Mariska Kleemans
Biographic Data
| ID | 366975 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Mariska Kleemans |
| GIVEN NAMES | Mariska |
| FAMILY NAME | Kleemans |
| SIGNATURE | KLEEMANS M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Radboud University Nijmegen |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-0634-1298 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 32 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 126 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 32 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2012 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Investigating the Influence of Election Debates on Children’s Political Engagement
For a healthy democracy, it is essential that children are introduced to democratic principles from an early age and are encouraged to engage in political activities in ways appropriate to their age and understanding. Yet, research on the role of media in promoting children's political engagement remains scarce. This study examines to what extent televised election debates affect children's political engagement. In anticipation of the Dutch parli…
An Analysis of Studies Testing Digital Interventions to Inoculate Against Misinformation
The proliferation of misinformation has stimulated research into games and videos to reduce susceptibility to misinformation via psychological inoculation. This research field applies several recent extensions of inoculation theory in novel ways, posing the question of whether such interventions are indeed producing inoculation effects. We conducted a systematic review ( k = 72) to establish the strength of the links between inoculation theory an…
How film stories can inspire character strengths
Recognizing character strengths in others, such as kindness and honesty, can encourage children to apply these strengths themselves. Developing character strengths is associated with various positive outcomes, such as improved life satisfaction and connectedness with others. As films are omnipresent in children’s lives nowadays, this qualitative study examined how exactly film stories can inspire children to apply character strengths. Fifty-two c…
Perceptions of Imagery in Tragic News
The visual portrayal of tragic events in news media has been widely debated. While some scholars advocate for the occasional use of graphic imagery, others support the exclusive publication of non-graphic or sanitized images to shield the audience. To address this controversy, ample research has focused on the perspectives of journalism professionals. However, little attention has been given to how audiences perceive these different portrayals. T…
Streaming with more diversity? A comparison of the representation of minorities in broadcasting versus streaming television content
This study focused on the representation of minority groups on television, following the idea(l) that television as a mirror of society should convey a well-balanced representation of society. The current study extends previous research in that it analyses the potential for differences between regular broadcasters and streaming platforms, due to the latter’s public commitments to diversity and inclusion. Our results reveal that on Dutch prime-tim…
Testing an intervention to stimulate early adolescents’ news literacy application in the Netherlands
In a time of blurring lines between online content, early adolescents’ (12–15 years old) lack of critical engagement with news is problematic. Therefore, we need more effective interventions to empower their news literacy. Interventions should go beyond only informing on the news production process and focus on individual’s news literacy application in everyday life. This study tests an intervention based on (news) media literacy and motivational…
Picturing Tragedy
For decades, the inclusion of graphic photographs in the news has been a matter of controversy. One important criticism made by news audiences is that the publication of graphic imagery could be guided by racial and cultural biases. However, there is little empirical research to either support or disprove this notion. Therefore, this study investigated several factors that could be related to the publication of graphic imagery. Images included in…
Do You Know What Fake News Is? An Exploration of and Intervention to Increase Youth's Fake News Literacy
Youth should be correctly informed about what is happening in the world, but research on empowering people to identify fake news rarely targets youth. To take the first steps in increasing their fake news literacy, this study ( N = 298) qualitatively looks into youth's (10-12 years old) fake news knowledge and quantitatively tests a fake news e-learning intervention (i.e., an online lesson in which youth learn about fake news and possible solutio…
What drives selection of online children’s news articles
Individual news consumers’ decisions to select specific news articles online are an important part of the present journalistic landscape, spurring scholars’ interest in ‘selective exposure’ and the factors that influence news selection. In the present study, we investigated predictors of young news consumers’ self-selection of individual news articles. We used a dataset containing information on upwards of 18,000 news articles that were published…
Moral Beauty During the Covid-19 Pandemic
In this study, we examined whether adolescents helped others during the COVID-19 pandemic and how stories in the media inspired them in doing so. Using an online daily diary design, 481 younger adolescents ( M = 15.29, SD = 1.76) and 404 older adolescents ( M = 21.48, SD = 1.91) were followed for 2 weeks. Findings from linear mixed effects models demonstrated that feelings of being moved by stories in the media were related to giving emotional su…
All the reasons why
Controversial media content has mainly been dealt with in relation to concerns about how the media we consume might be detrimental to its viewers as individuals and society at large. Nevertheless, researchers have started to take a different approach to these types of content, namely that these might lead to processes of reflective appropriation, meaning-making, and moral rumination. Via qualitative in-depth interviews with young adults ( N = 45,…
How to Increase News Literate Behaviors Via Interventions
To develop guidelines for more effective news literacy interventions, we conducted focus groups with early adolescents (12-15 years old) on what these interventions should be like. Participants ( N = 55) discussed that motivating early adolescents is a challenge, but did provide more insight into their preferences and needs. Future interventions should be easy to find and use, make news literate behaviors more accessible, should be interactive, a…
The influence of sources in violent news on fright and worry responses of children in the Netherlands
Children display fright and worry responses to violent news. Including involved children, non-involved children or experts as sources in children’s news is assumed to reduce these negative effects. However, exemplification theory gives reason to question whether particularly the use of involved children indeed has a reassuring effect. To test this, an experiment was conducted among 237 children (8–13 y/o). They were randomly exposed to a news vid…
Developing A Model of News Literacy in Early Adolescents
Early adolescents’ insufficient critical engagement with (online) news demands increased application of news literacy, but it remains unclear which factors increase news literacy application. To provide more insights, this survey study develops and tests a model of news literacy application in early adolescents (12‒15 y/o, N = 492). The more comprehensive model looks at the relationship between the application of news literacy and news consumptio…
Children’s Emotions after Exposure to News
Hardly any research has been conducted regarding coping strategies that children can use in response to negative news, although they are frequently exposed to and emotionally affected by such news. Chat conversations with peers about the news could be a coping strategy for children in this regard. To investigate this, children ( N = 307; 46.3% girls; M age = 10.51; SD age = 0.98; range 8–13 years old) participated in a preregistered experiment in…
Consolation Strategies in Children’s Television News
Engaging children in news is important for their participation in the public sphere. However, producers of children’s news face a trade-off between fully informing children and not causing distress. Against the background of technological, economic, and ideological changes in the media landscape, this study examined the use of consolation strategies in the Dutch children’s news, and whether these have shifted between 2000 and 2016. A manual conte…
Empowering digital citizenship
Cyberbullying rates among children are worrisome and the consequences of cyberbullying can be detrimental. Theory-based interventions to reduce cyberbullying are lacking. Therefore, this study examined whether an online anti-cyberbullying intervention based on the Theory of Planned Behavior could increase children's intention to intervene in cyberbullying incidents on behalf of the victim. An experiment (N = 298, 10–12 years old) was conducted to…
We are a neeeew generation
To function as well-informed citizens in democracy, early adolescents (12–16 years old) should become news literate news consumers. In this time of fragmented media use and evolving conceptions of (the importance and relevance of) news, this is not easy. Therefore, this focus group study investigated news consumption and news literacy through the eyes of early adolescents. Results showed that early adolescents have broad definitions of news. Thei…
On Different Sides
Anger expression is increasingly prevalent in political news messages. However, the persuasive effects of expressing anger in a political context have received scant attention from researchers. We conducted two experiments to investigate the hypothesis that anger expression is detrimental to persuasion because it runs counter to well‐established social norms for the polite expression of opinions. We created political news messages including a per…
Picture Perfect
This study investigates the effect of manipulated Instagram photos on adolescent girls’ body image, and whether social comparison tendency moderates this relation. A between-subject experiment was conducted in which 144 girls (14–18 years old) were randomly exposed to either original or manipulated (retouched and reshaped) Instagram selfies. Results showed that exposure to manipulated Instagram photos directly led to lower body image. Especially,…
Children’s cognitive responses to constructive television news
Given the importance of news in preparing children for their role as active citizens in society, insight into how negative news can be delivered to children most optimally is warranted. In this regard, this study examined the usefulness of constructive news reporting (i.e. solution-based news stories including positive emotions). An experiment ( N = 281 children, 9–13 years old) was conducted to investigate how constructive, compared to nonconstr…
The influence of sensationalist features in television news stories on perceived news quality and perceived sensationalism of viewers in different age groups
This study investigates whether the decreased trust in news media can be explained by the increase in sensationalism in news. To this end, an experiment was conducted in which viewers (N = 288) evaluated sensationalist versus non-sensationalist television news in terms of perceived news quality and perceived sensationalism. Each participant watched four television news stories that varied in the presence of two categories of sensationalism: arous…
Children's Responses to Negative News
For a well-functioning democracy, it is crucial that children consume news. However, news can elicit overly negative emotions and discourage engagement in children. The question, therefore, is how news can be adapted to children’s sensitivities and needs but can still inform them. This study investigated whether constructive reporting (solution-based narratives including positive emotions) in news about negative events improved emotional response…
Getting Youngsters Hooked on News
Narrative news is often propagated as a means to inform and attract younger generations of news consumers. To test this, the current study assessed the effects of narrative structure versus inverted pyramid structure on information processing and news appreciation for Millennials, compared to Generation X, and Baby Boomers/Silent Generation. Participants were randomly exposed to either four online news articles written in a narrative structure or…
Gender Representation on Gender-Targeted Television Channels
The current study investigated the differences in the representation of gender on male- and female-targeted channels with regard to recognition (i.e., the actual presence of men and women) and respect (i.e., the nature of that representation or portrayal). To this end, the presence of men and women on two female- and two male-targeted Dutch channels ( N = 115 programs, N = 1091 persons) were compared via content analysis. The expectation that men…
Citizen sources in the news
Both within journalism and academia it is argued that citizen voices should have a greater prominence in news to counterbalance the virtual monopoly of elite sources. This study extends previous studies – showing increased presence of citizens in news – by investigating relevant but unanswered questions, namely, (1) whether there has been a change in their prominence relative to elite and civil society sources and (2) in which capacity citizens h…
We are a neeeew generation
To function as well-informed citizens in democracy, early adolescents (12–16 years old) should become news literate news consumers. In this time of fragmented media use and evolving conceptions of (the importance and relevance of) news, this is not easy. Therefore, this focus group study investigated news consumption and news literacy through the eyes of early adolescents. Results showed that early adolescents have broad definitions of news. Thei…
Children’s cognitive responses to constructive television news
Given the importance of news in preparing children for their role as active citizens in society, insight into how negative news can be delivered to children most optimally is warranted. In this regard, this study examined the usefulness of constructive news reporting (i.e. solution-based news stories including positive emotions). An experiment ( N = 281 children, 9–13 years old) was conducted to investigate how constructive, compared to nonconstr…
Explaining the role of character development in the evaluation of morally ambiguous characters in entertainment media
Getting Youngsters Hooked on News
Narrative news is often propagated as a means to inform and attract younger generations of news consumers. To test this, the current study assessed the effects of narrative structure versus inverted pyramid structure on information processing and news appreciation for Millennials, compared to Generation X, and Baby Boomers/Silent Generation. Participants were randomly exposed to either four online news articles written in a narrative structure or…
Gender Representation on Gender-Targeted Television Channels
The current study investigated the differences in the representation of gender on male- and female-targeted channels with regard to recognition (i.e., the actual presence of men and women) and respect (i.e., the nature of that representation or portrayal). To this end, the presence of men and women on two female- and two male-targeted Dutch channels ( N = 115 programs, N = 1091 persons) were compared via content analysis. The expectation that men…
The influence of sensationalist features in television news stories on perceived news quality and perceived sensationalism of viewers in different age groups
This study investigates whether the decreased trust in news media can be explained by the increase in sensationalism in news. To this end, an experiment was conducted in which viewers (N = 288) evaluated sensationalist versus non-sensationalist television news in terms of perceived news quality and perceived sensationalism. Each participant watched four television news stories that varied in the presence of two categories of sensationalism: arous…
Competitive pressure and arousing television news
n Contains fulltext :\n 102389.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access)\n
On Different Sides
Anger expression is increasingly prevalent in political news messages. However, the persuasive effects of expressing anger in a political context have received scant attention from researchers. We conducted two experiments to investigate the hypothesis that anger expression is detrimental to persuasion because it runs counter to well‐established social norms for the polite expression of opinions. We created political news messages including a per…
Developing A Model of News Literacy in Early Adolescents
Early adolescents’ insufficient critical engagement with (online) news demands increased application of news literacy, but it remains unclear which factors increase news literacy application. To provide more insights, this survey study develops and tests a model of news literacy application in early adolescents (12‒15 y/o, N = 492). The more comprehensive model looks at the relationship between the application of news literacy and news consumptio…
Consolation Strategies in Children’s Television News
Engaging children in news is important for their participation in the public sphere. However, producers of children’s news face a trade-off between fully informing children and not causing distress. Against the background of technological, economic, and ideological changes in the media landscape, this study examined the use of consolation strategies in the Dutch children’s news, and whether these have shifted between 2000 and 2016. A manual conte…
Picturing Tragedy
For decades, the inclusion of graphic photographs in the news has been a matter of controversy. One important criticism made by news audiences is that the publication of graphic imagery could be guided by racial and cultural biases. However, there is little empirical research to either support or disprove this notion. Therefore, this study investigated several factors that could be related to the publication of graphic imagery. Images included in…
Preadolescents’ Emotional and Prosocial Responses to Negative TV News
Watching news is important for preadolescents, but it may also harm their well-being. This study examined whether applying insights from positive psychology to news production can reduce this potential harm, by reducing negative emotional responses and enhancing positive emotional responses to negative news, and by encouraging prosocial intentions. Moreover, we explored whether peer discussion strengthened these effects. Preadolescents (n = 336; …
Demographic variation in how the social brain processes news messages
A high capacity for visual perception distinguishes Homo sapiens from other primates. This human ability to detect social cues and retain visual records of social networks has been tested mostly with static facial images in laboratory settings. However, media consumption has become closely entangled with the way social life is navigated. Therefore, the study reported here tested demographic differences (gender and education) in visual information…
Competitive pressure and arousing television news
n Contains fulltext :\n 102389.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access)\n
The Impact of Prosocial Television News on Children’s Prosocial Behavior
The aim of this experimental study was to examine whether prosocial behavior in television news affects children’s prosocial intentions and behaviors. In this study, 372 Dutch children (9–13 years old) participated. Children in the experimental condition were exposed to prosocial news showing children organizing a fundraising action for UNICEF. In the control condition, children were exposed to news about UNICEF in which no prosocial behavior was…
Citizen sources in the news
Both within journalism and academia it is argued that citizen voices should have a greater prominence in news to counterbalance the virtual monopoly of elite sources. This study extends previous studies – showing increased presence of citizens in news – by investigating relevant but unanswered questions, namely, (1) whether there has been a change in their prominence relative to elite and civil society sources and (2) in which capacity citizens h…
Demographic variation in how the social brain processes news messages
A high capacity for visual perception distinguishes Homo sapiens from other primates. This human ability to detect social cues and retain visual records of social networks has been tested mostly with static facial images in laboratory settings. However, media consumption has become closely entangled with the way social life is navigated. Therefore, the study reported here tested demographic differences (gender and education) in visual information…
Children's Responses to Negative News
For a well-functioning democracy, it is crucial that children consume news. However, news can elicit overly negative emotions and discourage engagement in children. The question, therefore, is how news can be adapted to children’s sensitivities and needs but can still inform them. This study investigated whether constructive reporting (solution-based narratives including positive emotions) in news about negative events improved emotional response…
Getting Youngsters Hooked on News
Narrative news is often propagated as a means to inform and attract younger generations of news consumers. To test this, the current study assessed the effects of narrative structure versus inverted pyramid structure on information processing and news appreciation for Millennials, compared to Generation X, and Baby Boomers/Silent Generation. Participants were randomly exposed to either four online news articles written in a narrative structure or…
Gender Representation on Gender-Targeted Television Channels
The current study investigated the differences in the representation of gender on male- and female-targeted channels with regard to recognition (i.e., the actual presence of men and women) and respect (i.e., the nature of that representation or portrayal). To this end, the presence of men and women on two female- and two male-targeted Dutch channels ( N = 115 programs, N = 1091 persons) were compared via content analysis. The expectation that men…
Preadolescents’ Emotional and Prosocial Responses to Negative TV News
Watching news is important for preadolescents, but it may also harm their well-being. This study examined whether applying insights from positive psychology to news production can reduce this potential harm, by reducing negative emotional responses and enhancing positive emotional responses to negative news, and by encouraging prosocial intentions. Moreover, we explored whether peer discussion strengthened these effects. Preadolescents (n = 336; …
Explaining the role of character development in the evaluation of morally ambiguous characters in entertainment media
How sensationalist features affect television news preferences and recognition among young viewers
Picture Perfect
This study investigates the effect of manipulated Instagram photos on adolescent girls’ body image, and whether social comparison tendency moderates this relation. A between-subject experiment was conducted in which 144 girls (14–18 years old) were randomly exposed to either original or manipulated (retouched and reshaped) Instagram selfies. Results showed that exposure to manipulated Instagram photos directly led to lower body image. Especially,…
Children’s cognitive responses to constructive television news
Given the importance of news in preparing children for their role as active citizens in society, insight into how negative news can be delivered to children most optimally is warranted. In this regard, this study examined the usefulness of constructive news reporting (i.e. solution-based news stories including positive emotions). An experiment ( N = 281 children, 9–13 years old) was conducted to investigate how constructive, compared to nonconstr…
The influence of sensationalist features in television news stories on perceived news quality and perceived sensationalism of viewers in different age groups
This study investigates whether the decreased trust in news media can be explained by the increase in sensationalism in news. To this end, an experiment was conducted in which viewers (N = 288) evaluated sensationalist versus non-sensationalist television news in terms of perceived news quality and perceived sensationalism. Each participant watched four television news stories that varied in the presence of two categories of sensationalism: arous…
On Different Sides
Anger expression is increasingly prevalent in political news messages. However, the persuasive effects of expressing anger in a political context have received scant attention from researchers. We conducted two experiments to investigate the hypothesis that anger expression is detrimental to persuasion because it runs counter to well‐established social norms for the polite expression of opinions. We created political news messages including a per…
Empowering digital citizenship
Cyberbullying rates among children are worrisome and the consequences of cyberbullying can be detrimental. Theory-based interventions to reduce cyberbullying are lacking. Therefore, this study examined whether an online anti-cyberbullying intervention based on the Theory of Planned Behavior could increase children's intention to intervene in cyberbullying incidents on behalf of the victim. An experiment (N = 298, 10–12 years old) was conducted to…
We are a neeeew generation
To function as well-informed citizens in democracy, early adolescents (12–16 years old) should become news literate news consumers. In this time of fragmented media use and evolving conceptions of (the importance and relevance of) news, this is not easy. Therefore, this focus group study investigated news consumption and news literacy through the eyes of early adolescents. Results showed that early adolescents have broad definitions of news. Thei…
Children’s Emotions after Exposure to News
Hardly any research has been conducted regarding coping strategies that children can use in response to negative news, although they are frequently exposed to and emotionally affected by such news. Chat conversations with peers about the news could be a coping strategy for children in this regard. To investigate this, children ( N = 307; 46.3% girls; M age = 10.51; SD age = 0.98; range 8–13 years old) participated in a preregistered experiment in…
Consolation Strategies in Children’s Television News
Engaging children in news is important for their participation in the public sphere. However, producers of children’s news face a trade-off between fully informing children and not causing distress. Against the background of technological, economic, and ideological changes in the media landscape, this study examined the use of consolation strategies in the Dutch children’s news, and whether these have shifted between 2000 and 2016. A manual conte…
All the reasons why
Controversial media content has mainly been dealt with in relation to concerns about how the media we consume might be detrimental to its viewers as individuals and society at large. Nevertheless, researchers have started to take a different approach to these types of content, namely that these might lead to processes of reflective appropriation, meaning-making, and moral rumination. Via qualitative in-depth interviews with young adults ( N = 45,…
How to Increase News Literate Behaviors Via Interventions
To develop guidelines for more effective news literacy interventions, we conducted focus groups with early adolescents (12-15 years old) on what these interventions should be like. Participants ( N = 55) discussed that motivating early adolescents is a challenge, but did provide more insight into their preferences and needs. Future interventions should be easy to find and use, make news literate behaviors more accessible, should be interactive, a…
The influence of sources in violent news on fright and worry responses of children in the Netherlands
Children display fright and worry responses to violent news. Including involved children, non-involved children or experts as sources in children’s news is assumed to reduce these negative effects. However, exemplification theory gives reason to question whether particularly the use of involved children indeed has a reassuring effect. To test this, an experiment was conducted among 237 children (8–13 y/o). They were randomly exposed to a news vid…
Developing A Model of News Literacy in Early Adolescents
Early adolescents’ insufficient critical engagement with (online) news demands increased application of news literacy, but it remains unclear which factors increase news literacy application. To provide more insights, this survey study develops and tests a model of news literacy application in early adolescents (12‒15 y/o, N = 492). The more comprehensive model looks at the relationship between the application of news literacy and news consumptio…
What drives selection of online children’s news articles
Individual news consumers’ decisions to select specific news articles online are an important part of the present journalistic landscape, spurring scholars’ interest in ‘selective exposure’ and the factors that influence news selection. In the present study, we investigated predictors of young news consumers’ self-selection of individual news articles. We used a dataset containing information on upwards of 18,000 news articles that were published…
Moral Beauty During the Covid-19 Pandemic
In this study, we examined whether adolescents helped others during the COVID-19 pandemic and how stories in the media inspired them in doing so. Using an online daily diary design, 481 younger adolescents ( M = 15.29, SD = 1.76) and 404 older adolescents ( M = 21.48, SD = 1.91) were followed for 2 weeks. Findings from linear mixed effects models demonstrated that feelings of being moved by stories in the media were related to giving emotional su…
Streaming with more diversity? A comparison of the representation of minorities in broadcasting versus streaming television content
This study focused on the representation of minority groups on television, following the idea(l) that television as a mirror of society should convey a well-balanced representation of society. The current study extends previous research in that it analyses the potential for differences between regular broadcasters and streaming platforms, due to the latter’s public commitments to diversity and inclusion. Our results reveal that on Dutch prime-tim…
Psychology (26 works) · Media Influence and Health (17 works) · Child Development and Digital Technology (15 works) · Social Psychology (14 works) · Sociology (14 works) · Advertising (13 works) · Business (13 works) · Social Media and Politics (12 works) · Political science (11 works) · Developmental psychology (9 works)