Benjamin K Johnson
Datos Biográficos
| ID | 669097 |
|---|---|
| NOMBRE | Benjamin K Johnson |
| NOMBRES | Benjamin K |
| APELLIDO | Johnson |
| FIRMA | JOHNSON B K |
| AFILIACIONES | University of Florida |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-0588-221X |
| VERIFICADO | Sí |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 33 |
| TOTAL DE CITAS | 232 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 33 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMER AÑO DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2013 |
| AÑO MÁS RECIENTE DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2026 |
| ÍNDICE H | 6 |
Persuasive Effects of Promotional Narratives and Videos on Destination Image and Risk Perception for Travel to Iran
This study examined how different types and combinations of marketing communications influence travelers' perceptions of Iran, a destination often perceived as risky. It tested whether narrative texts and promotional videos enhance mental transportation—the feeling of being immersed in a story—and how this affects risk perception, destination image, and behavioral intentions. Using an online experiment, 425 US participants were assigned to a 2 (n…
See That Post, Get That Shot
COVID-19 has posed unprecedented challenges to our public health system but also offered opportunities for us to examine how the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the flagship health authority in the United States which was considered the gold standard globally before the pandemic, designs persuasive vaccine-related messages over time. Grounded in the health belief model (HBM), this study employed quantitative content analysis of …
Testing Mechanisms in ASMR Persuasion
As brands increasingly integrate autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) marketing into advertising strategies, understanding its underlying persuasive mechanisms remains a critical research gap. Building on the entertainment overcoming resistance model (EORM) and extending its framework, this study develops the advertising consumers’ resistance-overcoming sensory satisfaction (ACROSS) model, identifying the psychological pathways through whi…
Engaging with Bot Narratives
Growth and Gratitude
Direct Replication in Experimental Communication Science
Replication is generally considered a keystone of the scientific enterprise. Unfortunately, in communication science, there is a lack of clarity on what a replication actually entails, and to what extent replicators may deviate from original studies. In order to support researchers in conducting, evaluating, and justifying the setup of replications of communication science experiments, we provide a taxonomy of replication types. We argue that res…
It All Begins With a Name
After winning the US presidency, Joe Biden fulfilled a promise and put forward the name of Ketanji Brown Jackson as a nominee to the highest court in the nation on 25 February 2022. The purpose of this study is to explore media coverage of the historic confirmation process for the first Black woman to sit on the Supreme Court. In recent years, US politics have expanded to include more Black women, who have been making historic firsts. We argue th…
Like the dad in the ad
Dadvertising—advertisements that portray dads as active caretakers—is predicted to be particularly relevant to men who are new or first-time fathers. This research tests a conceptual model for understanding the effects of anxiety, wishful identification, and emotional response on new and expectant dads’ empowerment, attitude toward the dadvertisement, and attitude toward the brand. Six hypotheses were tested through a between-groups experimental …
Social comparison and envy on social media
Seeking Spoilage
Two experiments examined whether perceived content challenge, self-control, and trait variables predicted participants’ choice of a spoiled/unspoiled movie review. Study 1 found that perceived content challenge influenced spoiler selection as a function of need for cognition. Self-control had no effect. In Study 2, participants chose spoilers when content was perceived to be cognitively challenging but not affectively challenging. Need for affect…
Are they being authentic? The effects of self-disclosure and message sidedness on sponsored post effectiveness
The importance of social media for advertising and marketing has brought growing interest and investment into sponsored influencers. However, much is unknown about the effectiveness of influencers, including the mechanisms by which these online personalities build and maintain authentic image. This study examines two important elements, influencers’ self-disclosures (present vs. not present) and message sidedness (one-sided vs. two-sided), to exp…
Self-control and need satisfaction in primetime
The relationship between self-control and media use is complicated. Loss of self-control capacity has been linked to generally higher levels of media use, which might represent self-regulatory failure, but could also be attempts at replenishing self-control. Indeed, self-determination theory proposes that satisfying intrinsic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness), for example via media use, aids the recovery of self-control.…
Overcoming challenges and leveraging opportunities
It is our great pleasure and honor to begin this year as the new co-editors of Media Psychology. For the four of us, Media Psychology has been an intellectual home throughout our academic lives—a c
Impartial endorsements
An Explication of Identity Shift Theory
First articulated in 2008, the concept of identity shift refers to the process of self-transformation that is the result of intentional self-presentation in a mediated context. As research into identity shift has become increasingly prevalent, our understanding of the concept’s mechanisms and constraints has become more detailed and in depth. We now have a greater understanding of the process and limitations of identity shift: an understanding su…
Plurality in the Measurement of Social Media Use and Mental Health
On a daily basis, individuals between 12 and 25 years of age engage with their mobile devices for many hours. Social Media Use (SMU) has important implications for the social life of younger individuals in particular. However, measuring SMU and its effects often poses challenges to researchers. In this exploratory study, we focus on some of these challenges, by addressing how plurality in the measurement and age-specific characteristics of SMU ca…
Media for Coping During Covid-19 Social Distancing
In spring 2020, COVID-19 and the ensuing social distancing and stay-at-home orders instigated abrupt changes to employment and educational infrastructure, leading to uncertainty, concern, and stress among United States college students. The media consumption patterns of this and other social groups across the globe were affected, with early evidence suggesting viewers were seeking both pandemic-themed media and reassuring, familiar content. A gen…
Issues, involvement, and influence
Online products and consumers
Is That My Friend or an Advert? The Effectiveness of Instagram Native Advertisements Posing as Social Posts
Advertisers have turned attention to the popular photograph-based social network Instagram. One technique for reaching consumers has been advertisements resembling posts one's friends might make. These native advertisements use Instagram's conventions and may be unrecognized as sponsored messages at first glance, when browsing one's Instagram. A within-subjects experiment (N = 482) tested these native ads against both user-generated posts and tra…
Context Impacts on Confirmation Bias
Much concern exists about individuals’ tendency to favor attitude-consistent messages (confirmation bias) and the consequences for democracy; yet, empirical evidence is predominantly based on U.S. data and may not apply to other cultural contexts. The current three-session online experimental study unobtrusively observed Japanese participants’ (N = 200) selective exposure to political news articles right before the 2017 Japanese snap general elec…
Confirmation biases in selective exposure to political online information
The present work examines the role of source vs. content cues for the confirmation bias, in which recipients spend more time with content aligning with preexisting attitudes. In addition to testing how both source and content cues facilitate this biased pattern of selective exposure, the study measures subsequent attitude polarization. An experiment (N = 120) presented messages with opposing political stances, associated with unbiased or slanted …
When Misery Avoids Company
Social networking site usage may affect subjective well-being. Two experiments examined how selective exposure to profiles of other users facilitated mood management via self-enhancing social comparisons. In Study 1, when given detailed impression management cues, such as photographs and status updates, users in a negative mood sought upward rather than downward social comparisons. Study 2 found that relatively low levels of group identification …
Entertainment and Expanding Boundaries of the Self
The temporarily expanding boundaries of the self (TEBOTS) model identifies challenges faced by the self as a fundamental impetus for engagement with mediated narratives. To test how everyday pressures on the self influence enjoyment, appreciation, and immersion into narrative worlds, this study used self-affirmation to alleviate the everyday demands of self-concept maintenance, in an experimental design. When self-affirmed, people experienced les…
Motives for Online Friending and Following
Motives for 'friending,' following, or connecting with others on social network sites are often positive, but darker motives may also play an important role. A survey with a novel Following Motives Scale (FMS) demonstrates accordingly that positive, sociable motives (i.e., others providing a valued source for humor and information, others sharing a common background, as well as relationship maintenance) and inspirational motives (i.e., others pro…
Implications of Pro- and Counterattitudinal Information Exposure for Affective Polarization
The American electorate is characterized by political polarization, and especially by increasingly negative affective responses toward opposing party members. To what extent might this be attributed to exposure to information reinforcing individuals' partisan identity versus information representing the views of partisan opponents? And is this a uniquely American phenomenon? This study uses survey data collected immediately following recent natio…
Confirmation Bias in Online Searches
Impacts of Internet use on political information seeking and subsequent processes have been subject to much debate. A 2-session online field study presented online search results on political topics to examine selective exposure and its attitudinal impacts. Session 1 captured attitudes, including their accessibility. Session 2 tracked what online search results participants selected and how long they read them; participants then reported attitude…
Confirmation biases in selective exposure to political online information
The present work examines the role of source vs. content cues for the confirmation bias, in which recipients spend more time with content aligning with preexisting attitudes. In addition to testing how both source and content cues facilitate this biased pattern of selective exposure, the study measures subsequent attitude polarization. An experiment (N = 120) presented messages with opposing political stances, associated with unbiased or slanted …
Selective Exposure for Better or Worse
The role of selective exposure in the relationship between online news use and political participation is examined. American adults (N = 205) completed a 2-session online study that measured political interest and online news use, unobtrusively observed selective exposure, and finally measured political participation likelihood. Online news use and selective exposure to attitude-consistent information were modeled as sequential mediators between …
When Misery Avoids Company
Social networking site usage may affect subjective well-being. Two experiments examined how selective exposure to profiles of other users facilitated mood management via self-enhancing social comparisons. In Study 1, when given detailed impression management cues, such as photographs and status updates, users in a negative mood sought upward rather than downward social comparisons. Study 2 found that relatively low levels of group identification …
An Explication of Identity Shift Theory
First articulated in 2008, the concept of identity shift refers to the process of self-transformation that is the result of intentional self-presentation in a mediated context. As research into identity shift has become increasingly prevalent, our understanding of the concept’s mechanisms and constraints has become more detailed and in depth. We now have a greater understanding of the process and limitations of identity shift: an understanding su…
Motives for Online Friending and Following
Motives for 'friending,' following, or connecting with others on social network sites are often positive, but darker motives may also play an important role. A survey with a novel Following Motives Scale (FMS) demonstrates accordingly that positive, sociable motives (i.e., others providing a valued source for humor and information, others sharing a common background, as well as relationship maintenance) and inspirational motives (i.e., others pro…
Context Impacts on Confirmation Bias
Much concern exists about individuals’ tendency to favor attitude-consistent messages (confirmation bias) and the consequences for democracy; yet, empirical evidence is predominantly based on U.S. data and may not apply to other cultural contexts. The current three-session online experimental study unobtrusively observed Japanese participants’ (N = 200) selective exposure to political news articles right before the 2017 Japanese snap general elec…
Is That My Friend or an Advert? The Effectiveness of Instagram Native Advertisements Posing as Social Posts
Advertisers have turned attention to the popular photograph-based social network Instagram. One technique for reaching consumers has been advertisements resembling posts one's friends might make. These native advertisements use Instagram's conventions and may be unrecognized as sponsored messages at first glance, when browsing one's Instagram. A within-subjects experiment (N = 482) tested these native ads against both user-generated posts and tra…
It All Begins With a Name
After winning the US presidency, Joe Biden fulfilled a promise and put forward the name of Ketanji Brown Jackson as a nominee to the highest court in the nation on 25 February 2022. The purpose of this study is to explore media coverage of the historic confirmation process for the first Black woman to sit on the Supreme Court. In recent years, US politics have expanded to include more Black women, who have been making historic firsts. We argue th…
Plurality in the Measurement of Social Media Use and Mental Health
On a daily basis, individuals between 12 and 25 years of age engage with their mobile devices for many hours. Social Media Use (SMU) has important implications for the social life of younger individuals in particular. However, measuring SMU and its effects often poses challenges to researchers. In this exploratory study, we focus on some of these challenges, by addressing how plurality in the measurement and age-specific characteristics of SMU ca…
Who’s afraid of spoilers? Need for cognition, need for affect, and narrative selection and enjoyment
Science Exemplars in the Eye of the Beholder
Drawing on exemplification theory and confirmation bias, this study examined exposure to online science information and subsequent attitude impacts. Participants freely browsed online messages manipulated to feature (a) either exemplar or numeric information and (b) opposing viewpoints, resulting in a 2 (exemplar vs. numeric) × 2 (supporting vs. opposing technology) within-subjects design. Online search findings pertained to four different topics…
To Your Health
Reaching target audiences is of crucial importance for the success of health communication campaigns, but individuals may avoid health messages if they challenge their beliefs or behaviors. A lab study (N=419) examined effects of messages' consistency with participants' behavior and source credibility on selective exposure for 4 health lifestyle topics. Drawing on self-regulation theory and dissonance theory, 3 motivations were examined: self-bol…
Selective Exposure for Better or Worse
The role of selective exposure in the relationship between online news use and political participation is examined. American adults (N = 205) completed a 2-session online study that measured political interest and online news use, unobtrusively observed selective exposure, and finally measured political participation likelihood. Online news use and selective exposure to attitude-consistent information were modeled as sequential mediators between …
Temporarily Expanding the Boundaries of the Self
A wide variety of motivations for engaging with narratives have been proposed and studied. We propose that underlying these motivations is another, more fundamental motivation. Our premise is that maintenance, defense, and regulation of the personal and social self in daily life are demanding both emotionally and cognitively. Moreover, any individual self is constrained by capability, situation, and social role. Stories and identification with st…
Confirmation Bias in Online Searches
Impacts of Internet use on political information seeking and subsequent processes have been subject to much debate. A 2-session online field study presented online search results on political topics to examine selective exposure and its attitudinal impacts. Session 1 captured attitudes, including their accessibility. Session 2 tracked what online search results participants selected and how long they read them; participants then reported attitude…
Implications of Pro- and Counterattitudinal Information Exposure for Affective Polarization
The American electorate is characterized by political polarization, and especially by increasingly negative affective responses toward opposing party members. To what extent might this be attributed to exposure to information reinforcing individuals' partisan identity versus information representing the views of partisan opponents? And is this a uniquely American phenomenon? This study uses survey data collected immediately following recent natio…
Political Online Information Searching in Germany and the United States
Before the 2013 German federal election, 121 participants completed a 2-session online study (which paralleled a U.S. study before the 2012 presidential election). They browsed online search results pertaining to 4 political issues while selective exposure was unobtrusively measured. In a 4 × 2 × 2 (topic × issue stance × source credibility) within-subjects design, the search results indicated either issue support or opposition, associated with l…
Who’s afraid of spoilers? Need for cognition, need for affect, and narrative selection and enjoyment
Science Exemplars in the Eye of the Beholder
Drawing on exemplification theory and confirmation bias, this study examined exposure to online science information and subsequent attitude impacts. Participants freely browsed online messages manipulated to feature (a) either exemplar or numeric information and (b) opposing viewpoints, resulting in a 2 (exemplar vs. numeric) × 2 (supporting vs. opposing technology) within-subjects design. Online search findings pertained to four different topics…
Entertainment and Expanding Boundaries of the Self
The temporarily expanding boundaries of the self (TEBOTS) model identifies challenges faced by the self as a fundamental impetus for engagement with mediated narratives. To test how everyday pressures on the self influence enjoyment, appreciation, and immersion into narrative worlds, this study used self-affirmation to alleviate the everyday demands of self-concept maintenance, in an experimental design. When self-affirmed, people experienced les…
Motives for Online Friending and Following
Motives for 'friending,' following, or connecting with others on social network sites are often positive, but darker motives may also play an important role. A survey with a novel Following Motives Scale (FMS) demonstrates accordingly that positive, sociable motives (i.e., others providing a valued source for humor and information, others sharing a common background, as well as relationship maintenance) and inspirational motives (i.e., others pro…
Confirmation biases in selective exposure to political online information
The present work examines the role of source vs. content cues for the confirmation bias, in which recipients spend more time with content aligning with preexisting attitudes. In addition to testing how both source and content cues facilitate this biased pattern of selective exposure, the study measures subsequent attitude polarization. An experiment (N = 120) presented messages with opposing political stances, associated with unbiased or slanted …
When Misery Avoids Company
Social networking site usage may affect subjective well-being. Two experiments examined how selective exposure to profiles of other users facilitated mood management via self-enhancing social comparisons. In Study 1, when given detailed impression management cues, such as photographs and status updates, users in a negative mood sought upward rather than downward social comparisons. Study 2 found that relatively low levels of group identification …
Is That My Friend or an Advert? The Effectiveness of Instagram Native Advertisements Posing as Social Posts
Advertisers have turned attention to the popular photograph-based social network Instagram. One technique for reaching consumers has been advertisements resembling posts one's friends might make. These native advertisements use Instagram's conventions and may be unrecognized as sponsored messages at first glance, when browsing one's Instagram. A within-subjects experiment (N = 482) tested these native ads against both user-generated posts and tra…
Context Impacts on Confirmation Bias
Much concern exists about individuals’ tendency to favor attitude-consistent messages (confirmation bias) and the consequences for democracy; yet, empirical evidence is predominantly based on U.S. data and may not apply to other cultural contexts. The current three-session online experimental study unobtrusively observed Japanese participants’ (N = 200) selective exposure to political news articles right before the 2017 Japanese snap general elec…
Media for Coping During Covid-19 Social Distancing
In spring 2020, COVID-19 and the ensuing social distancing and stay-at-home orders instigated abrupt changes to employment and educational infrastructure, leading to uncertainty, concern, and stress among United States college students. The media consumption patterns of this and other social groups across the globe were affected, with early evidence suggesting viewers were seeking both pandemic-themed media and reassuring, familiar content. A gen…
Issues, involvement, and influence
Online products and consumers
Self-control and need satisfaction in primetime
The relationship between self-control and media use is complicated. Loss of self-control capacity has been linked to generally higher levels of media use, which might represent self-regulatory failure, but could also be attempts at replenishing self-control. Indeed, self-determination theory proposes that satisfying intrinsic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness), for example via media use, aids the recovery of self-control.…
Overcoming challenges and leveraging opportunities
It is our great pleasure and honor to begin this year as the new co-editors of Media Psychology. For the four of us, Media Psychology has been an intellectual home throughout our academic lives—a c
Impartial endorsements
An Explication of Identity Shift Theory
First articulated in 2008, the concept of identity shift refers to the process of self-transformation that is the result of intentional self-presentation in a mediated context. As research into identity shift has become increasingly prevalent, our understanding of the concept’s mechanisms and constraints has become more detailed and in depth. We now have a greater understanding of the process and limitations of identity shift: an understanding su…
Plurality in the Measurement of Social Media Use and Mental Health
On a daily basis, individuals between 12 and 25 years of age engage with their mobile devices for many hours. Social Media Use (SMU) has important implications for the social life of younger individuals in particular. However, measuring SMU and its effects often poses challenges to researchers. In this exploratory study, we focus on some of these challenges, by addressing how plurality in the measurement and age-specific characteristics of SMU ca…
Social comparison and envy on social media
Seeking Spoilage
Two experiments examined whether perceived content challenge, self-control, and trait variables predicted participants’ choice of a spoiled/unspoiled movie review. Study 1 found that perceived content challenge influenced spoiler selection as a function of need for cognition. Self-control had no effect. In Study 2, participants chose spoilers when content was perceived to be cognitively challenging but not affectively challenging. Need for affect…
Are they being authentic? The effects of self-disclosure and message sidedness on sponsored post effectiveness
The importance of social media for advertising and marketing has brought growing interest and investment into sponsored influencers. However, much is unknown about the effectiveness of influencers, including the mechanisms by which these online personalities build and maintain authentic image. This study examines two important elements, influencers’ self-disclosures (present vs. not present) and message sidedness (one-sided vs. two-sided), to exp…
Psychology (27 obras) · Social Psychology (21 obras) · Media Influence and Health (17 obras) · Computer Science (12 obras) · Political science (12 obras) · Social Media and Politics (10 obras) · Social Psychology (9 obras) · Impact of Technology on Adolescents (8 obras) · Social media (7 obras) · Advertising (6 obras)