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}
Pub Date : 2025-12-01DOI: 10.1177/00936502251389039
Dennis Steffan, Maria Elizabeth Grabe
This cross-national, two-study project examines leadership at the intersection of gender, politics, and visual framing. In Study 1, an online experiment, we used AI-generated images of synthetic women and men candidates ( N = 996) to validate an existing visual character frame instrument and examine if voters associate gender with these frames. We found strong consistency between German and US voters in attributing gender-variant leadership qualities to synthetic politicians. Study 2 applied the validated instrument in a comparative content analysis of TV election stories ( N = 318) about Angela Merkel (2017) and Hillary Clinton (2016) and their male opponents. Both women received more masculine framing than men, either signaling strategic success in side-stepping femininity or journalists were over-compensating for decades of gender role stereotyping. Merkel’s visual masculinity was part of a winning campaign while Clinton’s was associated with a loss, underscoring the complexities of visual masculinity for women in politics.
{"title":"Gendered News Coverage at the Apex of Political Leadership: Validating and Applying a Visual Character Frame Instrument to the Campaigns of Merkel, Clinton, and Their Male Opponents","authors":"Dennis Steffan, Maria Elizabeth Grabe","doi":"10.1177/00936502251389039","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502251389039","url":null,"abstract":"This cross-national, two-study project examines leadership at the intersection of gender, politics, and visual framing. In Study 1, an online experiment, we used AI-generated images of synthetic women and men candidates ( <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">N</jats:italic> = 996) to validate an existing visual character frame instrument and examine if voters associate gender with these frames. We found strong consistency between German and US voters in attributing gender-variant leadership qualities to synthetic politicians. Study 2 applied the validated instrument in a comparative content analysis of TV election stories ( <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">N</jats:italic> = 318) about Angela Merkel (2017) and Hillary Clinton (2016) and their male opponents. Both women received more masculine framing than men, either signaling strategic success in side-stepping femininity or journalists were over-compensating for decades of gender role stereotyping. Merkel’s visual masculinity was part of a winning campaign while Clinton’s was associated with a loss, underscoring the complexities of visual masculinity for women in politics.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145651564","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 : 2025-11-27DOI: 10.1177/00936502251395817
Lindsay Hahn, Kevin Kryston, Kaitlin Fitzgerald, Ron Tamborini
Despite the popularity of investigations into prosocial and antisocial media content and effects in entertainment research, the essence and boundary conditions of these terms are not well-demarcated. In a preregistered scoping review, we explored how prosocial and antisocial have been defined in narrative entertainment literature according to a comprehensive scheme of moral values outlined by the model of intuitive-morality and exemplars (MIME). Examining all N = 346 studies investigating pro/antisocial content/effects published before 2021, we coded whether these terms were defined as the upholding/violation of care, fairness, loyalty, respect for authority, purity, or general-moral concerns. Results revealed pro/antisocial are mostly defined as the upholding/violation of care concerns, but many definitions also focused on fairness, loyalty, authority, and purity. Discussion centers on the MIME’s utility for (a) illuminating robust patterns possibly hidden in past research, (b) guiding future research attempting to distinguish pro/antisocial media content, and (c) explaining media’s influence on audiences across the lifespan.
{"title":"A Scoping Review of Prosocial and Antisocial Media Content and Effects in Narrative Entertainment Research Across Five Decades","authors":"Lindsay Hahn, Kevin Kryston, Kaitlin Fitzgerald, Ron Tamborini","doi":"10.1177/00936502251395817","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502251395817","url":null,"abstract":"Despite the popularity of investigations into <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">prosocial</jats:italic> and <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">antisocial</jats:italic> media content and effects in entertainment research, the essence and boundary conditions of these terms are not well-demarcated. In a preregistered scoping review, we explored how <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">prosocial</jats:italic> and <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">antisocial</jats:italic> have been defined in narrative entertainment literature according to a comprehensive scheme of moral values outlined by the model of intuitive-morality and exemplars (MIME). Examining all <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">N</jats:italic> = 346 studies investigating pro/antisocial content/effects published before 2021, we coded whether these terms were defined as the upholding/violation of care, fairness, loyalty, respect for authority, purity, or general-moral concerns. Results revealed pro/antisocial are mostly defined as the upholding/violation of care concerns, but many definitions also focused on fairness, loyalty, authority, and purity. Discussion centers on the MIME’s utility for (a) illuminating robust patterns possibly hidden in past research, (b) guiding future research attempting to distinguish pro/antisocial media content, and (c) explaining media’s influence on audiences across the lifespan.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":"21 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-11-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145609800","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 : 2025-11-26DOI: 10.1177/00936502251392780
Elina Lindgren, Isabella Glogger, Nora Theorin, Hajo G. Boomgaarden, Torun Lindholm, Jesper Strömbäck
An informed public is essential to democratic representation, and the news media have traditionally played a central role in supporting this ideal. However, the changing media environment and a rise of misinformation have raised new questions about how citizens acquire and retain political knowledge, prompting distinctions between the uninformed and those holding directional or evidence-resistant misbeliefs. We extend this discussion by arguing that even individuals who are factually accurate may not necessarily be politically knowledgeable, as directional beliefs can sometimes coincide with correct information. We address this both theoretically—by integrating concepts of certainty and attitudes toward evidence—and empirically, by analyzing belief patterns across political issues using Swedish survey data ( N = 2,268). Our findings suggest that individuals can be knowledgeable on some issues yet holding directional (mis)beliefs on others, selectively aligning with facts that support their views. These belief patterns are not associated with traditional news use but correlate with alternative news consumption.
{"title":"Politically Knowledgeable or Directional (Mis)Believers? How to Identify Those Who Are correct About Political Facts for the “Wrong” Reasons","authors":"Elina Lindgren, Isabella Glogger, Nora Theorin, Hajo G. Boomgaarden, Torun Lindholm, Jesper Strömbäck","doi":"10.1177/00936502251392780","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502251392780","url":null,"abstract":"An informed public is essential to democratic representation, and the news media have traditionally played a central role in supporting this ideal. However, the changing media environment and a rise of misinformation have raised new questions about how citizens acquire and retain political knowledge, prompting distinctions between the uninformed and those holding directional or evidence-resistant misbeliefs. We extend this discussion by arguing that even individuals who are factually accurate may not necessarily be politically knowledgeable, as directional beliefs can sometimes coincide with correct information. We address this both theoretically—by integrating concepts of certainty and attitudes toward evidence—and empirically, by analyzing belief patterns across political issues using Swedish survey data ( <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">N</jats:italic> = 2,268). Our findings suggest that individuals can be knowledgeable on some issues yet holding directional (mis)beliefs on others, selectively aligning with facts that support their views. These belief patterns are not associated with traditional news use but correlate with alternative news consumption.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":"103 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145599934","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 : 2025-11-15DOI: 10.1177/00936502251391247
Emily M. Buehler, Jenny L. Crowley
Online social network members provide more varied and impartial support within a reduced-risk environment; however, not all online observers react favorably when viewing a support-seeking message. Grounded in the attribution-emotion-action model, this study examines how responsibility for stigma, coping effort, and message visibility influence observers’ emotions and verbal person-centered responses when viewing a support-seeking message on Facebook. Results from an experiment ( N = 798) indicated observers’ feelings of sympathy mediate the association between responsibility for stigma and verbal person-centered responses, but only when coping effort is high. Analyses also revealed effects related to message visibility, such that observers reported higher levels of sympathy when a seeker indicated lower responsibility for stigma and higher effort in a private message, which then elicited higher verbal person-centered responses. Results have implications for the attribution-emotion-action model and communication theory of visibility and offer practical insights for people seeking support for stigmatized health conditions.
{"title":"The Influence of Responsibility for Stigma, Coping Effort, and Message Visibility on Online Observers’ Emotions and Verbal Person-Centered Responses","authors":"Emily M. Buehler, Jenny L. Crowley","doi":"10.1177/00936502251391247","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502251391247","url":null,"abstract":"Online social network members provide more varied and impartial support within a reduced-risk environment; however, not all online observers react favorably when viewing a support-seeking message. Grounded in the attribution-emotion-action model, this study examines how responsibility for stigma, coping effort, and message visibility influence observers’ emotions and verbal person-centered responses when viewing a support-seeking message on Facebook. Results from an experiment ( <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">N</jats:italic> = 798) indicated observers’ feelings of sympathy mediate the association between responsibility for stigma and verbal person-centered responses, but only when coping effort is high. Analyses also revealed effects related to message visibility, such that observers reported higher levels of sympathy when a seeker indicated lower responsibility for stigma and higher effort in a private message, which then elicited higher verbal person-centered responses. Results have implications for the attribution-emotion-action model and communication theory of visibility and offer practical insights for people seeking support for stigmatized health conditions.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145515791","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 : 2025-11-11DOI: 10.1177/00936502251387830
Alicia Gilbert, Julius Klingelhoefer, Adrian Meier
Well-being is among the prime motivations to reduce one’s digital media use. This study examines momentary and lagged associations between digital disconnection and positive, negative, and relational indicators of well-being. In an experience sampling design, N = 237 participants reported T = 12,407 situations over 2 weeks. Results show that when participants disconnected more than usual, they reported higher affective well-being, energy, and social connectedness (within-person associations). In contrast, after adding controls, those who generally disconnected more than others reported no differences in well-being (between-person associations). Disconnection was not related to stress, neither within nor between persons. However, associations partly depended on controlling for work versus leisure media use. Intrinsic motivation for disconnection positively moderated associations with affective well-being, energy, and social connectedness between persons. We further explored how associations differed across disconnection levels and time lags. Overall, digital disconnection was related to higher well-being situationally – but not over time.
{"title":"Disconnect to Recharge: Well-Being Benefits of Digital Disconnection in Daily Life","authors":"Alicia Gilbert, Julius Klingelhoefer, Adrian Meier","doi":"10.1177/00936502251387830","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502251387830","url":null,"abstract":"Well-being is among the prime motivations to reduce one’s digital media use. This study examines momentary and lagged associations between <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">digital disconnection</jats:italic> and positive, negative, and relational indicators of well-being. In an experience sampling design, <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">N</jats:italic> = 237 participants reported <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">T</jats:italic> = 12,407 situations over 2 weeks. Results show that when participants disconnected more than usual, they reported higher affective well-being, energy, and social connectedness (within-person associations). In contrast, after adding controls, those who generally disconnected more than others reported no differences in well-being (between-person associations). Disconnection was not related to stress, neither within nor between persons. However, associations partly depended on controlling for work versus leisure media use. Intrinsic motivation for disconnection positively moderated associations with affective well-being, energy, and social connectedness between persons. We further explored how associations differed across disconnection levels and time lags. Overall, digital disconnection was related to higher well-being situationally – but not over time.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":"105 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-11-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145485716","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 : 2025-10-28DOI: 10.1177/00936502251378582
Alicia Ernst, Anna Schnauber-Stockmann
While permanent connectivity has made media use ubiquitous and apps have become engagement optimized, little research has focused on the termination of (mobile) media sessions. This study addresses this shortcoming by exploring how internal, environmental, and media context cues situationally prompt users to stop using an app. In an event-based experience sampling study, 118 participants reported on disengagement from TikTok or Instagram ( T = 1,893 sessions). We identified five disengagement types through multilevel latent class analysis: non-self-determined disengagement, self-determined disengagement, disengagement through priority shifts, temporary disengagement, and “mindless” disengagement. Across the types, competing activities, goal achievement, and push notifications emerged as the most prevalent cues and disengagement mostly occurred as an effortless solution to activity conflicts. In one type, it was accompanied by negative emotions. This typology contributes to a nuanced understanding of disengagement, suggesting that while worrisome forms exist, they do not dominate disengagement in day-to-day life.
{"title":"Won’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough? Determinants of Disengaging From Mobile Media Apps in Daily Life","authors":"Alicia Ernst, Anna Schnauber-Stockmann","doi":"10.1177/00936502251378582","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502251378582","url":null,"abstract":"While permanent connectivity has made media use ubiquitous and apps have become engagement optimized, little research has focused on the termination of (mobile) media sessions. This study addresses this shortcoming by exploring how internal, environmental, and media context <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">cues</jats:italic> situationally prompt users to stop using an app. In an event-based experience sampling study, 118 participants reported on disengagement from TikTok or Instagram ( <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">T</jats:italic> = 1,893 sessions). We identified five disengagement types through multilevel latent class analysis: non-self-determined disengagement, self-determined disengagement, disengagement through priority shifts, temporary disengagement, and “mindless” disengagement. Across the types, competing activities, goal achievement, and push notifications emerged as the most prevalent cues and disengagement mostly occurred as an effortless solution to activity conflicts. In one type, it was accompanied by negative emotions. This typology contributes to a nuanced understanding of disengagement, suggesting that while worrisome forms exist, they do not dominate disengagement in day-to-day life.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":"160 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145397452","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 : 2025-10-27DOI: 10.1177/00936502251384697
Emily A. Mendelson, Charee M. Thompson
Hintz and Scharp’s explication of the theory of communicative (dis)enfranchisement describes how hegemonic ideologies are reified through talk. This paper approaches communicative disenfranchisement from a critical disability studies perspective to make visible the ways systemic ableism operates as a hegemonic ideology that harms disabled individuals. To do so, we employed Price’s theory of crip spacetime to illuminate how communicative disenfranchisement is magnified when the spaces that talk occurs in are disenfranchising themselves. Based on interviews with 20 disabled and chronically ill individuals, findings illustrate how ableism is enacted communicatively through epistemic erasure and spatially through (in)accessible environments. Findings also demonstrate how navigating multiple dimensions of disenfranchisement is costly, negatively affecting individuals’ physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. This disenfranchisement accumulates and leads to what we term illness burnout , which occurs when structural inaccessibility exhausts individuals from seeking the care they need. To conclude, we provide an illustrative case of crip communicative (dis)enfranchisement , a material-discursive reality that individuals experiencing illness must navigate in pursuit of health care.
{"title":"The Communicative Disenfranchisement of Disabled Individuals During Healthcare Appointments: Material Ramifications of Inaccessible Talk and Space","authors":"Emily A. Mendelson, Charee M. Thompson","doi":"10.1177/00936502251384697","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502251384697","url":null,"abstract":"Hintz and Scharp’s explication of the theory of communicative (dis)enfranchisement describes how hegemonic ideologies are reified through talk. This paper approaches communicative disenfranchisement from a critical disability studies perspective to make visible the ways systemic ableism operates as a hegemonic ideology that harms disabled individuals. To do so, we employed Price’s theory of crip spacetime to illuminate how communicative disenfranchisement is magnified when the spaces that talk occurs in are disenfranchising themselves. Based on interviews with 20 disabled and chronically ill individuals, findings illustrate how ableism is enacted communicatively through epistemic erasure and spatially through (in)accessible environments. Findings also demonstrate how navigating multiple dimensions of disenfranchisement is costly, negatively affecting individuals’ physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. This disenfranchisement accumulates and leads to what we term <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">illness burnout</jats:italic> , which occurs when structural inaccessibility exhausts individuals from seeking the care they need. To conclude, we provide an illustrative case of <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">crip communicative (dis)enfranchisement</jats:italic> , a material-discursive reality that individuals experiencing illness must navigate in pursuit of health care.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":"113 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145397423","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 : 2025-10-14DOI: 10.1177/00936502251376470
Shannon M. Cruz, David M. Keating, Yanitza A. Cruz Crespo, Marissa W. Kopp
Several theoretical approaches suggest that a promising approach to designing effective, tailored persuasive messages may be to draw on insights from an audience’s shared cognitive structure. Specifically, a cognitive-structural approach to message design would suggest that messages targeting central concepts in an audience’s shared cognitive structure will have stronger persuasive effects than messages targeting more peripheral concepts. The present investigation, however, failed to provide support for this approach. The results of four studies revealed that attitude and semantic networks each provided a different estimate of cognitive structure and made competing claims about whether this structure differs for Republicans and Democrats. However, neither structure successfully predicted which messages would be most effective. Instead, both Democrats and Republicans were persuaded by a wide range of arguments targeting both central and peripheral concepts. The results have implications for future work on the role of cognitive structures in persuasion and theory-driven message development.
{"title":"Testing the Predictive Power of a Cognitive-Structural Approach to Message Design: Persuasive Effects Among Republicans and Democrats","authors":"Shannon M. Cruz, David M. Keating, Yanitza A. Cruz Crespo, Marissa W. Kopp","doi":"10.1177/00936502251376470","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502251376470","url":null,"abstract":"Several theoretical approaches suggest that a promising approach to designing effective, tailored persuasive messages may be to draw on insights from an audience’s shared cognitive structure. Specifically, a cognitive-structural approach to message design would suggest that messages targeting central concepts in an audience’s shared cognitive structure will have stronger persuasive effects than messages targeting more peripheral concepts. The present investigation, however, failed to provide support for this approach. The results of four studies revealed that attitude and semantic networks each provided a different estimate of cognitive structure and made competing claims about whether this structure differs for Republicans and Democrats. However, neither structure successfully predicted which messages would be most effective. Instead, both Democrats and Republicans were persuaded by a wide range of arguments targeting both central and peripheral concepts. The results have implications for future work on the role of cognitive structures in persuasion and theory-driven message development.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":"108 6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145289513","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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