 1 was a 1X3 experimental design (condition: positive, negative, control). Participants (n=251) were randomly assigned to watch one of the three videos. An edited episode of the show ER featuring a South Asian female physician as the protagonist served as the video stimuli used in the experiment. Following the exposure, the participants completed explicit measures of attitudes and other (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Michael Slater D. (Advisor); David Ewoldsen (Committee Member); Michelle Ortiz (Committee Member); Janice Raup-Krieger (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2006, Human Development and Family Science

BACKGROUND Romantic love is a hallmark of human beings. Traditionally, love research has focused on terminology, childhood antecedents, or love style subcomponents; however, there has been little research exploring where attitudes about romantic love develop. This study explored contemporary entertainment media for love imagery. The media patterns were then compared with the research view of love to identify possible sociocultural patterns of romantic love. METHODS Award-winning films, music, and television series with romantic plots from four time periods were selected and evaluated qualitatively. Using a constant comparison method, romantic themes were identified. Each romantic relationship was further evaluated using the criteria of the Love Attitudes Scale and the Triangular Love Scale. Media from each era were holistically evaluated before moving to the next time period. This allowed for a deeper immersion into each era's historical context. RESULTS Two sets of media archetypes and metaphors were identified. Archetypes were either images of romantic love change agents (Cupid, Knight in Shining Armor, Venus) or a relationship story line (Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Romeo and Juliet, Sleeping Beauty). The metaphors that were identified were paired opposites and included phrases about finding love (“love at first sight” – “there all the time”; “likes attract” – “opposites attract”; “hunting for anyone to love” – “hunting for a lost love”) and phrases about dealing with love (“love conquers all” – “endings”; “happily ever after” – “doomed love”). Archetype change agents and metaphors build the archetype relationship story lines. DISCUSSION The media relationships resolved into a love relationship progression pattern of Seeker, Fairy Tale, and Mature. Seekers were looking for “true love” or enjoying the sexual infatuation of early relationships. Fairy Tale couples have found each other, overcome difficulties and were committed to their love. Mature c (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jerelyn Schultz (Advisor) Subjects:

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2023, Communication

Prior research has examined unique outcomes of eudaimonic entertainment, including making sense of difficulties (MSOD), connectedness, and helping intentions. The present study experimentally manipulated the presence of humor in a film about cancer to examine how humor affects these outcomes. Results show that, through the mechanisms of character identification and cancer anxiety, humor perceptions positively predict MSOD and feelings of connectedness. The study also presents a new measure of coping humor appreciation to capture more nuanced perceptions of characters' utilization of coping humor. Future research directions concerning the role of moving humor are discussed.

Committee: James Bonus (Committee Member); Emily Moyer-Gusé (Advisor) Subjects: Communication

BA, Oberlin College, 2021, History

As industrializing nineteenth-century London found itself in the position of a prominent world capital, the city faced problems of overcrowding, high poverty, and waves of epidemics, making the dead progressively more visible in public spheres of society. This thesis examines different forms of publicly-spectated death in Victorian London, moving from anatomical dissections to funerals to burials, following the Victorian corpse in these moments of dealing with the dead and the level of media involvement in structuring and marketing each of these spectacles to the public. While the current historiographical debate surrounding spectacles of death in nineteenth-century Europe agrees that death ceased to be a spectacle at the beginning of the nineteenth century, I argue that death took on new meaning in the nineteenth century, moving from a context of ritual or punishment to ostentatious and media sensationalist displays. These displays reveal a concern with both the commercialism and respectability of death, reflected in literature such as popular novels, newspapers, and reform-minded writings. The media's spin of each of these types of spectacles, coupled with the culture of materiality of nineteenth-century London, indicates that Londoners sought out spectacles of death both as escapist entertainment and as pieces of the larger moral question of respectability, which was distinctly stratified along class lines: who could secure a “good” death, and whose bodies were put on display?

Committee: Ellen Wurtzel (Advisor); Annemarie Sammartino (Committee Co-Chair); Shelley Sang-Hee Lee (Committee Member); Danielle Terrazas Williams (Committee Member); Leonard V. Smith (Committee Co-Chair) Subjects: European History; History; Modern History

Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), Ohio University, 2019, Film

An examination of romantic depictions in western cinema from the pre-code era into the 21st century compared to cultural perceptions of romantic relationships in society throughout this period of history. How do we perceive romance and how has media and entertainment played a role in that? How does the vice versa happen? How have romantic depictions evolved over time? What responsibility do filmmakers have when it comes to depicting romantic relationships in their work?

Committee: Natasha Maidoff (Advisor); Rafal Sokolowski (Committee Member); Ofer Eliaz (Committee Member) Subjects: Cinematography; Film Studies; Fine Arts; History; Mass Media; Motion Pictures

Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Education, Cleveland State University, 2014, College of Education and Human Services

This study examines the potential mediating effects of prior knowledge regarding autism spectrum disorders and Asperger syndrome (AS), first and second-generation family ties, college major, gender, and level of exposure to Dr. Sheldon Cooper, the main character of The Big Bang Theory, on college students perceptions of a popular television character who displays traits and characteristics of Asperger syndrome/autism spectrum disorder. Bandura's (1971a) Social Learning Theory and Social Cognitive Theory (2004b) provide the framework through which the researcher attempts to understand how popular media impacts college students perceptions of autism spectrum disorders. A total of 102 college students (aged 18-40 years) from multiple colleges across the United States completed two instruments that were modified for use in this study: The Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ; Baron-Cohen, 2001), and the Shared Activities Questionnaire (SAQ; Morgan, Walker, Bieberich, & Bell, 1996). Participants also answered demographic questions relating to age, race, major, exposure to The Big Bang Theory, and a researcher-developed knowledge of autism questionnaire. Students overwhelmingly rated Sheldon Cooper as an individual with AS. Findings from the study indicate that gender, ethnicity, income level, and exposure to The Big Bang Theory were statistically significant predictors for students’ rating of Sheldon Cooper as an individual with AS. Being a math/science/engineering major or having a second degree relationship with a person on the spectrum did not significantly predict students ratings of Sheldon as an individual with AS, nor did these variables predict students desire to engage with Sheldon in an academic, social or recreational domain. The use of Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory as an introduction to AS may be a valuable tool for working with the peers of students on the spectrum as findings suggest that repeated exposure to The Big Bang Theory reduces students cli (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jeremy Genovese (Committee Chair); Hamlen Karla (Committee Member); Galletta Anne (Committee Member); Harper Brian (Committee Member); Masterson Tracy (Committee Member) Subjects: Behaviorial Sciences; Communication; Developmental Psychology; Educational Psychology; Higher Education

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2007, American Culture Studies/Popular Culture

This paper examines the phenomenon of violent video games. The work begins with a review of the violent content of American media entertainment. While violence in American media entertainment is pervasive, it is not as popular as commonly noted. Next, the paper discusses the video game industry and market. It appears that video games are not just played by adolescent boys as many believe. Although violent games do not make up the majority of the industry, they are indeed popular, as millions of violent games are sold each year in the United States alone. Concerns and critiques of violent video games are reviewed as well as research on the effects that violent games may have on those who play them. Utilizing existing theory and research on the consumption of violent media in general, the author considers the extent to which such theories are applicable to violent video games. While the theories used to explain why people consume violent media are indeed applicable to violent video games, certain aspects that violent games have such as control, active role of the user, and user identification, may make such games more appealing than violent television and film. Limitations of existing research are identified and discussed.

Committee: Jefferson Holcomb (Advisor) Subjects: