Tijdschrift voor Communicatiewetenschap - Volume 41, Issue 2, 2013

Dit nummer van het Tijdschrift voor Communicatiewetenschap bevat vijf artikelen van zowel Vlaamse als Nederlandse auteurs. De artikelen gaan over uiteenlopende onderwerpen en zijn gebaseerd op experimenten en inhoudsanalyses.

Singlemedium- versus multimedia campaigns: exposure effects on implicit versus explicit memory, brand attitude and purchase intention

The aim of this study is to introduce an alternative method to determine the potential synergy effects of multimedia campaigns. By making use of an implicit memory measure in combination with the common explicit measures, the scope and limits of the synergy effect were explored. Eighty-two participants were exposed to one of four media conditions (two multimedia conditions and two repeated medium conditions). The results showed a number of effects in favor of the multimedia campaigns. Participants seem to learn implicitly from repeated exposure to an advertisement message in multiple media, because priming only improved the memory performances of participants in the multimedia conditions. In the same way, participants in the synergistic conditions formed higher purchase intentions. These increased purchase intentions occurred without a significantly more favorable attitude compared to the repeated condition, this result may confirm that implicit memory is closer to the behavioral tendencies of consumers.

Small particles, big issues. An issue analysis of the Dutch national dialogue nanotechnology

In 2010 the Dutch government sponsored a national dialogue on nanotechnology. A wide range of activities was organised to bring scientific and societal views into this national debate. Issue analysis showed that risk issues concerning health and environment got most attention. Good legislation and ethical motives also came up as prominent topics in discussions. Next to issue analysis, we analysed the type of organizations that orchestrated the different projects and we looked at possibilities to bring in public voices. It turned out that there is no difference in public outreach or involvement among professional media, civil society, or academic organizations. Civil society organizations often set social and ethical issues on the agenda. Due to a lack of capacity and expertise their actual participation in dialogue projects was limited. To strengthen a more robust societal perspective in further national dialogues one could invest in capacity building for civil society organisations.

Visual gender stereotypes in advertising. An experimental study on the effectiveness of implicit stereotypes in print advertisements

In the 20th century, women became more powerful and climbed into professional and managerial jobs. These changes incited equality between men and women. This (r)evolution is also reflected in advertisements as various studies show that gender stereotyping (i.e., male dominance and female subordination) in advertisements has decreased. However, although women are no longer simply and solely depicted in the private sphere and in housewife roles, subtle and implicit gender stereotypes in advertisements are still common. The current study therefore explores the affective (ad-likeability) reactions of average consumers to those implicit gender stereotypes. In particular, an experimental study with 315 participants shows that people do not differ consistently in their preferences for either an implicitly a-stereotypical or stereotypical portrayal. Moreover, no gender nor age-related differences were found in preferences for stereotypical versus a-stereotypical gender stereotypes.

European debt crisis in the news. A frame analysis of Flemish newspaper coverage

This research examines the news frames used in the news coverage about the European debt crisis. The mainstream media are the main source of information for the European citizens concerning this crisis in the Eurozone. Therefore, it is interesting to research the news coverage through an in-depth content analysis. First, we conducted an inductive analysis to recognize the dominant news frames about this issue. Three dominant frames were identified: conflict, disease and natural disaster. Secondly, we executed a deductive analysis to measure the frequency of these frames. The conflict frame appeared the most, followed by the disease frame and the natural disaster frame. In this article we studied the news coverage in Flemish newspapers. However, this research is the first part of a larger study that will analyze more EU member states.

The influence of a warning for advergames on persuasion

In an experiment (N= 127) the influences of brand placement warnings in advergames on brand recognition and brand attitude are examined. In addition, the moderating role of gamers’ mood is explored. As expected based on persuasion knowledge theory, the results showed that brand placement warnings mitigate persuasion: gamers exposed to the warning held more negative attitudes toward the brand in the advergame than gamers who were not confronted with a warning. However, these influences only held for gamers in a positive mood. Gamers in a negative mood, were more negative toward the brand, regardless of the presence of a warning. As predicted based on priming theory, the results also showed that warnings increased brand recognition. These influences were stronger for gamers in a positive mood.

Gust De Meyer, Gust (2013).Gent: Academia PressISBN 978-90-3821-820-5