Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2022, Psychology

Research on the Continued Influence Effect (CIE) of misinformation has long demonstrated that, even after it is corrected, misinformation continues to influence the beliefs and judgements of those exposed to it. Theories have been developed to explain why corrections do not eliminate belief in and influences of the misinformation. In this series of studies, I took a novel approach to examine why corrections reduce belief in misinformation at all (even if not entirely). I examined how the correction can change perceptions of the original source of the misinformation and how these changes in perceptions mediate the continued influence of the misinformation. I also examined causal evidence linking manipulations of misinformation source perceptions to continued belief and to inference-making. Study 1 demonstrated that an external correction (i.e., a new source labeling misinformation as false) influences perceptions of the misinformation source, and perceptions of the misinformation source were correlated with beliefs in the misinformation. Study 2 replicated the results of Study 1 and used source derogation to manipulate misinformation source perceptions and further lessen continued belief. Studies 1 and 2 had assessed perceptions of sources both before and after the correction. Therefore, it could be that participants were more sensitive to source perceptions because of asking about them prior to receipt of the correction. In Study 3, therefore, I replicated the results of Study 2 in a larger pre-registered study using a more diverse sample with assessments of misinformation source perceptions and beliefs in the misinformation only after encountering the correction.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2019, Media and Communication

Sharing, a term that is associated with “going viral,” is something all strategic communicators strive for in their communication campaigns. The current study explored sharing as message diffusion. The nature of information sharing is perceived as a form of word-of-mouth (WOM)—a voluntary act by the consumers to tell others their experience of a product or consumption of certain information. Sharing is an important social and economic phenomenon to study, because it maximizes the visibility of a company, a brand, a nonprofit, a policy, a product, and a service. This study aimed to create a comprehensive model explaining the process of individuals' decisions in the sharing of messages to their imagined audience on social media through considering the primary and secondary sources of the messages, their perceived credibility, emotion valence, and elaboration of the messages, while controlling audience variables such as issue involvement, personalities, past sharing experience, and demographics. The researcher conducted a two-wave experiment with a two by two factorial design. The study adopted Facebook as the subject of study. According to the results, when the original source is a for-profit organization, the post from the two-layered source is more likely to be shared than original source only. However, when the original source is a non-profit organization, the post from the direct source was more likely to be shared than a two-layered source. In addition, sharer credibility moderates the effects of the credibility of original sources on sharing Facebook posts. Message elaboration mediates the effects of both positive and negative emotion arousal on sharing non-controversial issues, but not in controversial issues. Furthermore, positive emotions were directly and indirectly associated with sharing non-controversial issues through a mediator of message elaboration that is conditioned by sharer credibility. This study advances and contributes ELM, the Two- (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2017, Agricultural and Extension Education

The purpose of this research project was to analyze food documentaries further. This study sought to analyze opinion change of participants when exposed to a pro-agriculture based documentary film and also intended to help agricultural communicators better understand how the production of documentary films could assist or be detrimental to how viewers interpret source credibility of the narrator. Furthermore, this study analyzed how previous agricultural experiences and entertainment-viewing practices of participants influenced responses and opinions toward the experimental condition. There were four objectives of this study: Objective 1: To describe the relationship of attitudes toward modern agriculture as a function of previous background knowledge among Millennials. Objective 2: To describe Millennials' opinion change toward the agricultural industry as a function of exposure to a documentary portrayal of farming. Objective 3: To explain how Millennials' attitudes differ toward documentary filmmakers based on their relationship to agriculture. Objective 4: To explain how Millennials' attitudes toward the content of agricultural documentary films differ as a function of viewership of food documentaries. This research project utilized Campbell and Stanley's pretest-posttest control group design. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two 15-minute documentary films as the treatment variables. These films were Cornutopia and King Corn. The sample for this research project was obtained by a double-blind, online Qualtrics panel. Qualtrics was provided a list of criteria established by the United States Census Bureau for the participants to be as close as possible to a nationally representative sample of the Millennial generation. As this research utilized qualitative data, the findings of this study were only generalizable to the studied participants. Results showed the majority of participants were from metro areas and had no agricu (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Arts (M.A.), Xavier University, 2016, Psychology

The purpose of the current study was to examine how information received through Glassdoor reviews posted by current employees may affect organizational attraction in comparison to two traditional information sources: word-of-mouth and company-dependent sources. A total of 159 participants were presented with a scenario stating that they were considering applying for a full-time position with a particular organization. Then, they were randomly assigned to receive information about the company from one of three sources: Glassdoor, word-of-mouth, or employee testimonial. It was hypothesized that participants who received their information through Glassdoor reviews would report significantly higher levels of organizational attractiveness and job pursuit intentions than participants who received their information through word-of-mouth, which was delivered by a career counselor, or employee testimonials. However, findings revealed no significant differences on organizational attraction among the three conditions. These results suggest that information received from a Glassdoor review posted by a current anonymous employee does not lead to significantly higher levels of organizational attractiveness or job pursuit intentions than information received through word-of-mouth or employee testimonial. Exploratory analyses were conducted on source credibility, and revealed that participants did not perceive significant differences in the level of expertise of the three sources, but they did find the career counselor to be a significantly more trustworthy source than the Glassdoor reviewer. Future research should examine how negative Glassdoor reviews may influence organizational attraction, as well as how alternative information sources, such as former employee reviews on Glassdoor.com, may affect source credibility and organizational attraction.

MS, Kent State University, 2015, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration

The internet and social media has boosted information sharing and user-generated content (UGC). As a result, many restaurant goers rely on online reviews for dining recommendations. The goal of this study is to add to the sparse literature on the influence of review extremeness, source credibility, website quality, and information usefulness on information adoption. Most notably, a hypothesized information adoption model with the addition of website quality will be tested in the context of restaurant review websites. Data was collected through an online survey, the link for which was emailed to 10,000 students in a Midwestern university. Three hundred and two students completed the survey. Results showed that the more negative a review, the more useful it is perceived. Perceived source credibility of the review writer exerted a positive impact on the perceived information usefulness. The only component of website quality that played a significant role in determining information adoption tendency of the review readers was the quality of the information disseminated in the website. Lastly, information usefulness also exerted a positive influence on information adoption. Managerial implications are discussed.

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2015, Journalism (Communication)

This thesis examines the news credibility and source credibility based on reporter's accent from an ELM perspective. The hypotheses proposed that the perceived source and story credibility for stories presented in U.S. accent will be higher than that of stories presented in Chinese accent. Also, perceived source and story credibility of Chinese accented reporter presenting a story about China will be higher than the perceived source and story of the same reporter presenting as story about U.S. events. To test the assumption, 109 undergraduate students from Journalism Program in Ohio University were recruited to participate in the 2X2 matched-guise experiment. The results suggested that there were no significant differences in story and source credibility based on reporter accent and the location of the story.

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2015, Journalism (Communication)

Source credibility has generated some interest in the media and communication field, but primarily focusing on domestic sources. To advance our understanding of source creditability on a global scale, this study, guided by media credibility and international mobility, explored how international students in the United States perceived international news coverage in U.S. media and in their home-country media outlets. Specifically, it examined two dimensions of credibility: believability and community affiliation. Three focus group discussions were conducted between January 30 and February 5, 2015 on the Ohio University campus. Thematic analysis of data from 32 participants found that source credibility was not the only motivation for them to seek U.S. media outlets. International students in this study showed that believability and community affiliation are of concern based on international news coverage from U.S. media and media outlets in their home countries. Further analysis is detailed in the results and discussion chapters.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2015, Media and Communication

Twitter has become an important news medium in recent years. The 140-character length limit of Twitter posts not only facilitates rapid expansion and success of fast news in the battle for attention, but also accelerates information diffusion on social media forums. However, given the rapid and uncontrollable spread of information on Twitter, an authoritative and credible information source in this environment is particularly important. Hoaxes on Twitter can have severe consequences. For example, a Twitter hoax in April, 2013 claimed that President Obama was injured in an explosion at the White House, which resulted in a 150 points Dow Jones Industrial Average fall, evaporating a $136 billion market value in minutes (Chozick & Perlroth, 2013). Even though people soon learned that the fake tweet was posted by hackers through the Associated Press (AP) account and the domestic market rebounded, it caused panic in the global markets and some investors lost money. Another hoax news was put up in May, 2013. Five-time NBA champ, Kobe Bryant, was said to retire in the fake news posted by a hoax Twitter account pretending to be Yahoo's well-known sports writer Adrian Wojnarowski. No market plunge occurred this time. But people did believe that Bryant was going to end his career after 17 seasons. The rumor ended only with Bryant's rebuttal tweet, “Really?? Me. Retire?? Soon, but not yet! Vino still has work to do.” Fake news on Twitter exerts great influence on us whether we are aware of it or not. In effect, it is the sources that play a vital role in the process of information dissemination because only when people believe the sources will they accept and spread the information provided by such sources. Then again, why people believe these social media sources to be credible and spread these rumors like they are real news? Now, what if a real sports writer, or AP or ESPN reporter publicized Bryant's retirement instead of, say, a makeup artist or a mechanical engineering (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Arts, University of Akron, 2014, Communication

The purpose of this study was stated within a single hypothesis and aimed to further our understanding of the destructive nature and consequences of verbally aggressive behaviors, and additionally sought to create a better understanding of the positive benefits, and constructive nature of nonverbal immediacy behaviors. These behaviors were investigated in order to better understand their role in the creating of both positive and negative perceptions regarding superior-subordinate communication. More specifically, this study sought to explore how a manager's use of verbal aggression and nonverbal immediacy impact perceptions of that manager's source credibility: competence (intelligence /practical wisdom), character (trustworthiness), caring (goodwill); and the relaxed, friendly, and attentive affirming dimensions of communicator style.Through the use of video stimuli and a quasi-experiment, the results indicated that When verbally aggressive messages were viewed within the video conditions, those aggressive behaviors consistently impacted perceptions of the dependent variables negatively. When nonverbal immediacy behaviors were viewed within the video conditions, those behaviors consistently impacted perceptions of the dependent variables positively. Main effects as well as interaction effects for the dependent variables are discussed in detail within the results section, along with limitations and suggestions for future research in the discussion.

Master of Applied Communication Theory and Methodology, Cleveland State University, 2014, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

This study examined the effects of channel richness, source credibility and organizational reputation on both the perceived efficacy of pre-crisis messages, as well as participants' intent to comply with prescribed behavior in a severe weather context. Using the Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication model as a foundation, channel richness, source credibility and organizational reputation were examined, as were the potential effects of prior experiences with severe weather, and the perceived severity of said experiences. An experimental design was run with 100 participants, and several factors emerged. The findings suggest that media richness has no effect, with organizational reputation and source credibility instead predicting message efficacy, and competence emerging as the most important factor in source credibility. The implications on both future crisis research and crisis management are discussed.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2013, Human Ecology: Hospitality Management

As a form of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), online consumer reviews have attracted tremendous attention from researchers and practitioners. This research investigates how eWOM plays an important role in consumer review websites within hospitality and tourism services and how it affects the purchase decision-making process of consumers. The author examined the influence of eWOM communications in various online review websites based on the online social network framework by Brown, Boderick, and Lee (2007). Their framework postulates that individuals consider the websites to be primary "actors" and develop social relationships with the websites themselves rather than the other online participants. Drawing on the perspective of the consumer-website relationship, the current research proposes and empirically tests an integrative model of three social network constructs associated with the website (tie strength, homophily, and source credibility) and their relationship to consumers' evaluations associated with attitudes and perceived influence of eWOM effectiveness. An online survey with a sample of 793 respondents drawn from a large Midwestern university was conducted to examine predictors and consequences of eWOM communications in consumer review platforms. The results suggested that the social relationship constructs (homophily and tie strength) between a website and a consumer are important drivers of source credibility, which in turn influence attitude toward the reviews as well as the website. Moreover, the attitudes formed through the perceptions of tie-strength, homophily and source credibility ultimately determines the influence of eWOM consumers' purchase decisions. When consumers perceive higher tie strength, homophily, and source credibility associated with the reviews, they are more likely to have a favorable attitude toward the reviews as well as the review websites. An interesting finding was that attitude toward reviews does not directly influence eW (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Applied Communication Theory and Methodology, Cleveland State University, 2011, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences

This thesis explores what media users perceive about the authors and creators of narrative media based solely on the content of that media itself. It contrasts traditional notions of source credibility (established via rhetoric or debate) versus models of media effects which exert themselves through mere exposure to message, and where a direct evaluation of the message source may be neither salient nor possible. A sample of nine undergraduates were individually interviewed in order to investigate the thematic trends associated with the perceptions of credibility and of authorial source while exposed to narrative. The interviews gave rise to the notion that narratives are subject to credibility judgments based on the emotional salience of the characters' responses plot elements, rather than on the factuality of the material, or rather than upon any perceptions of authorial expertise with regards to the subjects broached by the narrative.