Published by De Gruyter Mouton

Volume 41 Issue 2

Issue of Communications

Submit manuscript

Contents
Journal Overview

Publicly Available July 2, 2016

Articles

July 2, 2016

‘The world ain’t all sunshine’: Investigating the relationship between mean world beliefs, conservatism and crime TV exposure

Sven Jöckel, Hannah Früh

Page range: 195-217

Abstract

Cultivation research argues that mean world beliefs are cultivated through media consumption. Our study expands this notion of cultivation research by integrating approaches from political psychology on conservatism and moral foundation theory, providing complementary explanations for mean world beliefs. Focusing on crime TV exposure and mean world beliefs, we expect both to be rooted in a conservative world view accentuated by the valuing of certain moral foundations. Participants ( N = 455) took part in a paper-pencil survey design to test three hypotheses regarding the interplay of conservatism, cultivation and mean world beliefs in the context of crime TV exposure. Results indicate evidence for both a significant relationship between conservative moral orientations and mean world beliefs and crime TV choice. Nevertheless, these relationships might suppress the influence of TV crime exposure. Implications for cultivation research are discussed.

July 2, 2016

Product placement and the credibility of television journalism. An RTR-supported experiment on the relationship between product placement, expert statements, and viewer perceptions in consumer-advice programs

Thomas Roessing, Nikolaus Jackob, Karl N. Renner

Page range: 167-193

Abstract

Embedding a product or a brand into journalistic content may have a negative impact on how the content’s credibility is perceived by recipients. However, research has not been able to convincingly prove that product placement has an effect on how recipients perceive and evaluate media content. This particularly applies to context effects, such as the effect that the number of visible products or brands has on the perceived credibility of the journalistic content the placement is embedded in. This study addresses two questions: whether the use of visible products or brands embedded in journalistic content influences the credibility that recipients attribute to such content, and how the tenor of the content, positive or negative, interacts with the placed products. Based on experimental findings and real-time response measurements, we conclude that the number of visible products does not significantly affect the credibility attributed to journalistic content and that judgments about credibility are influenced by the interaction between the number of products placed and the tenor of the content.

July 2, 2016

The effectiveness of narrative communication in road safety education: A moderated mediation model

Corinna Oschatz, Christoph Klimmt

Page range: 145-165

Abstract

This study investigated the effectiveness of narrative communication in the applied field of road safety education. A narrative message about the risks of road accidents was compared to a message without elements of storytelling but with a focus on road safety statistics. Novice drivers’ evaluation of risk connected to speeding was assessed as the target attitude. Transportation, facilitation of comprehension, and para-social interaction with protagonists were proposed as mediators of the persuasive message impact. Gender was examined as a moderator of the narrativity–attitude relationship. Results of a field experiment ( N = 125 driving school attendants) did not suggest the general superiority of narrative communication, but demonstrated a moderated indirect mediation: Transportation was found a relevant mediator of the narrativity–attitude relationship for female participants only. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

July 2, 2016

On the distinction and interrelation between first- and second-order judgments in cultivation research

Anna Schnauber, Christine E. Meltzer

Page range: 121-143

Abstract

In cultivation research, differentiation is made between first- and second-order cultivation questions. However, their definition and relation remain unclear. This paper proposes a differentiation that focuses on the type of judgment underlying the respective cultivation questions. The former are frequency and probability judgments, while the latter are evaluative and address attitudes or values. Current theory in the field of cultivation research argues that these types of judgments are tied to on-line (second-order) and memory-based (first-order) processing. Based on psychological literature and a study on the cultivation of crime-related perceptions representative for the German population, we demonstrate that second-order judgments can also be built memory-based. Furthermore, we argue that the interrelation of first- and second-order judgments depends on whether judgments are built on-line or memory-based (especially in the case of second-order judgments). This may account for divergent empirical evidence in the field.

Book Reviews

July 2, 2016

Book Review

Cecilia Gordano Peile

Page range: 222-224

July 2, 2016

Book Review

Lennart Soberon

Page range: 219-221

July 2, 2016

Book Review

Kasper Welbers

Page range: 225-227

About this journal

Objective
Communications: The European Journal of Communication Research is an established forum for scholarship and academic debate in the field of communication science and research from a European perspective. Communication science is concerned with the investigation of the structure and function of communication processes and their impact on society, social groups and individuals. Communications highlights the concerns of this discipline through the publication of articles, research reports, review essays and book reviews on theoretical and methodological developments considered from a European perspective. The journal encompasses the entire field of communication science as its domain of interest. The contributions published in the journal cover a wide range of subfields in communication science.

Topics

Communication reseach
Structure and function of communication
Impact on society, social groups and individuals
Interpersonal communication
Intercultural communication
Mass communication
Communication theory
Philosophy of communication
Media history
Media development and communication technology

Article formats
Original articles, research reports, review essays, and book reviews

Volume 41 Issue 2

Issue of Communications

Frontmatter

‘The world ain’t all sunshine’: Investigating the relationship between mean world beliefs, conservatism and crime TV exposure

Abstract

Product placement and the credibility of television journalism. An RTR-supported experiment on the relationship between product placement, expert statements, and viewer perceptions in consumer-advice programs

Abstract

The effectiveness of narrative communication in road safety education: A moderated mediation model

Abstract

On the distinction and interrelation between first- and second-order judgments in cultivation research

Abstract

Book Review

Book Review

Book Review