Browsing by Author "Abrams, Katherine, committee member"

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Open Access
Near, far, wherever you are: the relationship between historic-based conspiracy theories, emotions, and information engagement will go on and on
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2025) Klane, Megan Sandra, author; Anderson, Ashley, advisor; Abrams, Katherine, committee member; Claycomb, Ryan, committee member
It is often said that there are three words in the English language that are known throughout the world: God, Coca-Cola, and Titanic. The RMS Titanic has captivated individuals since her conception in 1911, but her legacy was penned in the history books when the "unsinkable ship" hit an iceberg and sank on April 15th, 1912. While history books, historians, and maritime experts acknowledge the facts surrounding the Titanic and her sinking, conspiracy theories put the official narratives into question. While research has been conducted on the Titanic and on conspiracy theories about her, communication research has minimally studied this phenomenon. Instead, communication literature primarily focuses on political conspiracy theories, the characteristics of conspiracy theories, and how algorithms promote conspiracy theories on social media. However, the influence of conspiracy theories further lies in their relationship with human emotion and how they retain the ability to elicit both positive and negative emotions. Similarly, emotion possesses a relationship with how individuals engage with information via information seeking and scanning – when individuals either actively seek information about a topic or passively encounter information about a topic. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between historic-based conspiracy theories, emotions, and information engagement. To do so, an experiment was conducted whereby participants were randomly exposed to either a video containing a conspiracy theory about the sinking of the RMS Titanic or a video containing purely factual information about the sinking of the RMS Titanic. Participants then answered a survey regarding both the emotions they experienced after watching their respective videos, and how they perceive themselves engaging with information about the Titanic on various social media platforms. In the end, this research determined that a relationship does, indeed, exist between historic-based conspiracy theories, emotions, and information engagement. The findings revealed that participants who were exposed to the conspiracy theory video not only experienced greater levels of positive emotion, but the results also illustrated how positive emotion mediates information seeking and information scanning. As a result, these findings aid in closing the gap in communication literature while also serving as the foundation for future research to be conducted on this phenomenon.
Open Access
The power of art for communicating complex health technologies
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Scott, Stephanie Marie, author; Martey, Rosa Mikeal, advisor; Anderson, Charles, committee member; Abrams, Katherine, committee member
This project examines whether art can influence audience perceptions of complex health technologies, specifically, brain-computer interface (BCI) technologies. This study used an experiment to test hypotheses about differences between those who see text about the technology, text and a scientific illustration of the technology, and text with an artistic representation of the technology (compared to a control), to determine whether an artistic representation of a new health technology can serve as an effective tool for increasing trust, comprehension, and interest of N=86 students from Colorado State University. This project used text and visual representations of brain-computer interface technologies to assess whether artistic representations of BCI influence trust, interest, and comprehension of the technology. Hypotheses 3 was supported, finding that that there were some significant effects for artistic visual and textual information on participants' levels of understanding. The findings of this study help us to better understand the role of visuals in communicating science and technology in health, especially in order to improve trust in complex new technologies. It also contributes to our understanding of the role of more abstract forms of representation, such as artistic works, in perceptions of technology. Additionally, this research can help practitioners improve and broaden their communication efforts in cultivating more positive perceptions among various publics of new health technologies. Future work could focus on exploratory efforts designed to gain greater insight and further understanding towards the impact that art and images within medical spaces and communities generates. This work provides a step towards better understanding art and its persuasive goals within communicating complex information and moves research efforts closer towards recognizing how artistic content may change perceptions. Visual representations in media have the ability to transport a viewer through an abstract narrative, and considerable research has shown that visual information contributes powerfully to people's understanding of facts, ideas, and stories. However, that research almost always examines realistic or highly representative imagery such as diagrams, photographs, or sketches. In contrast, little is known about the role that more artistic and abstract visual messages might play in people's perceptions of health and health-related technologies. This study measures the impact of viewing art related to a new health technology, brain-computer interface (BCI) systems. It asks, can abstract art representations of a complex health technology increase trust in and improve individuals' understanding of that technology?
Open Access
User-generated content: an examination of users and the commodification of Instagram posts
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2017) Macon, June Mia, author; Martey, Rosa Mikeal, advisor; Abrams, Katherine, committee member; Garcia, Antero, committee member
The language around social media contributes to perceptions of who is posting content and why. The concept of user generated content (UGC) places an emphasis on authorship and has been defined as online content that is publically available and created by end-users in a creative effort (Dennhardt, 2013). UGC is a powerful tool for businesses because it taps into one of the most valued marketing tools: verbal consumer-to-consumer communication, which is also known as "word of mouth" (WOM) marketing. However, the tactics used by companies to integrate UGC with their own content and goals has resulted in a blurred line between sponsored content paid by advertisers and UGC independently posted by regular users. Recent attempts to regulate this distinction have struggled to determine how, exactly, audiences can be effectively alerted to paid content on social media platforms, especially Instagram. This study uses the persuasion knowledge model (PKM) as a theoretical framework to examine if and when audiences' responses to and coping mechanisms are triggered in Instagram. It argues that digital media literacy is especially challenged in UGC platforms, and draws on political economy to suggest that the relationships between producers and consumers has been blurred in favor of the producers. Online users who have a well-known or niche brand can make money from his or her brand and online community because companies use "regular people" to push products to reach a specific audience; one that a regular user has the ability to build and maintain. This is why businesses have targeted UGC and why the user interaction with this type of content needs to be re-examined. This study examines the relationships between viewer perceptions of commercial sponsorship and post content in the social media platform, Instagram. Specifically, it examines whether or not the trust and credibility generally associated with electronic word-of-mouth are affected by hashtags and other cues on Instagram posts. This project asks, Does the commodification of user-generated content change the way the content is perceived by users? It tests these relationships in an experiment that manipulates hashtags and @name text that accompany an image. The study hypothesizes that users will not be more likely to identify content as sponsored when a #promoted tag is present in the caption than when #ad or #sponsored is used; it also hypothesizes that @company_name tags were more likely to be recognized as sponsored than the hashtag text versions. Changes in advertising recognition, persuasive intent of the message, trust in the message, and credibility of the message were examined in between subjects' analyses using ANOVAs, correlations, and t-tests. The results revealed several findings. Results showed users recognized the @company_handle as an advertisement more than #ad, #sponsored, and #promoted. The results also showed no significant difference between user's perception of the hashtags #ad, #sponsored, and #promoted. Also, even when these cues were present, some participants were not aware of their presence and did not recognize any advertising on the post within the survey. It was also found that once identified as an advertisement, the trustworthiness and credibility towards the post was not affected.