Pub Date : 2026-01-31DOI: 10.1177/00936502251413056
Lei Guo, Yiyan Zhang, Yi Li, Yiqing Xu
Media agenda setting takes time. However, with the evolving media landscape altering how we consume news, many contemporary agenda-setting studies still rely on decade-old guidelines to determine time lags instead of empirically testing them. The literature also reveals inconsistent conceptualizations of “time lag.” To address this, we propose a two-dimensional typology to clarify this concept and conduct a systematic literature review of 1,444 articles published between 1972 and 2024 to trace conceptual and methodological trends of the time lag research, and identify factors influencing time lag length. Results show that, on average, it took 55 days of media exposure (accumulation) for the agenda-setting effect to appear at the aggregated level and 28 days at the individual level, with public response lagging by about 7 days (delay). Additionally, media agenda setting tends to take longer to manifest at higher levels and occur more quickly in collectivist societies compared to individualist ones.
{"title":"Explicating the Time Factor in Media Agenda-Setting Research","authors":"Lei Guo, Yiyan Zhang, Yi Li, Yiqing Xu","doi":"10.1177/00936502251413056","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502251413056","url":null,"abstract":"Media agenda setting takes time. However, with the evolving media landscape altering how we consume news, many contemporary agenda-setting studies still rely on decade-old guidelines to determine time lags instead of empirically testing them. The literature also reveals inconsistent conceptualizations of “time lag.” To address this, we propose a two-dimensional typology to clarify this concept and conduct a systematic literature review of 1,444 articles published between 1972 and 2024 to trace conceptual and methodological trends of the time lag research, and identify factors influencing time lag length. Results show that, on average, it took 55 days of media exposure (accumulation) for the agenda-setting effect to appear at the aggregated level and 28 days at the individual level, with public response lagging by about 7 days (delay). Additionally, media agenda setting tends to take longer to manifest at higher levels and occur more quickly in collectivist societies compared to individualist ones.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":"292 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146098411","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-19DOI: 10.1177/00936502251393580
Yongliang Liu, Mark Boukes, Michael Hameleers, Hanqin Li, Huitao Li, Qing’an Zhou
Research on news media trust and the many related concepts has grown steadily in recent years. Yet, the field currently still lacks a comprehensive understanding of the extent to which the conceptualizations and operationalizations of these constructs are (mis)aligned. To address this gap, we systematically reviewed and content-analyzed 623 empirical publications on news media trust and related concepts from 1951 to 2025. We found a great diversity in operationalizations and conceptualizations of trust-related concepts, which could be partly explained by various contextual and methodological factors, such as the timing, region, and method of the research. By synthesizing previous definitions, we identified three distinct approaches to define these concepts, aiming to integrate the various perspectives on this topic. Our findings suggest that future research should aim for a more coherent operationalization of news media trust variables to ensure consistency and comparability across studies.
{"title":"Conceptualizations and Operationalizations of News Media Trust across Time and Borders: A Systematic Literature Review (1951–2025)","authors":"Yongliang Liu, Mark Boukes, Michael Hameleers, Hanqin Li, Huitao Li, Qing’an Zhou","doi":"10.1177/00936502251393580","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502251393580","url":null,"abstract":"Research on news media trust and the many related concepts has grown steadily in recent years. Yet, the field currently still lacks a comprehensive understanding of the extent to which the conceptualizations and operationalizations of these constructs are (mis)aligned. To address this gap, we systematically reviewed and content-analyzed 623 empirical publications on news media trust and related concepts from 1951 to 2025. We found a great diversity in operationalizations and conceptualizations of trust-related concepts, which could be partly explained by various contextual and methodological factors, such as the timing, region, and method of the research. By synthesizing previous definitions, we identified three distinct approaches to define these concepts, aiming to integrate the various perspectives on this topic. Our findings suggest that future research should aim for a more coherent operationalization of news media trust variables to ensure consistency and comparability across studies.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":"60 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146000577","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-26DOI: 10.1177/00936502251403310
Youllee Kim, Yong-Chan Kim, Xun Zhu
Communication infrastructure theory (CIT) posits that integrated connectedness to a community storytelling network (ICSN), which refers to individuals’ access to community communication resources and opportunities, positively affects civic engagement. We meta-analyzed this relationship with 23 studies ( k = 28, N = 17,792) and found that the overall effect of ICSN on civic engagement was moderate ( r = .38), with slightly different effect sizes for different types of civic engagement, including neighborhood belonging ( r = .42), collective efficacy ( r = .28), and civic participation ( r = .41). The relationship was largely unaffected by moderators. Among ICSN components, interpersonal neighborhood storytelling was particularly influential in fostering neighborhood belonging and civic participation, while the three components (i.e., interpersonal neighborhood storytelling, local media connectedness, and participation in community organizations) contributed similarly to collective efficacy. We discuss the importance of neighborhood storytelling in fostering civic engagement and offer implications for theoretical advancement and practical applications.
{"title":"Revisiting Communication Infrastructure Theory: A Meta-Analytical Approach to Understanding the Influence of Integrated Connectedness to a Neighborhood Storytelling Network","authors":"Youllee Kim, Yong-Chan Kim, Xun Zhu","doi":"10.1177/00936502251403310","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502251403310","url":null,"abstract":"Communication infrastructure theory (CIT) posits that integrated connectedness to a community storytelling network (ICSN), which refers to individuals’ access to community communication resources and opportunities, positively affects civic engagement. We meta-analyzed this relationship with 23 studies ( <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">k</jats:italic> = 28, <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">N</jats:italic> = 17,792) and found that the overall effect of ICSN on civic engagement was moderate ( <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">r</jats:italic> = .38), with slightly different effect sizes for different types of civic engagement, including neighborhood belonging ( <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">r</jats:italic> = .42), collective efficacy ( <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">r</jats:italic> = .28), and civic participation ( <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">r</jats:italic> = .41). The relationship was largely unaffected by moderators. Among ICSN components, interpersonal neighborhood storytelling was particularly influential in fostering neighborhood belonging and civic participation, while the three components (i.e., interpersonal neighborhood storytelling, local media connectedness, and participation in community organizations) contributed similarly to collective efficacy. We discuss the importance of neighborhood storytelling in fostering civic engagement and offer implications for theoretical advancement and practical applications.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145830249","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-18DOI: 10.1177/00936502251405335
Nick Carcioppolo, Geyi Wang, Kaixu Yuan, Zixiao Yang, Dongya Wang
This study contributes to theory in persuasion and humor by hypothesizing distinct audience segments that determine how people respond to humor appeals. Across two studies, using a multiple message design and two different humor appeals, we specify and validate four discrete audience segments, referred to here as audience receptivity profiles, that align with previous theorizing and are differentially related to persuasion. Findings suggest that those with different audience receptivity profiles vary in whether they find humor appeals humorous, resulting in increased perceptions of humor and message-consistent persuasive effects among audiences who belong to supportive audience receptivity profiles, and decreased humor as well as increased likelihood of unintended effects among audiences who belong to non-supportive audience receptivity profiles. These findings align with previous theorizing in this area, and highlight when humor may have deleterious effects on audiences whose attitudes and values suggest they are most open to persuasive attempts.
{"title":"When Humor Appeals Fail and When They Succeed: Using Latent Profile Analysis to Identify Audience Receptivity to Humorous Messages","authors":"Nick Carcioppolo, Geyi Wang, Kaixu Yuan, Zixiao Yang, Dongya Wang","doi":"10.1177/00936502251405335","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502251405335","url":null,"abstract":"This study contributes to theory in persuasion and humor by hypothesizing distinct audience segments that determine how people respond to humor appeals. Across two studies, using a multiple message design and two different humor appeals, we specify and validate four discrete audience segments, referred to here as audience receptivity profiles, that align with previous theorizing and are differentially related to persuasion. Findings suggest that those with different audience receptivity profiles vary in whether they find humor appeals humorous, resulting in increased perceptions of humor and message-consistent persuasive effects among audiences who belong to supportive audience receptivity profiles, and decreased humor as well as increased likelihood of unintended effects among audiences who belong to non-supportive audience receptivity profiles. These findings align with previous theorizing in this area, and highlight when humor may have deleterious effects on audiences whose attitudes and values suggest they are most open to persuasive attempts.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":"93 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145770693","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-18DOI: 10.1177/00936502251401636
Wang Liao, Chelsea Kim, Bo Feng
This essay proposes that studying the emergence of solidarity through multi-actor supportive communication offers a useful lens for understanding the increasingly complex structures, dynamics, and communal nature of supportive communication in online communities. Drawing on research of social exchange, online community affordance, and social support type, the essay explores the links between multi-actor supportive communication patterns and solidarity experiences in online communities. It develops three propositions that connect four forms of exchange—reciprocal, negotiated, generalized, and productive—to the experiences of solidarity, moderated by affordance and support type as key communication-situational factors. Directions for empirical testing of these propositions are also discussed, along with implications for supportive communication research and the study of online communities.
{"title":"Multi-Actor Supportive Communication and the Emergence of Solidarity in Online Communities: A Situated Social Exchange Framework","authors":"Wang Liao, Chelsea Kim, Bo Feng","doi":"10.1177/00936502251401636","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502251401636","url":null,"abstract":"This essay proposes that studying the emergence of solidarity through multi-actor supportive communication offers a useful lens for understanding the increasingly complex structures, dynamics, and communal nature of supportive communication in online communities. Drawing on research of social exchange, online community affordance, and social support type, the essay explores the links between multi-actor supportive communication patterns and solidarity experiences in online communities. It develops three propositions that connect four forms of exchange—reciprocal, negotiated, generalized, and productive—to the experiences of solidarity, moderated by affordance and support type as key communication-situational factors. Directions for empirical testing of these propositions are also discussed, along with implications for supportive communication research and the study of online communities.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":"43 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145770691","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-18DOI: 10.1177/00936502251402961
Yini Zhang, Hyunyi Cho
We extend agenda building theory by integrating social movement and connective action research to explain how marginalized groups elevate issue salience. Our framework comprises three dynamics: exogenous conditions (key events & real-world indicators), interpublic processes on social media, and intermedia processes between news and social media. We apply this framework to the #StopAsianHate movement on Twitter/X using network and time-series analyses. Results show that the Atlanta spa shootings, a key event, intensified attention to anti-Asian hate among AAPI activists’ allies (liberals & K-pop fans) and elite media, whereas hate crime indicators had limited impact. AAPI activists had modest influence on other Twitter users and elite news, but their allies, especially liberals, proved influential. Elite media attention was driven by attention from both liberals and aggregate Twitter, with liberals’ effect lasting longer. The framework illuminates how key events, networked publics, and movement resources interact to build issue salience in digital media.
{"title":"Advancing Agenda Building Theory: Conceptualizing and Analyzing Processes Among Events, Publics, and Media in #StopAsianHate","authors":"Yini Zhang, Hyunyi Cho","doi":"10.1177/00936502251402961","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502251402961","url":null,"abstract":"We extend agenda building theory by integrating social movement and connective action research to explain how marginalized groups elevate issue salience. Our framework comprises three dynamics: exogenous conditions (key events & real-world indicators), interpublic processes on social media, and intermedia processes between news and social media. We apply this framework to the #StopAsianHate movement on Twitter/X using network and time-series analyses. Results show that the Atlanta spa shootings, a key event, intensified attention to anti-Asian hate among AAPI activists’ allies (liberals & K-pop fans) and elite media, whereas hate crime indicators had limited impact. AAPI activists had modest influence on other Twitter users and elite news, but their allies, especially liberals, proved influential. Elite media attention was driven by attention from both liberals and aggregate Twitter, with liberals’ effect lasting longer. The framework illuminates how key events, networked publics, and movement resources interact to build issue salience in digital media.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":"277 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145770692","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-18DOI: 10.1177/00936502251403418
Zhixin Pu, Erin Ruppel
Users of news recommender systems read news recommended by algorithms and can discover useful information unintentionally or serendipitously. The feeling of surprise from this discovery can elicit users to continue reading. Increasing serendipity is believed to be a solution to isolated information bubbles; however, little research has explored its impact on news consumption. The study investigates the interactions between surprise, serendipity, and news consumption. Participants ( N = 463) recruited from Amazon MTurk in the United States participated in the online experiment. The findings suggest that serendipitous news discovery directly increases news consumption, with this relationship mediated by the feeling of surprise. Furthermore, users who experience higher serendipitous news discovery indicate more positive attitudes toward news consumption in these systems. The research integrates serendipity into news selection theories and contributes to a more nuanced understanding of how algorithmic systems can enhance user engagement. The results offer key implications for communication scholars and practitioners.
{"title":"Surprise Me: Serendipitous News Discovery and News Consumption","authors":"Zhixin Pu, Erin Ruppel","doi":"10.1177/00936502251403418","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502251403418","url":null,"abstract":"Users of news recommender systems read news recommended by algorithms and can discover useful information unintentionally or serendipitously. The feeling of surprise from this discovery can elicit users to continue reading. Increasing serendipity is believed to be a solution to isolated information bubbles; however, little research has explored its impact on news consumption. The study investigates the interactions between surprise, serendipity, and news consumption. Participants ( <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">N</jats:italic> = 463) recruited from Amazon MTurk in the United States participated in the online experiment. The findings suggest that serendipitous news discovery directly increases news consumption, with this relationship mediated by the feeling of surprise. Furthermore, users who experience higher serendipitous news discovery indicate more positive attitudes toward news consumption in these systems. The research integrates serendipity into news selection theories and contributes to a more nuanced understanding of how algorithmic systems can enhance user engagement. The results offer key implications for communication scholars and practitioners.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145770690","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-10DOI: 10.1177/00936502251401642
Ellen Soens, An-Sofie Claeys, Cen April Yue
Amid growing concerns about employee misconduct within private WhatsApp groups, this study captures the dual nature of work-related group chats on external instant messaging platforms. We distinguish between employees’ prosocial (e.g., information sharing) and antisocial (e.g., bullying) work-related instant messaging use. In addition, we examine the positive (i.e., resources) and negative (i.e., demands) consequences of this use for employee well-being, operationalized as work engagement and exhaustion. Data were collected from 383 Belgian and 375 U.S. employees via an online survey and analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results show that antisocial work-related instant messaging is relatively rare. Yet, it is associated with reduced communication efficiency, increased co-worker conflicts and work-life tensions, which in turn relate to lower work engagement and higher exhaustion. Prosocial work-related instant messaging use is generally linked to better co-worker communication and relationships, which enhance work engagement and reduce exhaustion. However, these findings proved to be partially culture-bound.
{"title":"A Double-Edged Sword? The Consequences of Work-Related Instant Messaging Use for Employees","authors":"Ellen Soens, An-Sofie Claeys, Cen April Yue","doi":"10.1177/00936502251401642","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502251401642","url":null,"abstract":"Amid growing concerns about employee misconduct within private WhatsApp groups, this study captures the dual nature of work-related group chats on external instant messaging platforms. We distinguish between employees’ prosocial (e.g., information sharing) and antisocial (e.g., bullying) work-related instant messaging use. In addition, we examine the positive (i.e., resources) and negative (i.e., demands) consequences of this use for employee well-being, operationalized as work engagement and exhaustion. Data were collected from 383 Belgian and 375 U.S. employees via an online survey and analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results show that antisocial work-related instant messaging is relatively rare. Yet, it is associated with reduced communication efficiency, increased co-worker conflicts and work-life tensions, which in turn relate to lower work engagement and higher exhaustion. Prosocial work-related instant messaging use is generally linked to better co-worker communication and relationships, which enhance work engagement and reduce exhaustion. However, these findings proved to be partially culture-bound.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":"22 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145711212","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-05DOI: 10.1177/00936502251378583
Hannah E. Jones, Jennifer A. Theiss
This study utilizes relational turbulence theory to explore how conditions of relational turbulence are associated with relationship maintenance behaviors as a form of relationship functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic. A sample of 151 dyads (302 individuals) completed four weekly online surveys between March and June 2020. Data were analyzed using multi-level modeling to examine actor and partner effects and over-time effects. Results revealed associations between relational uncertainty, interdependence, negative emotions, stress, and relational turbulence for both actors and partners. In addition, actors’ perceived relational turbulence was negatively associated with relationship maintenance behaviors. Finally, actors’ relationship maintenance behaviors in one week were positively associated with improved relationship qualities in the following week across all models, and partners’ maintenance behaviors predicted actors’ subsequent perceptions of interference and facilitation. The findings are discussed in terms of theoretical implications for relational turbulence theory and practical implications for helping romantic partners navigate challenging transitions.
{"title":"Conditions of Relational Turbulence as Antecedents and Outcomes of Relationship Maintenance Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic","authors":"Hannah E. Jones, Jennifer A. Theiss","doi":"10.1177/00936502251378583","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502251378583","url":null,"abstract":"This study utilizes relational turbulence theory to explore how conditions of relational turbulence are associated with relationship maintenance behaviors as a form of relationship functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic. A sample of 151 dyads (302 individuals) completed four weekly online surveys between March and June 2020. Data were analyzed using multi-level modeling to examine actor and partner effects and over-time effects. Results revealed associations between relational uncertainty, interdependence, negative emotions, stress, and relational turbulence for both actors and partners. In addition, actors’ perceived relational turbulence was negatively associated with relationship maintenance behaviors. Finally, actors’ relationship maintenance behaviors in one week were positively associated with improved relationship qualities in the following week across all models, and partners’ maintenance behaviors predicted actors’ subsequent perceptions of interference and facilitation. The findings are discussed in terms of theoretical implications for relational turbulence theory and practical implications for helping romantic partners navigate challenging transitions.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":"171 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145673553","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-03DOI: 10.1177/00936502251395835
Elena Link
Although health information behaviors are commonly assumed to serve an emotion-regulating function, the present state of research focuses on emotions as predictors of these behaviors. The reciprocal relationship between emotions and seeking or avoiding information remains incompletely understood. By employing an experience sampling study to identify real-life situations in which individuals engage in information behaviors, the current study offers a nuanced perspective on the dynamics of emotions and information behaviors. Based on 17,764 momentary assessments of 504 participants who were currently facing a health challenge, multilevel models demonstrated that the explanatory contribution of specific discrete emotions to information behaviors, and vice versa, was minor. Information seeking appears to be more predicted by negative emotions, such as fear, anxiety, and worry than information avoidance. Neither information seeking nor avoidance was found to reduce negative emotions; rather, they were observed to exacerbate them. In addition to offering crucial insights into the extent to which information behaviors serve as adequate emotion regulation, the study contributes to a more nuanced understanding of health information behaviors and provides guidance for further theory specification.
{"title":"The Reciprocity of Discrete Emotions and Health Information Seeking and Avoidance: An Experience Sampling Study","authors":"Elena Link","doi":"10.1177/00936502251395835","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502251395835","url":null,"abstract":"Although health information behaviors are commonly assumed to serve an emotion-regulating function, the present state of research focuses on emotions as predictors of these behaviors. The reciprocal relationship between emotions and seeking or avoiding information remains incompletely understood. By employing an experience sampling study to identify real-life situations in which individuals engage in information behaviors, the current study offers a nuanced perspective on the dynamics of emotions and information behaviors. Based on 17,764 momentary assessments of 504 participants who were currently facing a health challenge, multilevel models demonstrated that the explanatory contribution of specific discrete emotions to information behaviors, and vice versa, was minor. Information seeking appears to be more predicted by negative emotions, such as fear, anxiety, and worry than information avoidance. Neither information seeking nor avoidance was found to reduce negative emotions; rather, they were observed to exacerbate them. In addition to offering crucial insights into the extent to which information behaviors serve as adequate emotion regulation, the study contributes to a more nuanced understanding of health information behaviors and provides guidance for further theory specification.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":"73 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145664917","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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