Josh Compton
Dartmouth College, Institute of Writing and Rhetoric, Faculty Member
- Josh Compton is Associate Professor in the Institute for Writing and Rhetoric at Dartmouth College. His research expl... moreJosh Compton is Associate Professor in the Institute for Writing and Rhetoric at Dartmouth College. His research explores image at two distinct points: before an image attack (inoculation theory) and after an image attack (image repair theory), with special attention to the contexts of health, sport, and political humor. His scholarship appears in journals such as Communication Monographs, Communication Theory, Annals of the International Communication Association, Human Communication Research, Frontiers in Psychology, and PLoS ONE, and he authored the inoculation theory chapter in The Sage Handbook of Persuasion (Sage) and the inoculation theory chapter in Persuasion and Communication in Sport, Physical Activity, and Exercise (Taylor Francis). Josh has been an invited expert for the Department of Defense’s Strategic Multilayer Assessment program (USA), NATO and USSOCOM's Joint Senior Psychological Operations Conference, and is a member of the Global Experts on Debunking of Misinformation group. He has been named Distinguished Lecturer by Dartmouth College and has won the Outstanding Professor Award from the National Speakers Association and the L. E. Norton Award for Outstanding Scholarship, among other recognitions.
http://writing-speech.dartmouth.edu/people/josh-comptonedit
One of the most significant departures from conventional inoculation theory is its intentional application for individuals already "infected"-that is, inoculation not as a preemptive strategy to protect existing positions from future... more
One of the most significant departures from conventional inoculation theory is its intentional application for individuals already "infected"-that is, inoculation not as a preemptive strategy to protect existing positions from future challenges, but instead, inoculation as a means to change a position (e.g., from negative to positive) and to protect the changed position against future challenges. The issue is important for persuasion scholarship in general, as theoretical boundary conditions help at each stage of persuasion research development, serving as a guide for literature review, analysis, synthesis, research design, interpretation, theory building, and so on. It is an important issue for inoculation theory and resistance to influence research, specifically, for it gets at the very heart-and name and foundation-of inoculation theory. This article offers a theoretical analysis of inoculation theory used as both prophylactic and therapeutic interventions and concludes with a set of recommendations for inoculation theory scholarship moving forward.
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The central principle of inoculation theory is that when individuals are presented with a weakened form of a persuasive attack against an existing attitude, they become inoculated against future attacks to that attitude. To address a gap... more
The central principle of inoculation theory is that when individuals are presented with a weakened form of a persuasive attack against an existing attitude, they become inoculated against future attacks to that attitude. To address a gap in the literature regarding inoculation mechanisms, we used focus groups (Study 1) to allow participants to describe resistance processes following inoculation. Guided by processing pathways that mirror those in established persuasion frameworks, participants described some of the variables that influence, occur during, and result from, their processing of inoculation material. We applied these findings by presenting a separate group of participants (Study 2) with a healthy nutrition inoculation message and studying their processing responses on the basis of variables identified in Study 1 and through related research. Analyses revealed that participants varied in their elaborative processing of the message and that elaboration was positively associated with desirable resistance processes (e.g. post-inoculation planning, talk, and information searching). By advancing our understanding of the ways through which inoculation messages prepare individuals for attitudinal attacks, these findings provide important future research directions and may inform effective inoculation message design.
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Although there has been unprecedented attention to inoculation theory in recent years, the potential of this research has yet to be reached. Inoculation theory explains how immunity to counter-attitudinal messages is conferred by... more
Although there has been unprecedented attention to inoculation theory in recent years, the potential of this research has yet to be reached. Inoculation theory explains how immunity to counter-attitudinal messages is conferred by preemptively exposing people to weakened doses of challenging information. The theory has been applied in a
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For years, scholars of the inoculation theory of resistance to influence have considered threat to be a major part of the resistance process-the motivational force that triggers such responses as counterarguing against future challenges... more
For years, scholars of the inoculation theory of resistance to influence have considered threat to be a major part of the resistance process-the motivational force that triggers such responses as counterarguing against future challenges to a position. More recently, scholars have begun to question the conventional explanation for the importance and/or role of threat in inoculation, (re)considering its importance, its conceptualization, and in some cases, its very existence in the process of attitudinal/belief inoculation. This theoretical article synthesizes some of the key arguments advanced about threat in inoculation theory and traces its development from the earliest iterations of the theory to its contemporary development and application. It proposes five avenues for future investigations of threat and/in inoculation theory in the continuing study of persuasion.
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Inoculation theory explains how an existing state (an attitude, a belief, a position) can be made more resistant to future influence, in much the same way a medical inoculation can make an existing state (a healthy body) more resistant to... more
Inoculation theory explains how an existing state (an attitude, a belief, a position) can be made more resistant to future influence, in much the same way a medical inoculation can make an existing state (a healthy body) more resistant to future viral influence: through pre-exposure to weakened forms of challenges. The theory has established efficacy as an effective messaging strategy in a number of contexts, including politics and health. Another area that has received attention in inoculation theory scholarship is public relations. A comprehensive review of this work, however, is long overdue. We outline existing work in inoculation theory and public relations, and then show how inoculation theory and public relations research can bring new applications and theoretical development to the public relations areas of (1) issues management; (2) crisis and risk communication; and (3) character assassination.
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A few years ago, I wrote “Frustration Vaccination?” (Compton, 2012) to advance the argument that inoculation theory might guide a useful pedagogical strategy early in the term to help college students work through unhelpful technology... more
A few years ago, I wrote “Frustration Vaccination?” (Compton, 2012) to advance the argument that inoculation theory might guide a useful pedagogical strategy early in the term to help college students work through unhelpful technology frustrations—before they experience stronger frustrations later in the term. Such an application of inoculation seemed promising. For it to work, inoculation theory assumes a few things...
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The outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has been accompanied by a large amount of misleading and false information about the virus, especially on social media. In this article, we explore the coronavirus “infodemic”... more
The outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has been accompanied by a large amount of misleading and false information about the virus, especially on social media. In this article, we explore the coronavirus “infodemic” and how behavioral scientists may seek to address this problem. We detail the scope of the problem and discuss the negative influence that COVID-19 misinformation can have on the widespread adoption of health protective behaviors in the population. In response, we explore how insights from the behavioral sciences can be leveraged to manage an effective societal response to curb the spread of misinformation about the virus. In particular, we discuss the theory of psychological inoculation (or prebunking) as an efficient vehicle for conferring large-scale psychological resistance against fake news.
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In the midst of a particularly difficult, deadly flu season, Gloria Copeland – televangelist, co-founder of Kenneth Copeland Ministries, and member of President Trump’s faith advisory council – seemed to suggest that flu shots were... more
In the midst of a particularly difficult, deadly flu season, Gloria Copeland – televangelist, co-founder of Kenneth Copeland Ministries, and member of President Trump’s faith advisory council – seemed to suggest that flu shots were unnecessary to protect against influenza, and instead, one should “inoculate yourself with the word of God.” This paper examines Copeland's inoculation rhetoric through the lens of inoculation theory and finds that Copeland's rhetoric was both consistent and inconsistent. She neither promoted flu shots nor used inoculation as a rhetorical device, but she did claim to be advocating inoculation of a different type.
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Inoculation is often considered to be serious business—whether in its literal understanding as a medical treatment against future disease or in its analogic understanding as a way of conferring resistance to future attempts at influence.... more
Inoculation is often considered to be serious business—whether in its literal understanding as a medical treatment against future disease or in its analogic understanding as a way of conferring resistance to future attempts at influence. And yet, in both conceptualizations of inoculation, there is also room for play. This conceptual paper builds from scholarly analysis of play and of inoculation theory to consider 1) current findings of how inoculation theory interacts with features and applications of play, and 2) future areas for continuing study of inoculation theory and play. The paper broadens from specific elements of play to include larger generalities about play, including happiness and funniness, and some manifestations or forms of play, including competitive speech and debate and video games.
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This analysis examines criticism of Stephen Colbert’s congressional testimony on farm labour issues in September 2010 to better understand accusations of offensiveness and appropriateness. A nuanced look at this unprecedented version of... more
This analysis examines criticism of Stephen Colbert’s congressional testimony on farm labour issues in September 2010 to better understand accusations of offensiveness and appropriateness. A nuanced look at this unprecedented version of performed Congressional testimony expands our understanding of the increasingly complicated relationship of politics and late-night television humour, and it also sketches out parameters for standards of acceptability in political discourse and political humour. Implications on the co-mingling of political humour and political attacks are considered.
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One of the most significant departures from conventional inoculation theory is its intentional application for individuals already “infected”—that is, inoculation not as a preemptive strategy to protect existing positions from future... more
One of the most significant departures from conventional inoculation theory is its intentional application for individuals already “infected”—that is, inoculation not as a preemptive strategy to protect existing positions from future challenges, but instead, inoculation as a means to change a position (e.g., from negative to positive) and to protect the changed position against future challenges. The issue is important for persuasion scholarship in general, as theoretical boundary conditions help at each stage of persuasion research development, serving as a guide for literature review, analysis, synthesis, research design, interpretation, theory building, and so on. It is an important issue for inoculation theory and resistance to influence research, specifically, for it gets at the very heart—and name and foundation—of inoculation theory. This article offers a theoretical analysis of inoculation theory used as both prophylactic and therapeutic interventions and concludes with a set of recommendations for inoculation theory scholarship moving forward.
Research Interests:
Inoculation theory offers a robust way to combat substance abuse among children. The theory can guide a messaging strategy that prepares for challenges before they are fully experienced. We argue that inoculation as a messaging strategy... more
Inoculation theory offers a robust way to combat substance abuse among children. The theory can guide a messaging strategy that prepares for challenges before they are fully experienced. We argue that inoculation as a messaging strategy could be made even more robust by harnessing family communication patterns and post‐inoculation talk to lead to more, and better, parent–child dialogue. We build on the literature on inoculation and family communication patterns to offer four propositions to guide future work in this area, including the efficacy of inoculating parents against tendencies to avoid conversations about substance abuse with their children and the likelihood of inoculation‐based messages leading to continuing talk in families.
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Inoculation theory is an established strategy of conferring resistance to influence. Decades of research-in laboratory and in applied settings, such as public relations, marketing and political campaigns-support the efficacy of presenting... more
Inoculation theory is an established strategy of conferring resistance to influence. Decades of research-in laboratory and in applied settings, such as public relations, marketing and political campaigns-support the efficacy of presenting weakened versions of counterattitudinal arguments to trigger a process of resistance to persuasion that works much like medical inoculation. Research into how attitudinal inoculation reacts (and acts with) broadcast television and radio, however, is limited. This essay advances a case for future inoculation broadcast news research, demonstrating how the theory may shed light on information processing and attitudinal responses of viewers. The essay first surveys extant findings of inoculation scholarship into how inoculation functions against (and with) audio and visual messages, including the limited research on inoculation in the context of television news. The essay then turns to future directions for inoculation-based news scholarship, including the idea that the conventional point-counterpoint format of some news content may, under certain conditions, have an inoculative effect on news viewers.
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How can we use persuasion methods to make people more physically active and improve their sport and exercise experiences? How can instructors, coaches, athletes, and practitioners most effectively communicate their messages to others?... more
How can we use persuasion methods to make people more physically active and improve their sport and exercise experiences? How can instructors, coaches, athletes, and practitioners most effectively communicate their messages to others?
Persuasion and Communication in Sport, Exercise, and Physical Activity is the first book to consider the applications of persuasion frameworks within activity-related contexts, while also summarizing the major developments relating to communication topics in these settings. It provides a state of the art review of the key developments, challenges, and opportunities within the field. It brings together international experts from the fields of social, health, and sport and exercise psychology, to give theoretical overviews, insights into contemporary research themes and practical implications, as well as agendas for future research.
Covering topics such as changing attitudes towards exercise, social influence, persuasive leadership and communicating with people with physical disabilities, this book provides a contemporary approach to persuasion and communication in a sport, exercise and physical activity setting. It is an important text for upper-level undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as academics in the fields of Sport and Exercise Science, Kinesiology, Health and Physical Activity Promotion, and related areas of Psychology.
Persuasion and Communication in Sport, Exercise, and Physical Activity is the first book to consider the applications of persuasion frameworks within activity-related contexts, while also summarizing the major developments relating to communication topics in these settings. It provides a state of the art review of the key developments, challenges, and opportunities within the field. It brings together international experts from the fields of social, health, and sport and exercise psychology, to give theoretical overviews, insights into contemporary research themes and practical implications, as well as agendas for future research.
Covering topics such as changing attitudes towards exercise, social influence, persuasive leadership and communicating with people with physical disabilities, this book provides a contemporary approach to persuasion and communication in a sport, exercise and physical activity setting. It is an important text for upper-level undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as academics in the fields of Sport and Exercise Science, Kinesiology, Health and Physical Activity Promotion, and related areas of Psychology.
Research Interests: Psychology, Social Psychology, Sport Psychology, Communication, Exercise Physiology, and 27 moreSports & Exercise Pychology, Coaching Psychology, Persuasion (Psychology), Coaching (Education), Sports Management, Sport Marketing, Physical Activity, Emotions (Social Psychology), Communication Theory, Sports Performance, Sport And Exercise Psychology, Attitudes (Social Psychology), Persuasion, Exercise Psychology, Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, Coaching, Sport, Sports, Sports Coaching, Exercise Science, Exercise and physical activity for health, Sport Management, Sport and Exercise Science, Sports Coaching and Training, Exercise, Interpersonal Communication / Persuasion / Social Influence / Language and Message Variables, and Physical activity and public health
This chapter offers a survey of extant work in inoculation theory and physical activity/exercise/sport contexts and issues and proposes new directions for future research.
Research Interests: Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Organizational Psychology, Social Psychology, Sport Psychology, and 18 moreHealth Psychology, Communication, Sports & Exercise Pychology, Coaching Psychology, Motivation (Psychology), Persuasion (Psychology), Educational Psychology, Coaching (Education), Sports Management, Communication Theory, Sports Performance, Persuasion, Sport, Sports, Sports Coaching, Interpersonal Communication / Persuasion / Social Influence / Language and Message Variables, Athletes, and Inoculation Theory
This study examined the timing of counterarguing effects in resistance. Specifically, it investigated the persistence of counterarguing output in resistance across time and explored inoculation message strategies designed to boost the... more
This study examined the timing of counterarguing effects in resistance. Specifically, it investigated the persistence of counterarguing output in resistance across time and explored inoculation message strategies designed to boost the persistence of counterarguing. Results indicated that contrary to what one might expect, the counterarguing output elicited by inoculation treatments was stable across time. The counterarguing output did not increase in the days following treatment, suggesting that inoculation messages require a minimal delay following recipient exposure to elicit counterarguing output, and it proved to be surprisingly robust across time, sustaining itself for much longer periods than early inoculation research had intimated. Also, the results revealed that inoculation-different treatments and reinforcement (booster) messages boost the persistence of the counterarguing output over time. Inoculation-same treatments were initially best in generating counterarguing output, but their effects deteriorated over time. By contrast, inoculation-different messages emerged as being superior in sustaining counterarguing
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We apply a classic theory, inoculation, to a domain in need of more theory-based approaches: advertising. Specifically, we focus on consumer attitudes during the final stage of a purchase decision-making process. The greatest challenge in... more
We apply a classic theory, inoculation, to a domain in need of more theory-based approaches: advertising. Specifically, we focus on consumer attitudes during the final stage of a purchase decision-making process. The greatest challenge in securing customer satisfaction and retention occurs after individuals chose among close alternatives. We highlight the strengths and weaknesses of traditional post-decision marketing strategies— supportive messages and extrinsic motivation—and then propose an alternative preemptive approach: inoculation. We argue that inoculation is better suited to combat post- purchase dissonance and is more likely to create post-purchase satisfaction and reinforce product repurchase through its effects on consumer attitudes.
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Inoculation theory offers a framework for protecting individuals against challenges to an existing attitude, belief, or state. Despite the prevalence and damaging effects of public speaking anxiety, inoculation strategies have yet to be... more
Inoculation theory offers a framework for protecting individuals against challenges to an existing attitude, belief, or state. Despite the prevalence and damaging effects of public speaking anxiety, inoculation strategies have yet to be used to help individuals remain calm before and during public speaking. We aimed to test the effectiveness of an inoculation message for reducing the onset of public speaking anxiety, and helping presenters interpret their speech-related anxiety more positively. Participants (Mage = 20.14, SD = 2.72) received either an inoculation (n = 102) or control (n = 128) message prior to engaging a public speaking task and reported a range of anxiety-related perceptions. Accounting for personality characteristics and perceptions of task importance, and relative to control participants, those who received the inoculation message reported significantly lower pre-task anxiety, and following the task, reported that they had experienced lower somatic anxiety, and that the inoculation message had caused them to view their nerves in a less debilitating light. Inoculation messages may be an effective strategy for helping participants reframe and reduce their apprehension about public speaking, and investigating their efficacy in other stress-inducing contexts may be worthwhile.
Research Interests: Persuasion (Psychology), Social Anxiety, Pedagogy, Public Speaking, Persuasion, and 23 morePerformance Anxiety, Student Motivation, Classroom Interaction, Anxiety, Test anxiety, Test Taking Anxiety, Presentation Skills, Public Speaking, Test anxiety and academic performance, Students Attitudes, Test Anxiety in University, Test Anxiety Among High School Students, Social Anxiety Disorder, Curriculum and Pedagogy, Academic Anxiety in College Students, Anxiety in Music Performances, Inoculation Theory, Public Speaking Anxiety, Effective Public Speaking, Music Performance Anxiety, Introduction to Public Speaking, Fear of Public Speaking, Learning Anxiety, and Test Anxiety in Educational Settings
Approaching image as an audience’s perception of a rhetor, this essay considers the feasibility and efficacy of combining strategies and tactics of an image repair typology with the strategic approach outlined by inoculation theory. The... more
Approaching image as an audience’s perception of a rhetor, this essay considers the feasibility and efficacy of combining strategies and tactics of an image repair typology with the strategic approach outlined by inoculation theory. The work considers whether inoculation could expand the scope of conventional image repair efforts as a way to not only repair a damaged image, post-hoc, but also to confer resistance to future challenges, preemptively. Directions for future research are proposed, including preemptive image repair and reactive inoculation, and the use of image repair strategies in inoculation messages as a type of image prepare. Risks, challenges, and incidental strengths of an image prepare approach are also raised.
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Inoculation theory is a classic theory of resistance to influence, modeling a way to confer resistance to challenges based on biological inoculation processes. This commentary explores inoculation’s efficacy in the applied context of... more
Inoculation theory is a classic theory of resistance to influence, modeling a way to confer resistance to challenges based on biological inoculation processes. This commentary explores inoculation’s efficacy in the applied context of sport communication, with special consideration of how inoculation may guide sport- marketing strategies to preemptively bolster existing support for a team in the face of challenges (e.g., a losing season).
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Inoculation theory, a theory of conferring resistance to persuasive influence, has established efficacy as a messaging strategy in the health domain. In fact, the earliest research on the theory in the 1960s involved health issues to... more
Inoculation theory, a theory of conferring resistance to persuasive influence, has established efficacy as a messaging strategy in the health domain. In fact, the earliest research on the theory in the 1960s involved health issues to build empirical support for tenets in the inoculation framework. Over the ensuing decades, scholars have further examined the effectiveness of inoculation-based messages at creating robust positive health attitudes. We overview these efforts, highlight the structure of typical inoculation-based health messages, and describe the similarities and differences between this method of counter-persuasion and other preparatory techniques commonly employed by health researchers and practitioners. Finally, we consider contexts in which inoculation-oriented health messages could be most useful, and describe how the health domain could offer a useful scaffold to study conceptual issues of the theory.
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Inoculation theory boasts a dynamic history since McGuire first introduced it in the early 1960s. The last decade, in particular, has been a period of explosive growth for inoculation. Research has offered a more nuanced understanding of... more
Inoculation theory boasts a dynamic history since McGuire first introduced it in the early 1960s. The last decade, in particular, has been a period of explosive growth for inoculation. Research has offered a more nuanced understanding of how inoculation confers resistance, exploring precise workings of inoculation’s core concepts of threat and coun-terarguing in conjunction with concepts drawn from other theoretical domains, including issue involvement, attitude accessibility, self-efficacy, and affect. Research is also extending practical applications of inoculation, examining new uses in marketing, public relations, politics, and adolescent health campaigns. The purpose of this chapter is to review the classic work on inoculation theory, examine recent developments that inform the workings of inoculation and its applications, and suggest directions for future research. The chapter also suggests extending the application of inoculation into the areas of childhood obesity, body image, gang activity, consumer protection, and employee satisfaction, among others.
Research Interests: Marketing, Health Communication, Persuasion (Psychology), Advertising, Political Campaigns, and 32 morePublic Relations, Self-Efficacy, Political communication, Employee Satisfaction, Body Image, Childhood Obesity, Attitudes (Social Psychology), Persuasion, Affect/Emotion, Body Image (Psychology), Youth gangs, The Media's Effects on Body Image, Self Efficacy, Consumer Protection, Health Campaigns, Political campaigning, Gangs, Childhood Obesity Prevention, Self Efficacy Theory, Gang management, Binge drinking, Employees’ Job Satisfaction, Childhood Obesity and Overweight, Media and Body Image, Health Campaigns x Binge drinking, Mass Media and the Effects on Body Image, Inoculation Theory, Media consumption and body image dissatisfaction, Body Image Satisfaction, Attitude Accessibility, forewarning, and resistance to influence
This investigation compared the traditional explanation for the way inoculation confers resistance to influence with an alternative rationale for resistance based on attitude accessibility. Four hundred forty-three participants took part... more
This investigation compared the traditional explanation for the way inoculation confers resistance to influence with an alternative rationale for resistance based on attitude accessibility. Four hundred forty-three participants took part in the investigation in four phases spanning 54 days. The combined multiple regression and structural equation modeling results suggest that the traditional and alternative explanations for the way that inoculation confers resistance involve separate processes; counterarguing and accessibility appear to be distinct tracks en route to resistance, but the two explanations also are overlapping processes in which elicited threat plays an integral role.
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Campaign managers and political consultants speculate that late night political comedy affects candidate image and the citizenry’s political behavioral intentions, and recent political science and communication scholarship supports these... more
Campaign managers and political consultants speculate that late night political comedy affects candidate image and the citizenry’s political behavioral intentions, and recent political science and communication scholarship supports these assumptions. The results of this study confirm that late night comedy does influence candidate image and behavioral intentions, but in ways that often refute conventional wisdom. While candidate appearances on late night talk shows enhance candidate image and monologue jokes derogate feelings toward candidates, late night political parodies actually enhance rather than worsen candidate image.
Additionally, this study assessed the viability of using inoculation treatments to protect against late night political ridicule (monologues and parodies). Previous research beginning in the late 1980s has revealed inoculation to be a successful strategy to combat political attack messages, and in many ways, superior to conventional strategies of bolstering and refuting. Results of the current investigation indicated that inoculation failed to confer resistance to late night political content, and in some respects, backfired by derogating as opposed to enhancing candidate image and political behavioral intentions. Results also revealed that candidate appearances boosted inoculative effects against conventional attacks, and inoculation messages designed to refute the channel of late night comedy failed to confer resistance to late night comedy, but were minimally successful in conferring resistance to conventional political attack messages. Results also examined the potential role of irritation in the inoculation process. There was no evidence that inoculation treatments elicited more irritation, but results did indicate that sources using humor decrease expectations of experiencing irritation upon encountering counterattitudinal messages.
Finally, the research reconfirmed inoculation’s efficacy against conventional political attacks. Results revealed that inoculation treatments enhance candidate image and behavioral intentions, including voting for candidates and contributing time or money to campaigns. The study also examined effects of forewarning on elicited threat. Results revealed that adding an additional forewarning to inoculation treatment messages, after counterarguments have been raised and refuted, elicits more threat throughout the process of inoculation, but there was no evidence that additional threat enhanced resistance. The current study also assessed effects of inoculation on perceived generalized self-efficacy. Contrary to prediction, inoculation treatments did not enhance perceived generalized self-efficacy. Instead, those inoculated indicated lower levels of perceived generalized self-efficacy after encountering conventional attack messages, possibly due to elicited threat.
In summary, results offer a more nuanced understanding of late night political comedy’s effects on candidate image and political behavioral intentions; indicate that inoculation is ineffective against late night political content and may instead backfire; and enhances our understanding of forewarnings, elicited threat, and perceived generalized self-efficacy.
Additionally, this study assessed the viability of using inoculation treatments to protect against late night political ridicule (monologues and parodies). Previous research beginning in the late 1980s has revealed inoculation to be a successful strategy to combat political attack messages, and in many ways, superior to conventional strategies of bolstering and refuting. Results of the current investigation indicated that inoculation failed to confer resistance to late night political content, and in some respects, backfired by derogating as opposed to enhancing candidate image and political behavioral intentions. Results also revealed that candidate appearances boosted inoculative effects against conventional attacks, and inoculation messages designed to refute the channel of late night comedy failed to confer resistance to late night comedy, but were minimally successful in conferring resistance to conventional political attack messages. Results also examined the potential role of irritation in the inoculation process. There was no evidence that inoculation treatments elicited more irritation, but results did indicate that sources using humor decrease expectations of experiencing irritation upon encountering counterattitudinal messages.
Finally, the research reconfirmed inoculation’s efficacy against conventional political attacks. Results revealed that inoculation treatments enhance candidate image and behavioral intentions, including voting for candidates and contributing time or money to campaigns. The study also examined effects of forewarning on elicited threat. Results revealed that adding an additional forewarning to inoculation treatment messages, after counterarguments have been raised and refuted, elicits more threat throughout the process of inoculation, but there was no evidence that additional threat enhanced resistance. The current study also assessed effects of inoculation on perceived generalized self-efficacy. Contrary to prediction, inoculation treatments did not enhance perceived generalized self-efficacy. Instead, those inoculated indicated lower levels of perceived generalized self-efficacy after encountering conventional attack messages, possibly due to elicited threat.
In summary, results offer a more nuanced understanding of late night political comedy’s effects on candidate image and political behavioral intentions; indicate that inoculation is ineffective against late night political content and may instead backfire; and enhances our understanding of forewarnings, elicited threat, and perceived generalized self-efficacy.
Research Interests: Persuasion (Psychology), Political Campaigns, Political communication, Persuasion, Talk shows, and 14 morePolitical humor, Political campaigning, Word-Of-Mouth, late night TV, Image Repair Strategies, Credibility Theory, Political Communication, Marketing & Campaigning, Inoculation Theory, Political Tv Talk Shows, Talk Show, Image Repair, Saturday Night Live, forewarning, and resistance to influence
Many contemporary persuasion scholars consider threat to be a prerequisite for conferred resistance to influence through the process of attitudinal inoculation. Yet, despite its significance, we know very little about the nature or... more
Many contemporary persuasion scholars consider threat to be a prerequisite for conferred resistance to influence through the process of attitudinal inoculation. Yet, despite its significance, we know very little about the nature or function of threat. This essay focuses attention on this single variable, arguing that a better understanding of threat leads to better understanding of how attitudinal inoculation confers resistance. Directions for future research are offered.
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Threat plays a pivotal role in many theoretical explanations for how inoculation confers resistance, but some empirical data raise questions about threat’s role in inoculation. Our study explores some of the unresolved dimensions of... more
Threat plays a pivotal role in many theoretical explanations for how inoculation confers resistance, but some empirical data raise questions about threat’s role in inoculation. Our study explores some of the unresolved dimensions of threat in inoculation theory. Results indicate that an explicit forewarning included in an inoculation treatment message generates threat, as does the presence of counterarguments and their refutations. Follow-up tests suggest that the forewarning component may be most responsible for generated threat in inoculation, and that a prompt to consider experienced threat may lead to enhanced resistance to subsequent attack messages.
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Although inoculation has established efficacy in conferring resistance to influence for those directly exposed to inoculation pretreatment messages, we argue that inoculation’s effects may extend beyond those directly exposed to others... more
Although inoculation has established efficacy in conferring resistance to influence for those directly exposed to inoculation pretreatment messages, we argue that inoculation’s effects may extend beyond those directly exposed to others via word-of-mouth communication (WOMC) along social networks. Specifically, we argue that inoculation’s effects on attitude accessibility, involvement, and threat are particularly conducive to the spread of inoculation content, offering WOMC as a new inoculation modality.
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This investigation examined the potential of inoculation to protect young adults’ attitudes from pressures to engage in risky behaviors (unprotected sex and binge drinking) as well as inoculation’s efficacy in conferring umbrella... more
This investigation examined the potential of inoculation to protect young adults’ attitudes from pressures to engage in risky behaviors (unprotected sex and binge drinking) as well as inoculation’s efficacy in conferring umbrella protection (cross-protection) over related, but experimentally untreated, attitudes. A three-phase experiment was conducted involving 120 participants. The results revealed that inoculation can protect the attitudes of young adults from counterattitudinal pressures to engage in unprotected sex (treated issue) and binge drink- ing (untreated issue). Practical applications of these findings are explored, including the use of inoculation when designing health messages and more thorough assessments of health campaigns designed to discourage risky behaviors.
Research Interests: Health Communication, Health Promotion, Persuasion (Psychology), Health Education, Risk Taking, and 15 morePersuasion, Adolescent, Students, College Students, Health Campaigns, Young Adult, Universities, Communication and media Studies, Binge drinking, Public health systems and services research, Health Campaigns x Binge drinking, Inoculation Theory, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Unsafe Sex, and resistance to influence
The efficacy of inoculation theory has been confirmed by decades of empirical research, yet optimizing its effectiveness remains a vibrant line of investigation. The present research turns to psychological reactance theory for a means of... more
The efficacy of inoculation theory has been confirmed by decades of empirical research, yet optimizing its effectiveness remains a vibrant line of investigation. The present research turns to psychological reactance theory for a means of enhancing the core mechanisms of inoculation—threat and refutational preemption. Findings from a multisite study indicate reactance enhances key resistance outcomes, including: threat, anger at attack message source, negative cognitions, negative affect, anticipated threat to freedom, anticipated attack message source derogation, perceived threat to freedom, perceived attack message source derogation, and counterarguing. Most importantly, reactance-enhanced inoculations result in lesser attitude change—the ultimate measure of resistance.
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Student credit card debt is a growing problem. This study explores the effectiveness of the inoculation strategy to foster resistance to credit card marketing targeting college students. In order to explore further the medical analogy on... more
Student credit card debt is a growing problem. This study explores the effectiveness of the inoculation strategy to foster resistance to credit card marketing targeting college students. In order to explore further the medical analogy on which the inoculation strategy is based, this study was the first systematically to alter the argument strength of both the counterarguments and refutations in the inoculation pretreatment message to determine whether argument strengths impact effectiveness of inoculation treatments. In addition, this investigation explored whether inoculation spreads from person to person via social channels, similar to the marketing concept of viral marketing. Results indicated that conventional inoculation treatment messages successfully inoculated college students against credit card advertisements, manifested in attitude valence and behavioral intentions, and that matching argument strength is the most effective inoculation strategy.
Research Interests: Marketing, Persuasion (Psychology), Advertising, Persuasion, Viral Marketing, and 10 moreApplied Communication, College Students, Debt, Credit Cards, Communication and media Studies, Advertising and Marketing Communications, Inoculation Theory, Debit and Credit Cards, forewarning, and resistance to influence
Student plagiarism continues to threaten academic integrity. This investigation assessed whether an inoculation message strategy could combat university plagiarism by protecting student attitudes against pro-plagiarism justification... more
Student plagiarism continues to threaten academic integrity. This investigation assessed whether an inoculation message strategy could combat university plagiarism by protecting student attitudes against pro-plagiarism justification arguments. Additionally, we sought theoretical confirmation of previous findings on involvement and accessibility in inoculation, examined the effects on vested interest, and evaluated matching and mismatching strategies in terms of affect- and rationality-based inoculation treatment messages and subsequent attack messages. A total of 225 students participated in three sessions spanning six weeks. Results indicated that none of the inoculation treatments conferred resistance as measured in attitude toward plagiarism, but all treatments enhanced involvement and attitude accessibility, and the fear- and rationality-based treatments enhanced vested interest. Additionally, fear-based treatments derogated the source of the message. Results also suggest that a matching strategy is superior with both affect- and rationality-based attack messages, such that inoculation treatments are most effective when using the same argument bases (e.g., affective or rational) as the attack message. These results offer guidance for crafting communication campaign strategies to reduce the occurrence of student plagiarism offenses.
Research Interests: Cheating and Plagiarism, Higher Education, Plagiarism Detection, Persuasion (Psychology), Fear, and 14 morePersuasion, Affect/Emotion, Plagiarism studies, Plagiarism, Academic Misconduct, Applied Communication, Guilt, Communication and media Studies, Plagiarism among University Students: Intentional or Accidental, Inoculation Theory, Student Academic Misconduct, Plagiarism Management In Universities, Academic Misconduct Behaviour, and resistance to influence
The early 18th century rhetoric of Boston minister William Cooper reflects inoculation theory’s two principle components—(1) threat and (2) refutational preemption—in Cooper’s pamphlet, A Reply to the Objections Made Against Taking the... more
The early 18th century rhetoric of Boston minister William Cooper reflects inoculation theory’s two principle components—(1) threat and (2) refutational preemption—in Cooper’s pamphlet, A Reply to the Objections Made Against Taking the Small Pox in the Way of Inoculation from Principles of Conscience, Letter to a Friend in the Country. Faced with religious opposition to medical inoculation, Cooper attempted to use attitudinal inoculation and religious arguments against such anti-medical inoculation rhetoric. We turn to a social scientific model to frame a rhetorical analysis of Cooper’s unique strategies, and the essay concludes with an exploration of contemporary health communication attempts to assuage fears of biological inoculations, with identified similarities with Cooper’s rhetoric. Additionally, we consider implications of Cooper’s arguments composed of intertwined science and scripture.
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Although inoculation messages have been shown to be effective for inducing resistance to counter-attitudinal attacks, researchers have devoted relatively little attention toward studying the way in which inoculation theory principles... more
Although inoculation messages have been shown to be effective for inducing resistance to counter-attitudinal attacks, researchers have devoted relatively little attention toward studying the way in which inoculation theory principles might support challenges to psychological phenomena other than attitudes (e.g., self-efficacy). Prior to completing a physical (i.e., balance) task, undergraduates (N = 127, Mage = 19.20, SD = 2.16) were randomly assigned to receive either a control or inoculation message, and reported their confidence in their ability regarding the upcoming task. During the task, a confederate provided standardized negative feedback to all participants regarding their performance, and following the completion of the task, participants again reported their self-efficacy along with measures assessing in-task processes. Findings supported the viability of efficacy inoculation; controlling for pre-task self-efficacy, task performance, and relevant psycho-social variables (...
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Research Interests: Marketing, Health Communication, Narrative, Persuasion (Psychology), Advertising, and 27 morePolitical Campaigns, Public Relations, Political communication, Attitudes (Social Psychology), Narrative Theory, Persuasion, Affect/Emotion, Public Communication Campaigns, Attitude change, Social Influence, Plagiarism, Drug and Alcohol Prevention Programs, Health Campaigns, Campaigns and Elections, Attitude, Beliefs and attitudes, Word-Of-Mouth, Binge drinking, Campaigns, Health Campaigns x Binge drinking, Credibility Theory, Smoking Prevention, Inoculation Theory, Word of Mouth Communications, Attitude Accessibility, forewarning, and resistance to influence
Inoculation theory is a classic theory of social influence, describing how exposure to weakened versions of challenges motivates a process of resistance to protect against future, stronger challenges. Inoculation theory can offer useful... more
Inoculation theory is a classic theory of social influence, describing how exposure to weakened versions of challenges motivates a process of resistance to protect against future, stronger challenges. Inoculation theory can offer useful guidance to teachers as they talk with Net Generational students about digital learning projects. Discussions guided by inoculation theory raise and refute potential challenges students may have in the process of completing their digital learning projects, helping to protect students against discouraging frustration, but also, encouraging a more thoughtful, nuanced consideration of the use of technology in meeting learning objectives. Inoculation theory-guided discussions will not only impact what students are thinking about, but even how they are thinking-bolstering digital learning project objectives.
Frustration vaccination? Inoculation theory and digital learning. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286696576_Frustration_vaccination_Inoculation_theory_and_digital_learning [accessed Sep 30, 2017].
Frustration vaccination? Inoculation theory and digital learning. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286696576_Frustration_vaccination_Inoculation_theory_and_digital_learning [accessed Sep 30, 2017].
Research Interests: Persuasion (Psychology), Digital Media & Learning, Attitudes (Social Psychology), Persuasion, Frustration, and 9 moreAttitude change, Digital Learning Resources, Digital Media and Learning, Attitude, Students Attitudes, Attitude formation and change, Inoculation Theory, The Use of Digital Media and Technology As a Learning Tool In Special Education, and resistance to influence
Inoculation theory has seen dramatic theoretical development since it was first introduced in the early 1960s, and applied research has explored its efficacy in such domains as politics, health, and commerce. This chapter notes a dearth... more
Inoculation theory has seen dramatic theoretical development since it was first introduced in the early 1960s, and applied research has explored its efficacy in such domains as politics, health, and commerce. This chapter notes a dearth in political campaign inoculation scholarship in recent years and calls for renewed interest. A survey of inoculation research offers a nuanced portrait of how inoculation has functioned in campaigns, yet several findings remain unexplained by the theory. The chapter concludes with proposals for future political campaign inoculation research, exploring new campaign technologies and new insights into how inoculation functions in political campaigns.
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Presidents not only use speechwriters; they also have views on speechwriting. This essay examines public presidential mentions of speechwriting and speechwriters to explore how POTUS's comments might reveal implicit and explicit... more
Presidents not only use speechwriters; they also have views on speechwriting. This essay examines public presidential mentions of speechwriting and speechwriters to explore how POTUS's comments might reveal implicit and explicit criticisms and compliments of speech-writing as a component of presidential rhetoric. The essay also considers some advice offered by presidents on the practice of effective speechwriting. Presidents Johnson, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, W. Bush, and Obama are featured.
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Presidents do public speaking, of course, but how do presidents view public speaking? This essay examines public presidential remarks about public speaking to offer a view of presidential rhetoric about rhetoric. This analysis reveals... more
Presidents do public speaking, of course, but how do presidents view public speaking? This essay examines public presidential remarks about public speaking to offer a view of presidential rhetoric about rhetoric.
This analysis reveals that presidents have offered evaluations (implicit and explicit) of public speaking, as well as specific advice about giving and writing speeches. Excerpts from speeches and other remarks are included, with representation from Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Johnson, Carter, Reagan, H. W. Bush, Clinton, W. Bush, and Obama. Considering presidential remarks about public speaking provides unique material to further inform how we teach, view, study, and do public speaking.
This analysis reveals that presidents have offered evaluations (implicit and explicit) of public speaking, as well as specific advice about giving and writing speeches. Excerpts from speeches and other remarks are included, with representation from Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Johnson, Carter, Reagan, H. W. Bush, Clinton, W. Bush, and Obama. Considering presidential remarks about public speaking provides unique material to further inform how we teach, view, study, and do public speaking.
Research Interests: Public and Political Communication, Political communication, Public Speaking, Political Communication (Communication), President James Earl Carter, and 16 morePresidential Studies, Ronald Reagan, Presidential rhetoric, Presentation Skills, Public Speaking, President Lyndon Johnson, President Bill Clinton, President George W. Bush, Public Speaking Anxiety, President Bush, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, President Barack Obama, President Clinton, President Harry Truman, President Ronald Reagan, President H. W. Bush, and President William Jefferson Clinton
As Lecturer of Speech in the Institute for Writing and Rhetoric at Dartmouth College, I have joined an ongoing conversation about speech that spans disciplines. This article takes a step back from looking at communication across the... more
As Lecturer of Speech in the Institute for Writing and Rhetoric at Dartmouth College, I have joined an ongoing conversation about speech that spans disciplines. This article takes a step back from looking at communication across the curriculum as a program and instead looks at one of the earliest stages of the process – conversations about speech with the disciplines. Exploring our meta- communication – our speaking with the disciplines about speech – highlights some of the discoveries we have made about speech through our conversations.
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While forensics is well known as an activity devoted to the pursuit of excellence in public speaking, debate and literary performance, forensics also represents a community of scholars committed to intellectual scholarship and insightful... more
While forensics is well known as an activity devoted to the pursuit of excellence in public speaking, debate and literary performance, forensics also represents a community of scholars committed to intellectual scholarship and insightful practical and pedagogical research. These academic pursuits are further advanced when forensic scholarship is based on solid theoretical frameworks that offer analytical depth and enhance legitimacy in academic forums. This essay proposes collective memory as a research framework for forensic scholarship. Collective memory is a rich theoretical perspective, inviting considerations of such themes as the emergence and remembrance of forensic legends, roles of alumni, perspectives of successes and failures, rituals of commemorating the past, team traditions, and how history is communicated. The essay provides an overview of these by using a collective memory theoretical perspective.
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While “transfer” has become, in recent years, a subject of great research interest to our field, we still have much to learn about how we can best use this research knowledge to inform local efforts in program development. In this... more
While “transfer” has become, in recent years, a subject of great research interest to our field, we still have much to learn about how we can best use this research knowledge to inform local efforts in program development. In this profile, we describe the foundations of the Dartmouth Institute for Writing and Rhetoric and explain how transfer research might inform our future directions in writing and speech. We conclude by explaining what we have learned already from our literature review, our study of first-year student writing, our curricular pilots, and our efforts at ongoing exchange.
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In December 2012, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland announced that beef sold by Tesco in the United Kingdom and Ireland tested positive for horse DNA. Media coverage of the scandal pointed to potentially grave implications—for Tesco,... more
In December 2012, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland announced that beef sold by Tesco in the United Kingdom and Ireland tested positive for horse DNA. Media coverage of the scandal pointed to potentially grave implications—for Tesco, but also for related entities, particularly given the possibly emotive nature of the crisis. Applying Benoit's (1995, 2014a) image restoration typology, this article analyses Tesco's rhetorical choices in the days after the meat testing results were made public. The analysis suggests that Tesco's image repair efforts were, in general, consistent and thorough, employing strategies and tactics that match Benoit's recommendations and have solid track records of success. Three major implications emerged from the analysis: the importance of timeliness and using rhetoric of timeliness; the possibility of third-party minimisation attempts; and shifting the grounds away from health and toward transparency.
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The Camden Hills high school football season was cancelled mid-season after multiple injuries to current team members led to not having enough participants to safely field a competitive team. The decision to cancel the team came from... more
The Camden Hills high school football season was cancelled mid-season after multiple injuries to current team members led to not having enough participants to safely field a competitive team. The decision to cancel the team came from school administrators. This paper offers a rhetorical analysis of the image repair strategies used by Superintendent Libby in her attempt to help explain the decision-making process used by administrators to come to this decision. Additionally, this study focuses on aspects of community and sport, examining potentially competing interests of safety and community.
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South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson shouted " You lie! " at President Barack Obama, interrupting the president's speech before a joint session of Congress. Facing widespread criticism, Wilson apologized. We use this unique case to... more
South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson shouted " You lie! " at President Barack Obama, interrupting the president's speech before a joint session of Congress. Facing widespread criticism, Wilson apologized. We use this unique case to consider the peculiar nature of outburst as a form of attack—an attack that, instead of damaging the image of its target, often inflicts primary damage on the image of the attacker. We conclude that Wilson's image repair efforts largely failed, as measured against a criterion of appropriateness. The analysis highlights unique impacts of delivery dimensions as requisites for outbursts, shifting focus from conventional conceptualizations of content in image repair scholarship. Further, implications of outburst as rhetorical attack and as a rhetorical act necessitating defense are explored.
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During her fictional 1940 presidential campaign, popular radio star Gracie Allen was the target of criticism after her colleague told a joke referencing First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Allen responded to the criticisms with a public letter.... more
During her fictional 1940 presidential campaign, popular radio star Gracie Allen was the target of criticism after her colleague told a joke referencing First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Allen responded to the criticisms with a public letter. In this analysis, Benoit’s image repair typology is used to study Allen’s letter. A total of 5 implications are drawn, including issues of celebrity roles, the effectiveness of mortification during image repair efforts, and challenges and benefits of humor in an image repair situation, to better understand historical political radio humor—an under-explored focus of image repair scholarship.
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From content analyses to effects studies to rhetorical and critical analyses, we have a growing body of scholarship exploring political humor on United States late night television. The growing body of political humor scholarship reveals... more
From content analyses to effects studies to rhetorical and critical analyses, we have a growing body of scholarship exploring political humor on United States late night television. The growing body of political humor scholarship reveals how late night comedy characterizes politics and politicians. What has not yet been explored, however, is how United States’ politicians characterize late night television humor. Recognizing Saturday Night Live (SNL) as a unique type of late night television political humor in the USA, this essay turns to SNL mentions in United States’ presidential remarks, including mentions by Presidents George Bush, George W. Bush, Gerald Ford, and Bill Clinton. Directions for future scholarship in this area are also proposed.
Research Interests: Television Studies, Comedy Studies, Political humor, Political Comedy, Bill and Hillary Clinton, American Politicians, and 10 morePresidential rhetoric, George W. Bush, George W. Bush Presidency, Gerald Ford, Presidential Speeches, President Bill Clinton, Audience Perceptions of Political Comedy Programming, George Bush Senior, George H. W. Bush, and Saturday Night Live
Regretted apologies create a unique rhetorical situation, possibly leading to an apology for an apology. This essay draws on the work of Benoit’s (1995) image repair typology to survey attempts to repair image when the offense is an... more
Regretted apologies create a unique rhetorical situation, possibly leading to an apology for an apology. This essay draws on the work of Benoit’s (1995) image repair typology to survey attempts to repair image when the offense is an earlier attempt at image repair. Two case studies are offered—one in politics and one in entertainment—to assess image repair efforts after regretted apologies. Implications for image repair analyses are offered, as well as suggestions for further work to add nuance to image repair theory.
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Research Interests: Humor (Psychology), Humor, Political Campaigns, Media effects, Entertainment Education, and 24 morePolitical communication, Humor/Satire, Democracy, Psychological Effects of the Media, Entertainment, Humor Studies, Talk shows, Satire & Irony, Mass media effects, Media and Entertainment, The Daily Show, Political humor, Political Comedy, Political campaigning, Political Knowledge, Media Impact and Effects and Usages, The Colbert Report, Democracy and Citizenship Education, Audience Perceptions of Political Comedy Programming, TV talk shows, Fake News, The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, The Effects of the Media, and Satirical Fake News
... 8 Brian T. Kaylor & Josh A. Compton Another common target of the late night comics, President George W. Bush, was the butt of several jokes ... Then here's the bad part: Bush added,'I was also a big fan of... more
... 8 Brian T. Kaylor & Josh A. Compton Another common target of the late night comics, President George W. Bush, was the butt of several jokes ... Then here's the bad part: Bush added,'I was also a big fan of his dad, Pope John Paul I.' Also that evening, Craig Ferguson talked about ...
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Although the medical community hoped that Vice President Dick Cheney’s public experiences with heart problems and subsequent treatments would serve to raise awareness, educate the public about heart disease and treatment options, and... more
Although the medical community hoped that Vice President Dick Cheney’s public experiences with heart problems and subsequent treatments would serve to raise awareness, educate the public about heart disease and treatment options, and showcase advances in cardiac care, late-night comedians saw Cheney’s health problems as joke fodder. Comedians like Jay Leno, David Letterman, and Conan O’Brien ridiculed Cheney in their monologues, suggesting the vice president was frail, weak, and near death—certainly not a “poster boy” for contemporary cardiac care. This investigation presents a textual analysis of late-night comedy monologue jokes from July 25, 2000 to October 7, 2003. The themes that emerge in the jokes include Cheney’s infirmity, his questionable fitness for office, and ridicule for his state-of-the-art defibrillator. Implications of health-related content in late-night comedy programs are offered, including the potential impacts on health knowledge and attitudes toward illness. This study takes an important step toward understanding health messages in an unconventional yet powerful media venue.
Research Interests: Media Studies, Health Communication, Public Opinion, Television, Cardiac Surgery, and 14 moreCardiac arrest, Health Campaigns, Political humor, Political Comedy, late night TV, Dick Cheney, Communication and media Studies, Public health systems and services research, Recovery from Cardiac Arrest, Vice Presidents, Disabled Persons, Heart Diseases, The Tonight Show, and Late Night with David Letterman
Arby’s, a fast food restaurant, made a marketing appeal based on geography in its “Journey” television campaign, arguing that its meats sliced in its restaurants were fresher than Subway’s meats sliced in Iowa. Although the target of the... more
Arby’s, a fast food restaurant, made a marketing appeal based on geography in its “Journey” television campaign, arguing that its meats sliced in its restaurants were fresher than Subway’s meats sliced in Iowa. Although the target of the advertisement was Subway, some Iowans felt attacked. Iowans’ reactions and Arby’s responses offer an instructive case of image attack and image defense in public relations.
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David Letterman, host of The Late Show, told a joke about Sarah Palin’s daughter during one of his nightly monologues. During the ensuing controversy, Letterman offered two extended statements about the joke. Approaching Letterman’s... more
David Letterman, host of The Late Show, told a joke about Sarah Palin’s daughter during one of his nightly monologues. During the ensuing controversy, Letterman offered two extended statements about the joke. Approaching Letterman’s responses from the perspective of Benoit’s image repair typology reveals three primary strategies: denial, mortification, and corrective action. While Letterman’s first attempt to resolve the controversy failed, his second attempt was largely successful. Implications for public relations image repair strategies are offered.
Research Interests: Public Relations, Public Relations & Social Media, Persuasion, Sarah Palin, Image Restoration, and 12 moreCommunication and Public Relations, Political humor, Political Comedy, Corrective Action, Image Repair Strategies, Image Repair, Late Night with David Letterman, David Letterman, Political Humor Effects, Political Comedy Effects, Monologue Jokes, and Mortification
College sports coaches and administrators can use open letters to repair images and weather crises, especially during losing seasons. Our rhetorical analysis uses Benoit’s typology of image repair to reveal three primary strategies... more
College sports coaches and administrators can use open letters to repair images and weather crises, especially during losing seasons. Our rhetorical analysis uses Benoit’s typology of image repair to reveal three primary strategies attempted during losing seasons: evading responsibility, reducing offensiveness, and corrective action. We take note of how open letters distributed via electronic media channels widen the audience of such letters, but also, complicate issues of timing and of targeted audience analysis. We offer five implications for scholars and practitioners, including the importance of audience analysis, the value of corrective action, the ineffectiveness of attacking accusers, and the unique value of transcendence in sport communication image repair rhetoric.
Research Interests: Sport Psychology, Coaching Psychology, Coaching (Education), Rhetorical Analysis, Sport Marketing, and 31 moreSports Performance, Fan Cultures, Fandom, Transcendence, Sport Communication, Team Sports, Coaching, Sport, Sports, Sports Coaching, Fandoms, Coaching and mentoring, Letters, Sports marketing, Football Fandom, Sports Coaching and Training, Coaching and Positive Psychology, Corrective Action, Marketing of Sports Teams, Image Repair Strategies, Decision-Making in Team Sports, Sport Marketing and Public Relations, Communication and Sports, Sport Marketing and Communication, Fandom Studies, The Marketing of Sports Events, Open Letters, Image Repair, Evading Responsibility, Reducing Offensiveness, and Attacking Accusers
Open letters offer a unique focus for rhetorical analysis in sport communication, forming a message that is both interpersonal (the attempt to reflect dialogue through a letter writer and its recipients) and public (the “open” part of the... more
Open letters offer a unique focus for rhetorical analysis in sport communication, forming a message that is both interpersonal (the attempt to reflect dialogue through a letter writer and its recipients) and public (the “open” part of the open letter). The National Football League (NFL) attempted image repair when it used open letters to respond to accusations that it was not doing enough to protect athletes against devastating effects of concussions. Through the use of Benoit’s theory of image repair, the authors found that Commissioner Goodell’s open letters relied on 2 main image repair strategies: reducing offensiveness and corrective action. They consider the implications of these rhetorical choices for the complicated merging areas of sport, communication, and health in the NFL’s open letters.
Research Interests: Rhetorical Analysis, Rhetoric and Public Culture, Fan Studies, Rhetorical Criticism, Fan Cultures, and 20 moreFandom, Sports Fans, Rhetorical Theory, Sport Communication, Football, Football Fan Behaviour, Football Culture, Concussions/ Brain Injury in Athletes, Sociology of Football, Fans, Football and Fans, Concussion, Sports Concussion, Image Repair Strategies, Concussions, Open Letters, Image Repair, National Football League, Concussions and Youth, and Roger Goodell
With recognition of (1) unmet health information needs of persons with disabilities; and (2) anticipated growth of the persons with disabilities population, we seek to better understand the relative general accessibility of health... more
With recognition of (1) unmet health information needs of persons with disabilities; and (2) anticipated growth of the persons with disabilities population, we seek to better understand the relative general accessibility of health information on popular, highly ranked health websites. That is, instead of examining the efficacy and impact of specific types of health message appeals, the present investigation assesses the functional performance of specific content platforms of health websites. We examine the components of accessing and understanding health information through the lens of web and language accessibility, readability, and mobility. A total of 139 health-focused websites were randomly sampled from the Alexa® "Top Sites" global ranking system which uses web traffic data to rank the most popular websites. The sample was processed using computer aided software (e.g., WEB AIM, Web FX & Google Test My Site.) We found 91.3% of sampled home pages had detectable accessibility failures. The most common accessibility failures were low contrast, empty links, missing ALT text, empty buttons, and missing form labels. Most websites offered neither an accessibility policy statement nor an option for automated language translation service, likely impacting those with limited English proficiency (LEP). The implications for these findings are reviewed with discussion and limitations provided.
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... Page 2. Page 3. CAMPAIGNING FOR HEARTS AND MINDS Thi. s On « DBG4-BCZ-HF9D Page 4. ... Page 5. Campaigning for Hearts and Minds How Emotional Appeals in Political Ads Work TED BRADER The University of Chicago Press CHICAGO AND LONDON... more
... Page 2. Page 3. CAMPAIGNING FOR HEARTS AND MINDS Thi. s On « DBG4-BCZ-HF9D Page 4. ... Page 5. Campaigning for Hearts and Minds How Emotional Appeals in Political Ads Work TED BRADER The University of Chicago Press CHICAGO AND LONDON Page 6. ...
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... Oklahoma. Joshua Compton, Kimberly Parker, Elaine Wittenberg, Chasu An, Monica Ferguson, Heather Horton, and Yuri Malyshev are graduate stu-dents in the Department of Communication at the University of Oklahoma. ...
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Research Interests: Chemistry, Comedy, Public Relations, Persuasion, Sarah Palin, and 15 moreImage Restoration, Communication and Public Relations, Political humor, Political Comedy, Corrective Action, Denial, Image Repair Strategies, Joke, Image Repair, Late Night with David Letterman, David Letterman, Political Humor Effects, Political Comedy Effects, Monologue Jokes, and Mortification
Abstract Regretted apologies create a unique rhetorical situation, possibly leading to an apology for an apology. This essay draws on the work of Benoit’s (1995) image repair typology to survey attempts to repair image when the offense is... more
Abstract Regretted apologies create a unique rhetorical situation, possibly leading to an apology for an apology. This essay draws on the work of Benoit’s (1995) image repair typology to survey attempts to repair image when the offense is an earlier attempt at image repair. Two case studies are offered—one in politics and one in entertainment—to assess image repair efforts after regretted apologies. Implications for image repair analyses are offered, as well as suggestions for further work to add nuance to image repair theory.
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In May 2021, the Toronto Maple Leafs National Hockey League team lost a seventh and final playoff game—again. The day after their loss, Toronto Mayor John Tory took the unusual step of penning an open letter to Maple Leaf fans in... more
In May 2021, the Toronto Maple Leafs National Hockey League team lost a seventh and final playoff game—again. The day after their loss, Toronto Mayor John Tory took the unusual step of penning an open letter to Maple Leaf fans in response. His two-page letter was a unique mix of communication genres, including sport communication, political communication, and, with multiple references to COVID-19, health communication. It was also, as we argue here, a unique example of image repair rhetoric in general and sport image repair rhetoric in particular. In this rhetorical analysis, we build on a growing body of sport image repair in the form of open letters, revealing how the interaction of these contexts with Tory’s main focus on the team reveals how his open letter is at a crossroads of intersecting image repair efforts in politic, health, and sport. We draw three primary findings from our analysis, including the possibility that Tory’s letter functioned as an inoculation message, preparing fans to resist discouragement and a dampening of support.
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ABSTRACT From content analyses to effects studies to rhetorical and critical analyses, we have a growing body of scholarship exploring political humor on United States late night television. The growing body of political humor scholarship... more
ABSTRACT From content analyses to effects studies to rhetorical and critical analyses, we have a growing body of scholarship exploring political humor on United States late night television. The growing body of political humor scholarship reveals how late night comedy characterizes politics and politicians. What has not yet been explored, however, is how United States' politicians characterize late night television humor. Recognizing Saturday Night Live (SNL) as a unique type of late night television political humor in the USA, this essay turns to SNL mentions in United States' presidential remarks, including mentions by Presidents George Bush, George W. Bush, Gerald Ford, and Bill Clinton. Directions for future scholarship in this area are also proposed.
Research Interests: Sociology, Rhetoric, Television Studies, Comedy, Politics, and 14 moreComedy Studies, Political humor, Political Comedy, Presidential rhetoric, Scholarship, Gerald Ford, Presidential System, Presidential Speeches, President Bill Clinton, George W Bush war presidency, Audience Perceptions of Political Comedy Programming, George Bush Senior, George H. W. Bush, and Saturday Night Live
Research Interests: Marketing, Psychology, Persuasion (Psychology), Advertising, Persuasion, and 12 moreViral Marketing, Applied Communication, College Students, Credit Card, Debt, Credit Cards, Communication and media Studies, Advertising and Marketing Communications, Inoculation Theory, Debit and Credit Cards, forewarning, and resistance to influence
As Lecturer of Speech in the Institute for Writing and Rhetoric at Dartmouth College, I have joined an ongoing conversation about speech that spans disciplines. This article takes a step back from looking at communication across the... more
As Lecturer of Speech in the Institute for Writing and Rhetoric at Dartmouth College, I have joined an ongoing conversation about speech that spans disciplines. This article takes a step back from looking at communication across the curriculum as a program and instead looks at one of the earliest stages of the process — conversations about speech with the disciplines. Exploring our meta-communication — our speaking with the disciplines about speech — highlights some of the discoveries we have made about speech through our conversations.
Research Interests: Psychology, Rhetoric, Academic Writing, Collaboration, Dialogue, and 11 morePedagogy, Writing, Public Speaking, Speech Communication, Writing Across the Curriculum, Conversation, Collaborative Learning, Cooperation, Communication Across the Curriculum, Collegiality in academia, and Curriculum and Pedagogy
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In May 2021, the Toronto Maple Leafs National Hockey League team lost a seventh and final playoff game—again. The day after their loss, Toronto Mayor John Tory took the unusual step of penning an open letter to Maple Leaf fans in... more
In May 2021, the Toronto Maple Leafs National Hockey League team lost a seventh and final playoff game—again. The day after their loss, Toronto Mayor John Tory took the unusual step of penning an open letter to Maple Leaf fans in response. His two-page letter was a unique mix of communication genres, including sport communication, political communication, and, with multiple references to COVID-19, health communication. It was also, as we argue here, a unique example of image repair rhetoric in general and sport image repair rhetoric in particular. In this rhetorical analysis, we build on a growing body of sport image repair in the form of open letters, revealing how the interaction of these contexts with Tory’s main focus on the team reveals how his open letter is at a crossroads of intersecting image repair efforts in politic, health, and sport. We draw three primary findings from our analysis, including the possibility that Tory’s letter functioned as an inoculation message, prepa...
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Compton, J. (2017). Food safety and corporate public relations: Image repair and the Tesco horse DNA scandal. PRism 14(1): Abstract In December 2012, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland announced that beef sold by Tesco in the United... more
Compton, J. (2017). Food safety and corporate public relations: Image repair and the Tesco horse DNA scandal. PRism 14(1): Abstract In December 2012, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland announced that beef sold by Tesco in the United Kingdom and Ireland tested positive for horse DNA. Media coverage of the scandal pointed to potentially grave implications-for Tesco, but also for related entities, particularly given the possibly emotive nature of the crisis. Applying Benoit's (1995, 2014a) image restoration typology, this article analyses Tesco's rhetorical choices in the days after the meat testing results were made public. The analysis suggests that Tesco's image repair efforts were, in general, consistent and thorough, employing strategies and tactics that match Benoit's recommendations and have solid track records of success. Three major implications emerged from the analysis: the importance of timeliness and using rhetoric of timeliness; the possibility of third-...
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Approaching image as an audience’s perception of a rhetor, this essay considers the feasibility and efficacy of combining strategies and tactics of an image repair typology with the strategic approach outlined by inoculation theory. The... more
Approaching image as an audience’s perception of a rhetor, this essay considers the feasibility and efficacy of combining strategies and tactics of an image repair typology with the strategic approach outlined by inoculation theory. The work considers whether inoculation could expand the scope of conventional image repair efforts as a way to not only repair a damaged image, post-hoc, but also to confer resistance to future challenges, preemptively. Directions for future research are proposed, including preemptive image repair and reactive inoculation, and the use of image repair strategies in inoculation messages as a type of image prepare. Risks, challenges, and incidental strengths of an image prepare approach are also raised.
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Inoculation theory is a classic theory of resistance to influence, modeling a way to confer resistance to challenges based on biological inoculation processes. This commentary explores inoculation’s efficacy in the applied context of... more
Inoculation theory is a classic theory of resistance to influence, modeling a way to confer resistance to challenges based on biological inoculation processes. This commentary explores inoculation’s efficacy in the applied context of sport communication, with special consideration of how inoculation may guide sportmarketing strategies to preemptively bolster existing support for a team in the face of challenges (e.g., a losing season).
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ABSTRACT In the midst of a particularly difficult, deadly flu season, Gloria Copeland – televangelist, co-founder of Kenneth Copeland Ministries, and member of President Trump’s faith advisory council – seemed to suggest that flu shots... more
ABSTRACT In the midst of a particularly difficult, deadly flu season, Gloria Copeland – televangelist, co-founder of Kenneth Copeland Ministries, and member of President Trump’s faith advisory council – seemed to suggest that flu shots were unnecessary to protect against influenza, and instead, one should “inoculate yourself with the word of God.” This paper examines Copeland's inoculation rhetoric through the lens of inoculation theory and finds that Copeland's rhetoric was both consistent and inconsistent. She neither promoted flu shots nor used inoculation as a rhetorical device, but she did claim to be advocating inoculation of a different type.
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For years, scholars of the inoculation theory of resistance to influence have considered threat to be a major part of the resistance process—the motivational force that triggers such responses as counterarguing against future challenges... more
For years, scholars of the inoculation theory of resistance to influence have considered threat to be a major part of the resistance process—the motivational force that triggers such responses as counterarguing against future challenges to a position. More recently, scholars have begun to question the conventional explanation for the importance and/or role of threat in inoculation, (re)considering its importance, its conceptualization, and in some cases, its very existence in the process of attitudinal/belief inoculation. This theoretical article synthesizes some of the key arguments advanced about threat in inoculation theory and traces its development from the earliest iterations of the theory to its contemporary development and application. It proposes five avenues for future investigations of threat and/in inoculation theory in the continuing study of persuasion.
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Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are potent with promise and peril. On the one hand, ICTs provide an unprecedented amount of information, an ability to network across the globe, and interactive entertainment and... more
Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are potent with promise and peril. On the one hand, ICTs provide an unprecedented amount of information, an ability to network across the globe, and interactive entertainment and socializing. On the other hand, the same properties are at risk of misuse to bully, to spread misinformation, and to commit other acts of harm. The purpose of this chapter is to consider the theoretical and conceptual significance of studying cyberbullying from a family communication perspective. The aim is to explain essential features of cyberbullying, to situate cyberbullying as a communication phenomenon, and to propose important conceptual and theoretical frameworks in family communication (including trait verbal aggression, developmental assets, family rituals, family communication patterns theory, and inoculation theory) for future research. The hope is that this chapter will inspire more family communication researchers to better understand, study, a...
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Abstract Inoculation theory explains how an existing state (an attitude, a belief, a position) can be made more resistant to future influence, in much the same way a medical inoculation can make an existing state (a healthy body) more... more
Abstract Inoculation theory explains how an existing state (an attitude, a belief, a position) can be made more resistant to future influence, in much the same way a medical inoculation can make an existing state (a healthy body) more resistant to future viral influence: through pre-exposure to weakened forms of challenges. The theory has established efficacy as an effective messaging strategy in a number of contexts, including politics and health. Another area that has received attention in inoculation theory scholarship is public relations. A comprehensive review of this work, however, is long overdue. We outline existing work in inoculation theory and public relations, and then show how inoculation theory and public relations research can bring new applications and theoretical development to the public relations areas of (1) issues management; (2) crisis and risk communication; and (3) character assassination.
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ABSTRACT Contemporary inoculation scholarship has focused on the process of resistance to persuasion, and recently begun to examine various incidental effects that may accompany inoculation treatments. This study considers how talk fits... more
ABSTRACT Contemporary inoculation scholarship has focused on the process of resistance to persuasion, and recently begun to examine various incidental effects that may accompany inoculation treatments. This study considers how talk fits within both of these areas, not only as a byproduct of inoculation, but also as a potentially important contributor to the process of resistance. Results indicate inoculation not only enhances talk about the target issue, but such talk appears to bolsters resistance to subsequent counterattitudinal messages. Les effets de la discussion postinoculation sur la résistance aux influences La littérature contemporaine sur l’inoculation s’est concentrée sur le mécanisme de la résistance à la persuasion, et a récemment commencéà examiner différents effets contingents qui pourraient accompagner des traitements d’inoculation. Cette étude examine les manières par lesquelles la discussion correspond à ces deux domaines, non seulement comme effet secondaire de l’inoculation, mais aussi comme un participant possiblement important au mécanisme de résistance. Les résultats indiquent que l’inoculation ne fait pas qu’augmenter la discussion à propos de l’enjeu cible, mais que cette discussion semble renforcer la résistance à des messages de contre-attitude subséquents. Mots clés : inoculation, résistance, discussion, contre-argumentation, modélisation par équation structurelle Der Wirkung von Postinokulationsgesprächen auf den Widerstand gegen Beeinflussung Die aktuelle Inokulationsforschung fokussiert auf den Prozess des Widerstands gegen Persuasion und begann unlängst damit, die verschiedenen zufälligen Effekte, die bei Inokulationstreatments auftreten können, zu untersuchen. Die vorliegende Studie untersucht integriert Gespräche in beide dieser Forschungsfelder, und zwar nicht nur als Nebenprodukt von Inokulation, sondern als potentiell wichtiger Faktor im Prozess des Widerstands. Die Ergebnisse verdeutlichen, dass Inokulation nicht nur Gespräche über das Zielthema anregt, sondern dass Gespräche den Widerstand gegen nachfolgende Botschaften gegen die eigene Einstellung zu stützen scheinen. Schlüsselbegriffe: Inokulation, Widerstand, Gespräche, Counterarguing, Strukturgleichungsmodelle
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Research published by Richards and Banas and Richards et al. demonstrated that an inoculation treatment given to participants prior to their exposure to a series of freedom-threatening persuasive health messages mitigates audiences’... more
Research published by Richards and Banas and Richards et al. demonstrated that an inoculation treatment given to participants prior to their exposure to a series of freedom-threatening persuasive health messages mitigates audiences’ freedom-threat perceptions, state psychological reactance, and behavioral intentions. We sought to conceptually replicate the studies by Richards and Banas and Richards et al. with a sample of ever-vapers who were either assigned to an inoculation condition or control condition and then exposed to a series of dogmatic anti-vaping messages while psychophysiological responses were recorded. In doing so, we also sought to replicate the pattern of results observed by Clayton et al. and Clayton who used the same stimuli, methods, and measures. The results from our study provided a successful conceptual replication of each of these studies, with a few exceptions that are discussed. This study provides greater confidence in recent psychological reactance findin...
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ABSTRACT The central principle of inoculation theory is that when individuals are presented with a weakened form of a persuasive attack against an existing attitude, they become inoculated against future attacks to that attitude. To... more
ABSTRACT The central principle of inoculation theory is that when individuals are presented with a weakened form of a persuasive attack against an existing attitude, they become inoculated against future attacks to that attitude. To address a gap in the literature regarding inoculation mechanisms, we used focus groups (Study 1) to allow participants to describe resistance processes following inoculation. Guided by processing pathways that mirror those in established persuasion frameworks, participants described some of the variables that influence, occur during, and result from, their processing of inoculation material. We applied these findings by presenting a separate group of participants (Study 2) with a healthy nutrition inoculation message and studying their processing responses on the basis of variables identified in Study 1 and through related research. Analyses revealed that participants varied in their elaborative processing of the message and that elaboration was positively associated with desirable resistance processes (e.g. post-inoculation planning, talk, and information searching). By advancing our understanding of the ways through which inoculation messages prepare individuals for attitudinal attacks, these findings provide important future research directions and may inform effective inoculation message design.
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Inoculation theory offers a framework for protecting individuals against challenges to an existing attitude, belief, or state. Despite the prevalence and damaging effects of public speaking anxiety, inoculation strategies have yet to be... more
Inoculation theory offers a framework for protecting individuals against challenges to an existing attitude, belief, or state. Despite the prevalence and damaging effects of public speaking anxiety, inoculation strategies have yet to be used to help individuals remain calm before and during public speaking. We aimed to test the effectiveness of an inoculation message for reducing the onset of public speaking anxiety, and helping presenters interpret their speech-related anxiety more positively. Participants (Mage = 20.14, SD = 2.72) received either an inoculation (n = 102) or control (n = 128) message prior to engaging a public speaking task and reported a range of anxiety-related perceptions. Accounting for personality characteristics and perceptions of task importance, and relative to control participants, those who received the inoculation message reported significantly lower pre-task anxiety, and following the task, reported that they had experienced lower somatic anxiety, and t...
Research Interests: Anxiety Disorders, Behavior, Attention, Classroom Interaction, Anxiety, and 15 moreHumans, Female, Alcohol Drinking, Adult, Inoculation, Curriculum and Pedagogy, Academic Anxiety in College Students, ANXIETY, Anxiety in Music Performances, Apprehension, Inoculation Theory, Effective Public Speaking, Introduction to Public Speaking, Cognitive Reframing, and Fear of Public Speaking
Inoculation theory, a theory of conferring resistance to persuasive influence, has established efficacy as a messaging strategy in the health domain. In fact, the earliest research on the theory in the 1960s involved health issues to... more
Inoculation theory, a theory of conferring resistance to persuasive influence, has established efficacy as a messaging strategy in the health domain. In fact, the earliest research on the theory in the 1960s involved health issues to build empirical support for tenets in the inoculation framework. Over the ensuing decades, scholars have further examined the effectiveness of inoculation-based messages at creating robust positive health attitudes. We overview these efforts, highlight the structure of typical inoculation-based health messages, and describe the similarities and differences between this method of counter-persuasion and other preparatory techniques commonly employed by health researchers and practitioners. Finally, we consider contexts in which inoculation-oriented health messages could be most useful, and describe how the health domain could offer a useful scaffold to study conceptual issues of the theory.
Research Interests: Psychology, Health Communication, Influence, Persuasion (Psychology), Communication Theory, and 11 moreHealth, Persuasion, Medicine, Social Influence, Health Campaigns, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Health knowledge and attitudes, Messaging, Inoculation Theory, Frontiers in Psychology, and resistance to influence
One of the most significant departures from conventional inoculation theory is its intentional application for individuals already “infected”—that is, inoculation not as a preemptive strategy to protect existing positions from future... more
One of the most significant departures from conventional inoculation theory is its intentional application for individuals already “infected”—that is, inoculation not as a preemptive strategy to protect existing positions from future challenges, but instead, inoculation as a means to change a position (e.g., from negative to positive) and to protect the changed position against future challenges. The issue is important for persuasion scholarship in general, as theoretical boundary conditions help at each stage of persuasion research development, serving as a guide for literature review, analysis, synthesis, research design, interpretation, theory building, and so on. It is an important issue for inoculation theory and resistance to influence research, specifically, for it gets at the very heart—and name and foundation—of inoculation theory. This article offers a theoretical analysis of inoculation theory used as both prophylactic and therapeutic interventions and concludes with a se...
Research Interests: Psychology, Social Psychology, Communication, Health Communication, Social Sciences, and 14 moreScience Communication, Persuasion (Psychology), Public Relations, Political communication, Resistance (Social), Communication Theory, Attitudes (Social Psychology), Persuasion, Social Influence, Scholarship, Communication and media Studies, Inoculation, Inoculation Theory, and Emotions Social Psychology
With recognition of (1) unmet health information needs of persons with disabilities; and (2) anticipated growth of the persons with disabilities population, we seek to better understand the relative general accessibility of health... more
With recognition of (1) unmet health information needs of persons with disabilities; and (2) anticipated growth of the persons with disabilities population, we seek to better understand the relative general accessibility of health information on popular, highly ranked health websites. That is, instead of examining the efficacy and impact of specific types of health message appeals, the present investigation assesses the functional performance of specific content platforms of health websites. We examine the components of accessing and understanding health information through the lens of web and language accessibility, readability, and mobility. A total of 139 health-focused websites were randomly sampled from the Alexa® "Top Sites" global ranking system which uses web traffic data to rank the most popular websites. The sample was processed using computer aided software (e.g., WEB AIM, Web FX & Google Test My Site.) We found 91.3% of sampled home pages had detectable accessibility failures. The most common accessibility failures were low contrast, empty links, missing ALT text, empty buttons, and missing form labels. Most websites offered neither an accessibility policy statement nor an option for automated language translation service, likely impacting those with limited English proficiency (LEP). The implications for these findings are reviewed with discussion and limitations provided.
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The outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has been accompanied by a large amount of misleading and false information about the virus, especially on social media. In this article, we explore the coronavirus “infodemic”... more
The outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has been accompanied by a large amount of misleading and false information about the virus, especially on social media. In this article, we explore the coronavirus “infodemic” and how behavioral scientists may seek to address this problem. We detail the scope of the problem and discuss the negative influence that COVID-19 misinformation can have on the widespread adoption of health protective behaviors in the population. In response, we explore how insights from the behavioral sciences can be leveraged to manage an effective societal response to curb the spread of misinformation about the virus. In particular, we discuss the theory of psychological inoculation (or prebunking) as an efficient vehicle for conferring large-scale psychological resistance against fake news.
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Weather forecasts are a unique type of prediction rhetoric—science communication with inherent uncertainty and multiple potential interpretations from diverse audiences. When forecasts are wrong, audiences often turn their ire toward the... more
Weather forecasts are a unique type of prediction rhetoric—science communication with inherent uncertainty and multiple potential interpretations from diverse audiences. When forecasts are wrong, audiences often turn their ire toward the weather forecaster. This rhetorical analysis considers image repair efforts of a meteorologist following a botched winter storm forecast. Implications for communication efforts of weather forecasters are offered, in addition to consideration of insight into the larger realm of the rhetoric of science.