Erin K Maloney
Biographic Data
| ID | 178834 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Erin K Maloney |
| GIVEN NAMES | Erin K |
| FAMILY NAME | Maloney |
| SIGNATURE | MALONEY E K |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Delaware |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7905-1905 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 22 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 42 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 22 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2009 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Alzheimer’s and Dementia Research Coverage in News Media Outlets Consumed by Population Groups that Are Underrepresented on Alzheimer’s and Dementia-Focused Research Registries
A lack of diversity in Alzheimer’s (AD) and dementia research is an important barrier to identifying strategies for prevention and treatment. Research suggests media coverage of AD/dementia research will familiarize people with the issue and motivate them to place more importance in the issue in general. This study explores how news media may inform groups that are under-represented in AD/dementia through coverage of the issue. A national survey …
Spillover Effects of Covid-19 News Coverage on Willingness to Participate in Medical Research in a Diverse Sample of US Older Adults
COVID-19 has dominated news coverage since the beginning of the pandemic. The extent to which exposure to such news affected perceptions of medical research and other health issues is not clear, especially among older adults who are more susceptible to infection and experience more COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality. This study uses a two-wave national panel of U.S. adults ages 50 years and older ( n = 1,240) to examine the mechanism throug…
Theory-Based Message Design for Recruitment of Underrepresented Racial/Ethnic Groups Into Alzheimer’s-Focused Research Registries
Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-focused recruitment research registries can help identify eligible participants for AD studies, but registry participation is limited among racial and ethnic groups most at risk for AD. Using the Reasoned Action Approach (RAA), this study is part of a larger project to design theory-based persuasive recruitment messages that would encourage registry enrollment among underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. National surv…
Covid-19 Misperceptions and Masking Compliance
Misperceptions strongly influence the extent to which individuals comply with preventative measures. Social support from others, particularly given widespread mistrust in news media among those holding misperceptions, plays an important role in shaping compliance with preventative measures. The impact of social support, however, is not straightforward and not all support results in greater compliance. The goal of this study is to examine the role…
The role of character age and content type in US adolescents’ involvement with television characters engaging in drinking and sex-related behaviors
This study uses an online experiment among 15–17-year-old participants (n = 566) to test whether adolescents’ involvement with television characters (i.e. wishful identification, parasocial interaction, perceived age similarity, attraction) varied based on character age (teen or adult), and whether involvement moderated the relationship between exposure to onscreen risk behaviors (drinking and combining drinking and sex) and intention to engage i…
Reducing Unhealthy Normative Behavior
American adolescents consume more sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) than any other age group. Sports and energy drinks consumption among adolescents is higher than other SSBs. For sports drinks, there is uncertainty about their “healthiness” and also beliefs that these drinks may provide health benefits such as hydration, enhanced athletic performance, heightened mental alertness, and rapid recovery after exercise. Confusion about relative healthi…
Television News Media Consumption and Misperceptions about Covid-19 among US Populations at High Risk for Severe Health Outcomes Early in the Pandemic
Research indicates that misperceptions that become part of people’s initial mental models about an issue tend to persist and influence their attitudes even after the misperception has been corrected. Recent work on evolving mental models suggests that communication efforts about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath may be improved by crafting messages that acknowledge biases and misunderstandings about the virus and other infectious di…
Athletes Drink Gatorade
Understanding why sports and energy drinks remain increasingly popular among adolescents despite declines in other sugar sweetened beverages is critical. This study points to memory for advertising exposure and adolescent athletic identity as two aspects that together help to explain consumption. An online survey of U.S. adolescents aged 14–18 (n = 503) was combined with Nielsen data for television and social media advertising expenditures by spo…
Urban youth perceptions of sports and energy drinks
Objective: This study aimed to examine urban adolescents' beliefs about sports and energy drinks to identify factors for health messaging to discourage youth consumption. Design: Focus group study involving thirty-four adolescents in urban areas (12 female, 12 male, and 10 unreported sex; 19 Hispanic, 11 Non-Hispanic Black, 2 Asian, and 1 unknown race or ethnicity). Setting: Four focus groups were conducted with adolescents in urban areas. Method…
I feel it in my gut
This project examines the intersection of political constructs and epistemic motivations as they relate to belief in misinformation. How we value the origins of knowledge - through feelings and intuition or evidence and data - has important implications for our susceptibility to misinformation. This project explores how these epistemic motivations correlate with political ideology, party identification, and favorability towards President Trump, a…
Attitudinal Spillover from Misleading Natural Cigarette Marketing
This research examined the influence of natural cigarette advertising on tobacco control policy support, and the potential for misbeliefs arising from exposure to cigarette marketing to affect such support. Ample research indicates that natural cigarettes such as Natural American Spirit (NAS) are widely and erroneously perceived as safer than their traditional counterparts because of their marketed "natural" composition. Yet regulatory action reg…
Regulating language, not inference
The 2017 agreement helps dispel some misconceptions about NAS addictiveness, but does not sufficiently rectify misinformation about health or composition. Since 'stricter' language more effectively corrects misinformed beliefs, our results suggest the need for further regulations in addressing misinformation that drives intentions towards NAS
When Visual Cues Activate Moral Foundations
Within multimodal persuasive messages, the roles of visual cues in producing unintended effects have been understudied. In an experiment on a sample of former and current smokers (N = 991), we manipulated the presence of visual vaping cues within electronic cigarette video advertisements (N = 25) to evaluate opinions towards vape-free policies. Such cues diminished the effects of pro-vaping arguments to increase support for vape-free policies, in…
Communicating Emergency Preparedness
This fully revised edition of Communicating Emergency Preparedness: Practical Strategies for the Public and Private Sectors includes timely case studies, events, and references to articles and opinions about the direction of emergency preparedness communication. The authors draw upon their professional endeavors to inject a new sense of practicality to the text. New images displaying emergency preparedness campaigns are used to further illustrate…
Influence of Natural American Spirit advertising on current and former smokers’ perceptions and intentions
The findings of this study provide causal support for the need for further regulatory action to address the potentially harmful ramifications of claims used in NAS advertising
A Diffusion of Innovations Approach to Understand Stakeholder Perceptions of Renewable Energy Initiatives
This study uses diffusion of innovations (DOI) as a framework for formative research to understand different stakeholders’ perceptions of renewable energy initiatives (i.e., wind, solar, and biomass). Focus groups ( N =12) were conducted with several different stakeholders in Michigan: farmers ( n = 17), rural residents ( n = 20), urban residents ( n = 30), citizen activists/environmentalists ( n = 13), and individuals who live in tourist-based e…
Talking About Familial Breast Cancer Risk
A hereditary cancer predisposition can rattle families, creating dysfunctional interactions. Families need assistance navigating conversations about risk. Because mothers and daughters uniquely share breast cancer experiences and risk, there is a particular need for practitioners to assist them with communication. Three focus groups were conducted with 11 mothers with an elevated cancer risk (with adolescent daughters) receiving genetic counselin…
Testing the Effects of Social Norms and Behavioral Privacy on Hand Washing
Journal Article Testing the Effects of Social Norms and Behavioral Privacy on Hand Washing: a Field Experiment Get access Maria Knight Lapinski, Maria Knight Lapinski 1Department of Communication, Michigan Ag-Bio Research, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA 1Corresponding author: Maria Lapinski; Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Erin K. Maloney, Erin K. Maloney 2The Annenberg School of Co…
Fear Appeals and Persuasion
The Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM; Communication Monographs , 59, 1992, 329) is a predominant message design theory in the social science fear appeal literature that provides a framework for effective communication of health‐related information. This paper provides a review and update of the theory and the use of fear appeals in persuasion. First, a brief overview of the EPPM is provided. Then, Littlejohn and Foss ( Theories of Human Comm…
The Down Low, Social Stigma, and Risky Sexual Behaviors
The "down low" is purported to contribute to social stigma associated with being homosexual and may influence risk behaviors. This article examines communication patterns among stigmatized groups and reports the findings from 32 structured interviews and five focus groups with African-American men who have sex with men. Results indicate negative emotions associated with labels based on sexual practices, the influential role of organized religion …
Communicating Emergency Preparedness
Recent events worldwide have made disaster preparedness and disaster communication to the public a crucial concern. September 11th, the Indian Ocean tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, and other mega-disasters have highlighted not only a woeful lack of community awareness of vulnerability but also the absence of a clear protocol for what to do as events unfold. The first book dedicated solely to the topic of pre-disaster communication, Communicating Emer…
Communicating Emergency Preparedness
Recent events worldwide have made disaster preparedness and disaster communication to the public a crucial concern. September 11th, the Indian Ocean tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, and other mega-disasters have highlighted not only a woeful lack of community awareness of vulnerability but also the absence of a clear protocol for what to do as events unfold. The first book dedicated solely to the topic of pre-disaster communication, Communicating Emer…
The Down Low, Social Stigma, and Risky Sexual Behaviors
The "down low" is purported to contribute to social stigma associated with being homosexual and may influence risk behaviors. This article examines communication patterns among stigmatized groups and reports the findings from 32 structured interviews and five focus groups with African-American men who have sex with men. Results indicate negative emotions associated with labels based on sexual practices, the influential role of organized religion …
Testing the Effects of Social Norms and Behavioral Privacy on Hand Washing
Journal Article Testing the Effects of Social Norms and Behavioral Privacy on Hand Washing: a Field Experiment Get access Maria Knight Lapinski, Maria Knight Lapinski 1Department of Communication, Michigan Ag-Bio Research, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA 1Corresponding author: Maria Lapinski; Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Erin K. Maloney, Erin K. Maloney 2The Annenberg School of Co…
A Diffusion of Innovations Approach to Understand Stakeholder Perceptions of Renewable Energy Initiatives
This study uses diffusion of innovations (DOI) as a framework for formative research to understand different stakeholders’ perceptions of renewable energy initiatives (i.e., wind, solar, and biomass). Focus groups ( N =12) were conducted with several different stakeholders in Michigan: farmers ( n = 17), rural residents ( n = 20), urban residents ( n = 30), citizen activists/environmentalists ( n = 13), and individuals who live in tourist-based e…
Talking About Familial Breast Cancer Risk
A hereditary cancer predisposition can rattle families, creating dysfunctional interactions. Families need assistance navigating conversations about risk. Because mothers and daughters uniquely share breast cancer experiences and risk, there is a particular need for practitioners to assist them with communication. Three focus groups were conducted with 11 mothers with an elevated cancer risk (with adolescent daughters) receiving genetic counselin…
I feel it in my gut
This project examines the intersection of political constructs and epistemic motivations as they relate to belief in misinformation. How we value the origins of knowledge - through feelings and intuition or evidence and data - has important implications for our susceptibility to misinformation. This project explores how these epistemic motivations correlate with political ideology, party identification, and favorability towards President Trump, a…
When Visual Cues Activate Moral Foundations
Within multimodal persuasive messages, the roles of visual cues in producing unintended effects have been understudied. In an experiment on a sample of former and current smokers (N = 991), we manipulated the presence of visual vaping cues within electronic cigarette video advertisements (N = 25) to evaluate opinions towards vape-free policies. Such cues diminished the effects of pro-vaping arguments to increase support for vape-free policies, in…
Communicating Emergency Preparedness
Recent events worldwide have made disaster preparedness and disaster communication to the public a crucial concern. September 11th, the Indian Ocean tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, and other mega-disasters have highlighted not only a woeful lack of community awareness of vulnerability but also the absence of a clear protocol for what to do as events unfold. The first book dedicated solely to the topic of pre-disaster communication, Communicating Emer…
Communicating Emergency Preparedness
Recent events worldwide have made disaster preparedness and disaster communication to the public a crucial concern. September 11th, the Indian Ocean tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, and other mega-disasters have highlighted not only a woeful lack of community awareness of vulnerability but also the absence of a clear protocol for what to do as events unfold. The first book dedicated solely to the topic of pre-disaster communication, Communicating Emer…
The Down Low, Social Stigma, and Risky Sexual Behaviors
The "down low" is purported to contribute to social stigma associated with being homosexual and may influence risk behaviors. This article examines communication patterns among stigmatized groups and reports the findings from 32 structured interviews and five focus groups with African-American men who have sex with men. Results indicate negative emotions associated with labels based on sexual practices, the influential role of organized religion …
Fear Appeals and Persuasion
The Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM; Communication Monographs , 59, 1992, 329) is a predominant message design theory in the social science fear appeal literature that provides a framework for effective communication of health‐related information. This paper provides a review and update of the theory and the use of fear appeals in persuasion. First, a brief overview of the EPPM is provided. Then, Littlejohn and Foss ( Theories of Human Comm…
Testing the Effects of Social Norms and Behavioral Privacy on Hand Washing
Journal Article Testing the Effects of Social Norms and Behavioral Privacy on Hand Washing: a Field Experiment Get access Maria Knight Lapinski, Maria Knight Lapinski 1Department of Communication, Michigan Ag-Bio Research, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA 1Corresponding author: Maria Lapinski; Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Erin K. Maloney, Erin K. Maloney 2The Annenberg School of Co…
A Diffusion of Innovations Approach to Understand Stakeholder Perceptions of Renewable Energy Initiatives
This study uses diffusion of innovations (DOI) as a framework for formative research to understand different stakeholders’ perceptions of renewable energy initiatives (i.e., wind, solar, and biomass). Focus groups ( N =12) were conducted with several different stakeholders in Michigan: farmers ( n = 17), rural residents ( n = 20), urban residents ( n = 30), citizen activists/environmentalists ( n = 13), and individuals who live in tourist-based e…
Talking About Familial Breast Cancer Risk
A hereditary cancer predisposition can rattle families, creating dysfunctional interactions. Families need assistance navigating conversations about risk. Because mothers and daughters uniquely share breast cancer experiences and risk, there is a particular need for practitioners to assist them with communication. Three focus groups were conducted with 11 mothers with an elevated cancer risk (with adolescent daughters) receiving genetic counselin…
Communicating Emergency Preparedness
This fully revised edition of Communicating Emergency Preparedness: Practical Strategies for the Public and Private Sectors includes timely case studies, events, and references to articles and opinions about the direction of emergency preparedness communication. The authors draw upon their professional endeavors to inject a new sense of practicality to the text. New images displaying emergency preparedness campaigns are used to further illustrate…
Influence of Natural American Spirit advertising on current and former smokers’ perceptions and intentions
The findings of this study provide causal support for the need for further regulatory action to address the potentially harmful ramifications of claims used in NAS advertising
When Visual Cues Activate Moral Foundations
Within multimodal persuasive messages, the roles of visual cues in producing unintended effects have been understudied. In an experiment on a sample of former and current smokers (N = 991), we manipulated the presence of visual vaping cues within electronic cigarette video advertisements (N = 25) to evaluate opinions towards vape-free policies. Such cues diminished the effects of pro-vaping arguments to increase support for vape-free policies, in…
Attitudinal Spillover from Misleading Natural Cigarette Marketing
This research examined the influence of natural cigarette advertising on tobacco control policy support, and the potential for misbeliefs arising from exposure to cigarette marketing to affect such support. Ample research indicates that natural cigarettes such as Natural American Spirit (NAS) are widely and erroneously perceived as safer than their traditional counterparts because of their marketed "natural" composition. Yet regulatory action reg…
Regulating language, not inference
The 2017 agreement helps dispel some misconceptions about NAS addictiveness, but does not sufficiently rectify misinformation about health or composition. Since 'stricter' language more effectively corrects misinformed beliefs, our results suggest the need for further regulations in addressing misinformation that drives intentions towards NAS
I feel it in my gut
This project examines the intersection of political constructs and epistemic motivations as they relate to belief in misinformation. How we value the origins of knowledge - through feelings and intuition or evidence and data - has important implications for our susceptibility to misinformation. This project explores how these epistemic motivations correlate with political ideology, party identification, and favorability towards President Trump, a…
Reducing Unhealthy Normative Behavior
American adolescents consume more sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) than any other age group. Sports and energy drinks consumption among adolescents is higher than other SSBs. For sports drinks, there is uncertainty about their “healthiness” and also beliefs that these drinks may provide health benefits such as hydration, enhanced athletic performance, heightened mental alertness, and rapid recovery after exercise. Confusion about relative healthi…
Television News Media Consumption and Misperceptions about Covid-19 among US Populations at High Risk for Severe Health Outcomes Early in the Pandemic
Research indicates that misperceptions that become part of people’s initial mental models about an issue tend to persist and influence their attitudes even after the misperception has been corrected. Recent work on evolving mental models suggests that communication efforts about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath may be improved by crafting messages that acknowledge biases and misunderstandings about the virus and other infectious di…
Athletes Drink Gatorade
Understanding why sports and energy drinks remain increasingly popular among adolescents despite declines in other sugar sweetened beverages is critical. This study points to memory for advertising exposure and adolescent athletic identity as two aspects that together help to explain consumption. An online survey of U.S. adolescents aged 14–18 (n = 503) was combined with Nielsen data for television and social media advertising expenditures by spo…
Urban youth perceptions of sports and energy drinks
Objective: This study aimed to examine urban adolescents' beliefs about sports and energy drinks to identify factors for health messaging to discourage youth consumption. Design: Focus group study involving thirty-four adolescents in urban areas (12 female, 12 male, and 10 unreported sex; 19 Hispanic, 11 Non-Hispanic Black, 2 Asian, and 1 unknown race or ethnicity). Setting: Four focus groups were conducted with adolescents in urban areas. Method…
Theory-Based Message Design for Recruitment of Underrepresented Racial/Ethnic Groups Into Alzheimer’s-Focused Research Registries
Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-focused recruitment research registries can help identify eligible participants for AD studies, but registry participation is limited among racial and ethnic groups most at risk for AD. Using the Reasoned Action Approach (RAA), this study is part of a larger project to design theory-based persuasive recruitment messages that would encourage registry enrollment among underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. National surv…
Covid-19 Misperceptions and Masking Compliance
Misperceptions strongly influence the extent to which individuals comply with preventative measures. Social support from others, particularly given widespread mistrust in news media among those holding misperceptions, plays an important role in shaping compliance with preventative measures. The impact of social support, however, is not straightforward and not all support results in greater compliance. The goal of this study is to examine the role…
The role of character age and content type in US adolescents’ involvement with television characters engaging in drinking and sex-related behaviors
This study uses an online experiment among 15–17-year-old participants (n = 566) to test whether adolescents’ involvement with television characters (i.e. wishful identification, parasocial interaction, perceived age similarity, attraction) varied based on character age (teen or adult), and whether involvement moderated the relationship between exposure to onscreen risk behaviors (drinking and combining drinking and sex) and intention to engage i…
Alzheimer’s and Dementia Research Coverage in News Media Outlets Consumed by Population Groups that Are Underrepresented on Alzheimer’s and Dementia-Focused Research Registries
A lack of diversity in Alzheimer’s (AD) and dementia research is an important barrier to identifying strategies for prevention and treatment. Research suggests media coverage of AD/dementia research will familiarize people with the issue and motivate them to place more importance in the issue in general. This study explores how news media may inform groups that are under-represented in AD/dementia through coverage of the issue. A national survey …
Spillover Effects of Covid-19 News Coverage on Willingness to Participate in Medical Research in a Diverse Sample of US Older Adults
COVID-19 has dominated news coverage since the beginning of the pandemic. The extent to which exposure to such news affected perceptions of medical research and other health issues is not clear, especially among older adults who are more susceptible to infection and experience more COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality. This study uses a two-wave national panel of U.S. adults ages 50 years and older ( n = 1,240) to examine the mechanism throug…
Psychology (18 works) · Medicine (17 works) · Social Psychology (12 works) · Political science (10 works) · Behavioral Health and Interventions (9 works) · Advertising (7 works) · Business (7 works) · Sociology (7 works) · Climate Change Communication and Perception (5 works) · Computer Science (5 works)