Priska Breves
Biographic Data
| ID | 915233 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Priska Breves |
| GIVEN NAMES | Priska |
| FAMILY NAME | Breves |
| SIGNATURE | BREVES P |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Amsterdam |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-4074-8027 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 21 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 9 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 21 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2018 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
The impact of spatiotemporal and sociocultural Heimat associations in entertaining television programs on social identity, positive affect, and intergroup relations
Heimat is a German term that is often translated as home, homeland, or native region. Media offerings that present Heimat-related content relating to regional and familiar aspects of people’s lives can activate individuals’ social identity, which might influence their positive affect and self-concept. This is the first study to examine how spatiotemporal (e.g., the childhood family environment) and sociocultural (e.g., folklore or a native dialec…
Making and Breaking Parasocial Relationships with Human and Virtual Influencers
Parasocial relationships – one-sided emotional bonds with media characters – have been studied extensively, but little is known about how they develop over time. This gap is particularly relevant as virtual influencers, media entities created with AI technologies, become increasingly popular, yet are assumed to be more difficult to bond with. This study investigates whether parasocial relationship intensity and stage progression differ between hu…
Happier and Healthier? Investigating the Longitudinal Impact of Body-Positive and Fitspirational Influencers on Weight Satisfaction, Healthy Eating, and Physical Activity
Social media influencers frequently share body-related ideals, such as body positivity or fitspiration, with their followers. While their influence is well-recognized, little is known about how their content affects weight satisfaction and health-related behaviors, such as healthy eating and exercise, over time. This study addresses these questions through a 22-day longitudinal experiment, exposing participants to Instagram content from body-posi…
Beyond likes
While existing studies emphasize the crucial role of amicable parasocial relationships in influencing the audience, research on the persuasive potential of romantic parasocial relationships with influencers remains limited. These relationships, characterized by a blend of physical and emotional love, are believed to be particularly intense. Therefore, we aim to investigate the persuasive impact of romantic potential with influencers, which may le…
The impact of body-positive and fitspirational influencers on body satisfaction
Body-focused influencers are ubiquitous on social media, promoting diverse messages around physical appearances, fitness, and self-acceptance. This longitudinal study investigates how repeated exposure to body-positive, fitspirational, and nonbody-focused influencers shapes users’ parasocial relationship development, wishful identification, appearance-based social comparison, and body satisfaction over a 3-week period. Using a mobile-based experi…
Be positive? The interplay of Instagram influencers’ body type and favorable user comments on young women’s perceptions, affective well-being, and exercise intentions
Just as traditional media such as television or magazines, social networking sites are filled with thin-ideal appearances—fostering unattainable beauty standards and detrimental social comparisons among users. In recent years, the so-called body positivity movement has strived to counteract these effects and to promote the beauty of many different body shapes. While initial research connects body-positive content to very promising results, much l…
Climate change distress and impairment in Germany
Introduction: Climate change has been widely recognized as one of the most challenging problems facing humanity and it imposes serious mental health threats. It is important, however, to differentiate between the affective experience of distress over climate change and the functional impairments associated with climate change. Such a distinction is crucial because not all negative affective states are pathological, and they might even motivate pr…
Followers’ Cognitive Elaboration of Sponsored Influencer Content
Social media influencers have emerged as effective brand endorsers, yet a gap remains in understanding their followers’ cognitive engagement with sponsored posts. To address this issue, we conducted a study guided by parasocial theories and the elaboration likelihood model (ELM). Follower status (follower/non-follower) and persuasive argument quality (weak/strong) were manipulated among study participants (N = 163) to discern the prevailing proce…
Persuasive communication and spatial presence
Immersive media forms that can elicit high levels of spatial presence have become popular tools for persuasive communicators. While the research community agrees that immersive persuasive messages should be especially effective, there is less consensus concerning the underlying psychological mechanism. Consequently, it seems necessary to systematize and consolidate the research field. This systematic literature review therefore analyzes 108 empir…
The Impact of Familiarity with a Communicator on the Persuasive Effectiveness of Pandemic-Related Fear Appeals Explained Through Parasocial Relationships
Parasocial relationships can improve the effectiveness of persuasive messages such as advertising. However, little is known about the role of parasocial relationships in the processing of fear appeals—a communication strategy that, despite its popularity, often evokes unwanted responses such as reactance. Perceived self-efficacy is one key variable that determines whether a fear appeal improves attitudes/behavior or has unwanted boomerang effects…
Feels like Coming Home
Television programs with an emphasis on regional and familiar aspects related to individuals' cultural social identity can evoke Heimat associations and convey a sense of Heimat. Following a preliminary study (N = 100) to develop an instrument to measure the sense of Heimat, a first experiment (N = 169) found significant effects of Heimat associations in a television program on television viewers' Heimatrelated social identity and, in turn, their…
Greenfluencing. The Impact of Parasocial Relationships with Social Media Influencers on Advertising Effectiveness and Followers’ Pro-environmental Intentions
Due to the practice of greenwashing, consumers’ trust in green advertising has been reduced. Consequently, when confronted with green advertising appeals, individuals often infer ulterior motives, do not purchase sustainable products and are less inclined to behave pro-environmentally. Based on their success in regular advertising campaigns, social media influencers (SMIs) have been recommended as endorsers for green products to increase advertis…
The influence of different levels of musical fit on the efficiency of audio-visual advertising
Music acts as a prominent element of advertising, but its simple presence does not automatically improve the effects of advertising. The concept of musical fit was developed more than 25 years ago to address the question of how music can be used effectively in advertising. However, existing empirical research on this concept has yielded inconsistent results. Recently, we developed an instrument to determine musical fit systematically in audio-vis…
Parasocial interactions with real and virtual influencers
Digitally created online celebrities (so-called virtual influencers) have appeared on various social media and video streaming platforms. While the scientific community has recently started to take an interest in this new phenomenon, it still remains mostly unclear how online audiences engage with—and relate to—these artificial digital creations. To address the identified research gap, we conducted a preregistered experiment ( N = 179), comparing…
Biased by being there
Bridging psychological distance
The growing psychological distance from environmental issues is often used to explain the lack of pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors in today's society. According to construal level theory, individuals might perceive distant issues as more abstract and personally non-relevant, compared with issues they experience directly. Consequently, this experimental study (N = 112) analyzes whether immersive media, such as omnidirectional 360° videos,…
Blind trust? The importance and interplay of parasocial relationships and advertising disclosures in explaining influencers’ persuasive effects on their followers
With the rise of social media, social media influencers (SMIs) have steadily gained importance as brand endorsers by establishing strong parasocial relationships (PSRs) with their followers. These PSRs, however, have been neglected in previous experimental studies on SMIs because they used non-followers as their study participants. This paper, therefore, analyzes the impact of SMIs on their respective followers and reports the results of two expe…
Reducing Resistance
Although social media influencers have become popular brand endorsers, previous research on this new form of advertising has neglected to analyze how the followers of these influencers are persuaded. Based on a key mechanism proposed by the entertainment overcoming resistance model, long-term parasocial relationships (PSRs) should reduce the amount of persuasive resistance in the forms of reactance and counterarguing. Consequently, the persuasive…
Into the Wild
Pro-environmental attitudes and behavior are declining as people become increasingly disconnected from nature. The growing disconnection from nature is thought to be due to cultural shifts, such as the increasing use of electronic media. However, mediated nature contact through new forms of media may also strengthen feelings of environmental connectedness. Therefore, this experimental study (N = 56) investigated whether viewing immersive 360° nat…
The Perceived Fit between Instagram Influencers and the Endorsed Brand
Two online studies analyzed the impact of the fit between Instagram influencers and the endorsed brand. The first study used an experimental design and focused on internal validity, whereas the second study employed a survey, presenting results high in external validity. Both studies analyzed the consequences for the influencer concerning his/her perceived trustworthiness and expertise, as well as the impact on brand evaluations and behavioral in…
Development and testing of an instrument to determine Musical Fit in audio–visual advertising
Over the past three decades, several studies have explored the concept of Musical Fit in audio–visual advertising. However, a central problem is the inconsistency of the results derived from these studies. The current level of knowledge does not make it possible to safely predict whether and how Musical Fit influences recipients’ attention, brand and product recall, and positive attitudes toward commercials, including purchase intentions. One ori…
Parasocial interactions with real and virtual influencers
Digitally created online celebrities (so-called virtual influencers) have appeared on various social media and video streaming platforms. While the scientific community has recently started to take an interest in this new phenomenon, it still remains mostly unclear how online audiences engage with—and relate to—these artificial digital creations. To address the identified research gap, we conducted a preregistered experiment ( N = 179), comparing…
Development and testing of an instrument to determine Musical Fit in audio–visual advertising
Over the past three decades, several studies have explored the concept of Musical Fit in audio–visual advertising. However, a central problem is the inconsistency of the results derived from these studies. The current level of knowledge does not make it possible to safely predict whether and how Musical Fit influences recipients’ attention, brand and product recall, and positive attitudes toward commercials, including purchase intentions. One ori…
The Perceived Fit between Instagram Influencers and the Endorsed Brand
Two online studies analyzed the impact of the fit between Instagram influencers and the endorsed brand. The first study used an experimental design and focused on internal validity, whereas the second study employed a survey, presenting results high in external validity. Both studies analyzed the consequences for the influencer concerning his/her perceived trustworthiness and expertise, as well as the impact on brand evaluations and behavioral in…
Into the Wild
Pro-environmental attitudes and behavior are declining as people become increasingly disconnected from nature. The growing disconnection from nature is thought to be due to cultural shifts, such as the increasing use of electronic media. However, mediated nature contact through new forms of media may also strengthen feelings of environmental connectedness. Therefore, this experimental study (N = 56) investigated whether viewing immersive 360° nat…
Biased by being there
Bridging psychological distance
The growing psychological distance from environmental issues is often used to explain the lack of pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors in today's society. According to construal level theory, individuals might perceive distant issues as more abstract and personally non-relevant, compared with issues they experience directly. Consequently, this experimental study (N = 112) analyzes whether immersive media, such as omnidirectional 360° videos,…
Blind trust? The importance and interplay of parasocial relationships and advertising disclosures in explaining influencers’ persuasive effects on their followers
With the rise of social media, social media influencers (SMIs) have steadily gained importance as brand endorsers by establishing strong parasocial relationships (PSRs) with their followers. These PSRs, however, have been neglected in previous experimental studies on SMIs because they used non-followers as their study participants. This paper, therefore, analyzes the impact of SMIs on their respective followers and reports the results of two expe…
Reducing Resistance
Although social media influencers have become popular brand endorsers, previous research on this new form of advertising has neglected to analyze how the followers of these influencers are persuaded. Based on a key mechanism proposed by the entertainment overcoming resistance model, long-term parasocial relationships (PSRs) should reduce the amount of persuasive resistance in the forms of reactance and counterarguing. Consequently, the persuasive…
Feels like Coming Home
Television programs with an emphasis on regional and familiar aspects related to individuals' cultural social identity can evoke Heimat associations and convey a sense of Heimat. Following a preliminary study (N = 100) to develop an instrument to measure the sense of Heimat, a first experiment (N = 169) found significant effects of Heimat associations in a television program on television viewers' Heimatrelated social identity and, in turn, their…
Greenfluencing. The Impact of Parasocial Relationships with Social Media Influencers on Advertising Effectiveness and Followers’ Pro-environmental Intentions
Due to the practice of greenwashing, consumers’ trust in green advertising has been reduced. Consequently, when confronted with green advertising appeals, individuals often infer ulterior motives, do not purchase sustainable products and are less inclined to behave pro-environmentally. Based on their success in regular advertising campaigns, social media influencers (SMIs) have been recommended as endorsers for green products to increase advertis…
The influence of different levels of musical fit on the efficiency of audio-visual advertising
Music acts as a prominent element of advertising, but its simple presence does not automatically improve the effects of advertising. The concept of musical fit was developed more than 25 years ago to address the question of how music can be used effectively in advertising. However, existing empirical research on this concept has yielded inconsistent results. Recently, we developed an instrument to determine musical fit systematically in audio-vis…
Parasocial interactions with real and virtual influencers
Digitally created online celebrities (so-called virtual influencers) have appeared on various social media and video streaming platforms. While the scientific community has recently started to take an interest in this new phenomenon, it still remains mostly unclear how online audiences engage with—and relate to—these artificial digital creations. To address the identified research gap, we conducted a preregistered experiment ( N = 179), comparing…
Persuasive communication and spatial presence
Immersive media forms that can elicit high levels of spatial presence have become popular tools for persuasive communicators. While the research community agrees that immersive persuasive messages should be especially effective, there is less consensus concerning the underlying psychological mechanism. Consequently, it seems necessary to systematize and consolidate the research field. This systematic literature review therefore analyzes 108 empir…
The Impact of Familiarity with a Communicator on the Persuasive Effectiveness of Pandemic-Related Fear Appeals Explained Through Parasocial Relationships
Parasocial relationships can improve the effectiveness of persuasive messages such as advertising. However, little is known about the role of parasocial relationships in the processing of fear appeals—a communication strategy that, despite its popularity, often evokes unwanted responses such as reactance. Perceived self-efficacy is one key variable that determines whether a fear appeal improves attitudes/behavior or has unwanted boomerang effects…
Be positive? The interplay of Instagram influencers’ body type and favorable user comments on young women’s perceptions, affective well-being, and exercise intentions
Just as traditional media such as television or magazines, social networking sites are filled with thin-ideal appearances—fostering unattainable beauty standards and detrimental social comparisons among users. In recent years, the so-called body positivity movement has strived to counteract these effects and to promote the beauty of many different body shapes. While initial research connects body-positive content to very promising results, much l…
Climate change distress and impairment in Germany
Introduction: Climate change has been widely recognized as one of the most challenging problems facing humanity and it imposes serious mental health threats. It is important, however, to differentiate between the affective experience of distress over climate change and the functional impairments associated with climate change. Such a distinction is crucial because not all negative affective states are pathological, and they might even motivate pr…
Followers’ Cognitive Elaboration of Sponsored Influencer Content
Social media influencers have emerged as effective brand endorsers, yet a gap remains in understanding their followers’ cognitive engagement with sponsored posts. To address this issue, we conducted a study guided by parasocial theories and the elaboration likelihood model (ELM). Follower status (follower/non-follower) and persuasive argument quality (weak/strong) were manipulated among study participants (N = 163) to discern the prevailing proce…
The impact of spatiotemporal and sociocultural Heimat associations in entertaining television programs on social identity, positive affect, and intergroup relations
Heimat is a German term that is often translated as home, homeland, or native region. Media offerings that present Heimat-related content relating to regional and familiar aspects of people’s lives can activate individuals’ social identity, which might influence their positive affect and self-concept. This is the first study to examine how spatiotemporal (e.g., the childhood family environment) and sociocultural (e.g., folklore or a native dialec…
Making and Breaking Parasocial Relationships with Human and Virtual Influencers
Parasocial relationships – one-sided emotional bonds with media characters – have been studied extensively, but little is known about how they develop over time. This gap is particularly relevant as virtual influencers, media entities created with AI technologies, become increasingly popular, yet are assumed to be more difficult to bond with. This study investigates whether parasocial relationship intensity and stage progression differ between hu…
Happier and Healthier? Investigating the Longitudinal Impact of Body-Positive and Fitspirational Influencers on Weight Satisfaction, Healthy Eating, and Physical Activity
Social media influencers frequently share body-related ideals, such as body positivity or fitspiration, with their followers. While their influence is well-recognized, little is known about how their content affects weight satisfaction and health-related behaviors, such as healthy eating and exercise, over time. This study addresses these questions through a 22-day longitudinal experiment, exposing participants to Instagram content from body-posi…
Beyond likes
While existing studies emphasize the crucial role of amicable parasocial relationships in influencing the audience, research on the persuasive potential of romantic parasocial relationships with influencers remains limited. These relationships, characterized by a blend of physical and emotional love, are believed to be particularly intense. Therefore, we aim to investigate the persuasive impact of romantic potential with influencers, which may le…
The impact of body-positive and fitspirational influencers on body satisfaction
Body-focused influencers are ubiquitous on social media, promoting diverse messages around physical appearances, fitness, and self-acceptance. This longitudinal study investigates how repeated exposure to body-positive, fitspirational, and nonbody-focused influencers shapes users’ parasocial relationship development, wishful identification, appearance-based social comparison, and body satisfaction over a 3-week period. Using a mobile-based experi…
Psychology (19 works) · Social Psychology (16 works) · Media Influence and Health (15 works) · Influencer marketing (10 works) · Advertising (9 works) · Business (7 works) · Computer Science (6 works) · Persuasion (6 works) · Cognitive psychology (5 works) · Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification (5 works)