Chelsea L Ratcliff
Datos Biográficos
| ID | 2102939 |
|---|---|
| NOMBRE | Chelsea L Ratcliff |
| NOMBRES | Chelsea L |
| APELLIDO | Ratcliff |
| FIRMA | RATCLIFF C L |
| AFILIACIONES | University of Georgia |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-8066-1233 |
| VERIFICADO | Sí |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 23 |
| TOTAL DE CITAS | 15 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 23 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMER AÑO DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2016 |
| AÑO MÁS RECIENTE DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2026 |
| ÍNDICE H | 3 |
Perceptions of Pandemic Messaging Across 36 Weeks
To understand public perceptions of pandemic messaging, we surveyed U.S. adults for 36 consecutive weeks starting on March 12, 2020. Using a repeated cross-section design, we tracked intentions to engage in protective behaviors, demographics, and four message perceptions: exhaustion, overload, repetition, and exaggeration. Exhaustion increased over time and became negatively related to intentions (rising negativity model). Exaggeration was stable…
Broadening the Study of Warning Message Effectiveness
Forum papers are thought-provoking opinion pieces or essays founded in fact, sometimes containing speculation, on a civil engineering topic of general interest and relevance to the readership of the journal. The views expressed in this forum article do not necessarily reflect the views of ASCE or the editorial board of the journal
Expanding the Theory of Persuasive Hope
Emotional reactions to health information significantly influence health decisions. The theory of persuasive hope details how messages can influence behaviors and intentions by evoking hope. Messaging about noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) has begun to include hope-focused appeals, and scholars have recommended using hope appeals in messaging about genetic testing. The current study extends the theory of persuasive hope by testing if critical …
Public understanding of preprints
News reporting of preprints became commonplace during the COVID-19 pandemic, yet the extent to which the public understands what preprints are is unclear. We sought to fill this gap by conducting a content analysis of 1702 definitions of the term “preprint” that were generated by the US general population and college students. We found that only about one in five people were able to define preprints in ways that align with scholarly conceptualiza…
Using Preprint Sources in Science News
This study tested whether the transparent use of preprint sources affects the perceived credibility of science news and scientists. In an experiment, U.S. adults read a news report describing COVID-19 research as a “preprint” (with varying levels of detail) or as simply a “study.” There were no main effects of disclosing preprint status, but indirect effects emerged. For those who noticed the disclosure, both brief and fuller depictions of a stud…
Framing Covid-19 Preprint Research as Uncertain
During the COVID-19 pandemic, journalists were encouraged to convey uncertainty surrounding preliminary scientific evidence, including mentioning when research is unpublished or unverified by peer review. To understand how public audiences interpret this information, we conducted a mixed method study with U.S. adults. Participants read a news article about preprint COVID-19 vaccine research in early April 2021, just as the vaccine was becoming wi…
Political Party Collective Norms, Perceived Norms, and Mask Wearing Behavior
The theory of normative social behavior (TNSB) postulates that people are influenced by others’ behaviors, which they observe from messages and experience. In addition to focusing on perceived (i.e., descriptive and injunctive) norms, the TNSB was expanded to include collective norms, which represent what people actually do. Testing this expanded theoretical model, the current study examined whether two types of collective norms – collective poli…
Understanding public preferences for learning about uncertain science
Although uncertainty is inherent in science, public audiences vary in their openness to information about preliminary discoveries and the caveats and limitations of research. These preferences shape responses to science communication, and science communicators often adapt messaging based on assumed preferences. However, there has not been a validated instrument for examining these preferences. Here, we present an instrument to capture preferences…
Social media narratives can influence vaccine intentions
Encouraging Replotting to Promote Persuasion
This set of studies investigated replotting as a mechanism of narrative persuasion. Replotting involves both the cognitive act of imagining alternative plot lines to avoid an undesirable story outcome and an accompanying emotion such as anger, anxiety, or sadness. Both studies utilized a 2 (story outcome: death vs. survivor) × 2 (efficacy appeal: present vs. absent) message experiment design. Study 1 ( N = 1,207) tested a non-narrative efficacy a…
How the public evaluates media representations of uncertain science
Understanding how to portray uncertain science to the public is a pressing goal for science communication. This study compared US public audience reactions to a news article depicting a novel discovery in neurogenomics as certain or uncertain, with statements of (un)certainty attributed to either affiliated or unaffiliated scientists. The uncertainty disclosure had no main effect on perceived news article credibility, scientist trustworthiness, o…
Communicating uncertainty to the public during the Covid-19 pandemic
Pandemics are characterized by extreme uncertainty and effective communication is critical to help the public manage this uncertainty. We summarized scholarship on public communication related to uncertainty during the COVID-19 pandemic, synthesizing insights published from January 2020–February 2022. We reviewed key findings and arguments from 39 empirical papers and 21 nonempirical papers with a particular focus on the theories and concepts tha…
Characterizing Reactance in Communication Research
Psychological reactance, or simply reactance, has become a major concept of interest in communication research. Although this spike in scholarly attention has greatly advanced our understanding of reactance as a communication effect, its growing popularity has been accompanied by lack of conceptual and operational precision and agreement. This review characterizes the wide spectrum of approaches to defining, labeling, and examining reactance in c…
Digital Health Engagement in the US Population
Objectives. To examine prevalence and predictors of digital health engagement among the US population. Methods. We analyzed nationally representative cross-sectional data on 7 digital health engagement behaviors, as well as demographic and socioeconomic predictors, from the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS 5, cycle 2, collected in 2018; n = 2698–3504). We fitted multivariable logistic regression models using weighted survey respon…
Communicating Scientific Uncertainty Across the Dissemination Trajectory
This study provides an in-depth analysis of how scientific uncertainty was conveyed along the dissemination pathway for a novel discovery linking genomic markers to depression risk. In this article, knowledge limitations described in the original scientific paper were mostly omitted from press releases, and a majority of news coverage mirrored press release content. However, the affiliated scientists depicted uncertainty to different degrees, app…
Theory utilization in current communication of cancer genetic testing research
Overcoming Resistance Through Narratives
To understand the mechanisms underlying narrative persuasion, a growing body of theoretical and empirical work suggests that narratives reduce audience resistance, possibly via narrative engagement. To synthesize this research, we performed a two-part meta-analysis using three-level random-effects models. Part I focused on experimental studies that directly compared narratives and non-narratives on resistance. Based on 15 effect sizes from nine e…
Stress, Social Support, and Mental Health Among Young Adult Hispanics
National health goals include assessing and improving mental health in understudied US populations. We surveyed 274 individuals (18-35 years old) of Hispanic/Latino/Spanish origin residing in the United States. Participants reported poor general mental health compared with Healthy People goals. Stress was negatively associated and perceived supportive communication was positively associated with mental health. A 3-way interaction showed perceived…
Expanding Advice Response Theory by Incorporating Goal Inference
We expanded Advice Response Theory (ART) by proposing that recipient perceptions of advisor characteristics can be distal (e.g., parenting style) and proximal (e.g., goal inference). We examined how the recipient’s inference of the advisor’s goals (confirmation, change, and novelty) mediates associations between distal characteristics and message feature evaluations and outcomes. As predicted, positive associations occurred between perceptions of…
Comparing Mediational Pathways for Narrative- and Argument-Based Messages
Narratives may outperform argument-based messages in certain situations, notably because they are thought to exert unique influence via particular mediational pathways. The present study tested three sets of potential mediators (believability, counterarguing, emotional reaction) of the relationship between message modality (narrative- vs. argument-based) and the outcome of purchase intentions. Participants (N = 214) were randomly assigned to view…
Presidential Communication About Marginalized Groups
Scholars have long observed that presidential communication about a marginalized group can help shape that group's reality. Yet most analyses of such communication focus on a relatively small number of texts, making it difficult to identify important changes over time and analyze factors that might explain those changes. The present study proposes an analytic framework that specifies 4 measurable parameters of presidential communication about mar…
Persuasive impact of loss and gain frames on intentions to exercise
The current study situated loss/gain framing research in the extended parallel process model and tested whether two message features (dose, efficacy appeals) and four individual difference variables (walking self-efficacy, grit, consideration of future consequences, health information overload) moderated the impact of message framing on intentions to engage in physical activity. Adults ( N = 341, M age = 38.09, SD = 10.94) were randomly assigned …
How do emerging adults respond to exercise advice from parents? A test of advice response theory
Advice response theory (ART) proposes advisor characteristics, advice politeness, and advice content impact recipient perceptions of advice quality, their intention to implement the advice, and their coping. However, ART has primarily been examined in friend-to-friend advising on academic, romantic, or social issues. To test ART in an understudied relational and topical context, emerging adults ( N = 196, aged 18–28 years) were surveyed about phy…
How do emerging adults respond to exercise advice from parents? A test of advice response theory
Advice response theory (ART) proposes advisor characteristics, advice politeness, and advice content impact recipient perceptions of advice quality, their intention to implement the advice, and their coping. However, ART has primarily been examined in friend-to-friend advising on academic, romantic, or social issues. To test ART in an understudied relational and topical context, emerging adults ( N = 196, aged 18–28 years) were surveyed about phy…
Comparing Mediational Pathways for Narrative- and Argument-Based Messages
Narratives may outperform argument-based messages in certain situations, notably because they are thought to exert unique influence via particular mediational pathways. The present study tested three sets of potential mediators (believability, counterarguing, emotional reaction) of the relationship between message modality (narrative- vs. argument-based) and the outcome of purchase intentions. Participants (N = 214) were randomly assigned to view…
Persuasive impact of loss and gain frames on intentions to exercise
The current study situated loss/gain framing research in the extended parallel process model and tested whether two message features (dose, efficacy appeals) and four individual difference variables (walking self-efficacy, grit, consideration of future consequences, health information overload) moderated the impact of message framing on intentions to engage in physical activity. Adults ( N = 341, M age = 38.09, SD = 10.94) were randomly assigned …
Communicating Scientific Uncertainty Across the Dissemination Trajectory
This study provides an in-depth analysis of how scientific uncertainty was conveyed along the dissemination pathway for a novel discovery linking genomic markers to depression risk. In this article, knowledge limitations described in the original scientific paper were mostly omitted from press releases, and a majority of news coverage mirrored press release content. However, the affiliated scientists depicted uncertainty to different degrees, app…
Expanding Advice Response Theory by Incorporating Goal Inference
We expanded Advice Response Theory (ART) by proposing that recipient perceptions of advisor characteristics can be distal (e.g., parenting style) and proximal (e.g., goal inference). We examined how the recipient’s inference of the advisor’s goals (confirmation, change, and novelty) mediates associations between distal characteristics and message feature evaluations and outcomes. As predicted, positive associations occurred between perceptions of…
How do emerging adults respond to exercise advice from parents? A test of advice response theory
Advice response theory (ART) proposes advisor characteristics, advice politeness, and advice content impact recipient perceptions of advice quality, their intention to implement the advice, and their coping. However, ART has primarily been examined in friend-to-friend advising on academic, romantic, or social issues. To test ART in an understudied relational and topical context, emerging adults ( N = 196, aged 18–28 years) were surveyed about phy…
Presidential Communication About Marginalized Groups
Scholars have long observed that presidential communication about a marginalized group can help shape that group's reality. Yet most analyses of such communication focus on a relatively small number of texts, making it difficult to identify important changes over time and analyze factors that might explain those changes. The present study proposes an analytic framework that specifies 4 measurable parameters of presidential communication about mar…
Persuasive impact of loss and gain frames on intentions to exercise
The current study situated loss/gain framing research in the extended parallel process model and tested whether two message features (dose, efficacy appeals) and four individual difference variables (walking self-efficacy, grit, consideration of future consequences, health information overload) moderated the impact of message framing on intentions to engage in physical activity. Adults ( N = 341, M age = 38.09, SD = 10.94) were randomly assigned …
Comparing Mediational Pathways for Narrative- and Argument-Based Messages
Narratives may outperform argument-based messages in certain situations, notably because they are thought to exert unique influence via particular mediational pathways. The present study tested three sets of potential mediators (believability, counterarguing, emotional reaction) of the relationship between message modality (narrative- vs. argument-based) and the outcome of purchase intentions. Participants (N = 214) were randomly assigned to view…
Stress, Social Support, and Mental Health Among Young Adult Hispanics
National health goals include assessing and improving mental health in understudied US populations. We surveyed 274 individuals (18-35 years old) of Hispanic/Latino/Spanish origin residing in the United States. Participants reported poor general mental health compared with Healthy People goals. Stress was negatively associated and perceived supportive communication was positively associated with mental health. A 3-way interaction showed perceived…
Expanding Advice Response Theory by Incorporating Goal Inference
We expanded Advice Response Theory (ART) by proposing that recipient perceptions of advisor characteristics can be distal (e.g., parenting style) and proximal (e.g., goal inference). We examined how the recipient’s inference of the advisor’s goals (confirmation, change, and novelty) mediates associations between distal characteristics and message feature evaluations and outcomes. As predicted, positive associations occurred between perceptions of…
Overcoming Resistance Through Narratives
To understand the mechanisms underlying narrative persuasion, a growing body of theoretical and empirical work suggests that narratives reduce audience resistance, possibly via narrative engagement. To synthesize this research, we performed a two-part meta-analysis using three-level random-effects models. Part I focused on experimental studies that directly compared narratives and non-narratives on resistance. Based on 15 effect sizes from nine e…
Characterizing Reactance in Communication Research
Psychological reactance, or simply reactance, has become a major concept of interest in communication research. Although this spike in scholarly attention has greatly advanced our understanding of reactance as a communication effect, its growing popularity has been accompanied by lack of conceptual and operational precision and agreement. This review characterizes the wide spectrum of approaches to defining, labeling, and examining reactance in c…
Digital Health Engagement in the US Population
Objectives. To examine prevalence and predictors of digital health engagement among the US population. Methods. We analyzed nationally representative cross-sectional data on 7 digital health engagement behaviors, as well as demographic and socioeconomic predictors, from the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS 5, cycle 2, collected in 2018; n = 2698–3504). We fitted multivariable logistic regression models using weighted survey respon…
Communicating Scientific Uncertainty Across the Dissemination Trajectory
This study provides an in-depth analysis of how scientific uncertainty was conveyed along the dissemination pathway for a novel discovery linking genomic markers to depression risk. In this article, knowledge limitations described in the original scientific paper were mostly omitted from press releases, and a majority of news coverage mirrored press release content. However, the affiliated scientists depicted uncertainty to different degrees, app…
Theory utilization in current communication of cancer genetic testing research
Communicating uncertainty to the public during the Covid-19 pandemic
Pandemics are characterized by extreme uncertainty and effective communication is critical to help the public manage this uncertainty. We summarized scholarship on public communication related to uncertainty during the COVID-19 pandemic, synthesizing insights published from January 2020–February 2022. We reviewed key findings and arguments from 39 empirical papers and 21 nonempirical papers with a particular focus on the theories and concepts tha…
Understanding public preferences for learning about uncertain science
Although uncertainty is inherent in science, public audiences vary in their openness to information about preliminary discoveries and the caveats and limitations of research. These preferences shape responses to science communication, and science communicators often adapt messaging based on assumed preferences. However, there has not been a validated instrument for examining these preferences. Here, we present an instrument to capture preferences…
Social media narratives can influence vaccine intentions
Encouraging Replotting to Promote Persuasion
This set of studies investigated replotting as a mechanism of narrative persuasion. Replotting involves both the cognitive act of imagining alternative plot lines to avoid an undesirable story outcome and an accompanying emotion such as anger, anxiety, or sadness. Both studies utilized a 2 (story outcome: death vs. survivor) × 2 (efficacy appeal: present vs. absent) message experiment design. Study 1 ( N = 1,207) tested a non-narrative efficacy a…
How the public evaluates media representations of uncertain science
Understanding how to portray uncertain science to the public is a pressing goal for science communication. This study compared US public audience reactions to a news article depicting a novel discovery in neurogenomics as certain or uncertain, with statements of (un)certainty attributed to either affiliated or unaffiliated scientists. The uncertainty disclosure had no main effect on perceived news article credibility, scientist trustworthiness, o…
Framing Covid-19 Preprint Research as Uncertain
During the COVID-19 pandemic, journalists were encouraged to convey uncertainty surrounding preliminary scientific evidence, including mentioning when research is unpublished or unverified by peer review. To understand how public audiences interpret this information, we conducted a mixed method study with U.S. adults. Participants read a news article about preprint COVID-19 vaccine research in early April 2021, just as the vaccine was becoming wi…
Political Party Collective Norms, Perceived Norms, and Mask Wearing Behavior
The theory of normative social behavior (TNSB) postulates that people are influenced by others’ behaviors, which they observe from messages and experience. In addition to focusing on perceived (i.e., descriptive and injunctive) norms, the TNSB was expanded to include collective norms, which represent what people actually do. Testing this expanded theoretical model, the current study examined whether two types of collective norms – collective poli…
Broadening the Study of Warning Message Effectiveness
Forum papers are thought-provoking opinion pieces or essays founded in fact, sometimes containing speculation, on a civil engineering topic of general interest and relevance to the readership of the journal. The views expressed in this forum article do not necessarily reflect the views of ASCE or the editorial board of the journal
Expanding the Theory of Persuasive Hope
Emotional reactions to health information significantly influence health decisions. The theory of persuasive hope details how messages can influence behaviors and intentions by evoking hope. Messaging about noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) has begun to include hope-focused appeals, and scholars have recommended using hope appeals in messaging about genetic testing. The current study extends the theory of persuasive hope by testing if critical …
Public understanding of preprints
News reporting of preprints became commonplace during the COVID-19 pandemic, yet the extent to which the public understands what preprints are is unclear. We sought to fill this gap by conducting a content analysis of 1702 definitions of the term “preprint” that were generated by the US general population and college students. We found that only about one in five people were able to define preprints in ways that align with scholarly conceptualiza…
Using Preprint Sources in Science News
This study tested whether the transparent use of preprint sources affects the perceived credibility of science news and scientists. In an experiment, U.S. adults read a news report describing COVID-19 research as a “preprint” (with varying levels of detail) or as simply a “study.” There were no main effects of disclosing preprint status, but indirect effects emerged. For those who noticed the disclosure, both brief and fuller depictions of a stud…
Perceptions of Pandemic Messaging Across 36 Weeks
To understand public perceptions of pandemic messaging, we surveyed U.S. adults for 36 consecutive weeks starting on March 12, 2020. Using a repeated cross-section design, we tracked intentions to engage in protective behaviors, demographics, and four message perceptions: exhaustion, overload, repetition, and exaggeration. Exhaustion increased over time and became negatively related to intentions (rising negativity model). Exaggeration was stable…
Psychology (17 obras) · Social Psychology (11 obras) · Media Influence and Health (10 obras) · Sociology (10 obras) · Computer Science (9 obras) · Political science (8 obras) · Medicine (7 obras) · Misinformation and Its Impacts (6 obras) · Narrative (5 obras) · Public relations (5 obras)