Selective Use of News Cues: A Multiple‐Motive Perspective on Information Selection in Social Media Environments

This study investigated the effects of message and social cues on selective exposure to political information in a social media environment. Based on the heuristic‐systematic model, we hypothesized that readers' selective consideration of specific cues can be explained by situational motivations. In an experiment (N = 137), subjects primed with motivational goals (accuracy, defense, or impression motivations, as well as a control group) were asked to search for information. Participants preferred attitude‐consistent information and balanced information over attitude‐inconsistent information, and also preferred highly recommended articles. Defense‐motivated partisans exhibited a stronger confirmation bias, whereas impression motivation amplified the effects of social recommendations. These findings specify the conditions under which individuals engage in narrow, open‐minded, or social patterns of information selection.     

“How Negative Becomes Less Negative”: Understanding the Effects of Comment Valence and Response Sidedness in Social Media

This study explores the influence of the public's negative comments regarding a corporate social responsibility (CSR) campaign in social media and how to best respond to them. It examined the interaction effects of comment valence and the company's response sidedness on the public's attitudes as mediated by the perceived negativity and perceived altruism. Results revealed that 2‐sided CSR responses are more effective than 1‐sided responses in enhancing altruistic motives for CSR, reducing perceived negativity in the public's comments, and eliciting favorable attitudes, especially when comments were negative. The effects of message sidedness disappeared when the public's comments were positive. Results also showed that perceived altruism and negativity mediate the effects of message strategies on the public's attitudes toward the company.     

Queer Identity Management and Political Self‐Expression on Social Networking Sites: A Co‐Cultural Approach to the Spiral of Silence

Social networking sites can facilitate self‐expression, but for some, that freedom is constrained. This study investigated factors that influence LGBT+ individuals' identity management and political expression on social media. We interviewed 52 participants aged 18 to 53 around the 2012 U.S. election. Using co‐cultural theory, we investigated communicative practices employed by queer‐identified individuals on Facebook. Participants whose LGBT+ identity was not known by the social network (i.e., those who were still in the closet) revealed a spiral of silence, wherein they were silenced by the perceived heteronormative majority. Participants whose identity was known (i.e., those who were out) revealed a spiral of silencing as they used the site's affordances to empower their vocal minority and silence the dominant group.     

More Than Shoot‐Em‐Up and Torture Porn: Reflective Appropriation and Meaning‐Making of Violent Media Content

Media violence research has mainly focused on aggression effects so far. But are audiences' thoughts about violent portrayals actually confined to aggressive fantasies? This study examines more complex thought processes about violent portrayals that involve reflection, meaning‐making, and truth‐seeking about violence as a fact of social reality. We conducted qualitative in‐depth interviews with 39 participants from different backgrounds, including professions at risk for exposure to violence, media professionals, and interviewees from the general population. The interviews revealed three main categories of reflective thoughts about violent media content, including thoughts about (a) the truth value, (b) the life‐world relevance, and (c) the psychological and moral implications of the violence depicted. Participants also discussed unrealistic content features that interfered with meaning‐making.