Hyun Jin Song

Low processing fluency fosters the impression that a stimulus is unfamiliar, which in turn results in perceptions of higher risk, independent of whether the risk is desirable or undesirable. In Studies 1 and 2, ostensible food additives were rated as more harmful when their names were difficult to pronounce than when their names were easy to pronounce; mediation analyses indicated that this effect was mediated by the perceived novelty of the substance. In Study 3, amusement-park rides were rated

People are more likely to engage in a given behavior the less effort it requires. As numerous studies have indicated, high perceived effort is a major impediment to behavior change, from adopting an exercise routine (e.g., DuCharme & Brawley, 1995) to changing one's diet (e.g., Sparks, Guthrie, & Shepherd, 1997). Although previous research has shown that task type (e.g., Buehler, Griffin, & Ross, 1994) and previous experience (e.g., Thomas, Handley, & Newstand, 2007) influence the accuracy of ef

When asked, “How many animals of each kind did Moses take on the Ark?” most people respond “Two” despite knowing that Noah rather than Moses was the biblical actor. Two experiments tested the role of processing fluency in the detection of such semantic distortions by presenting questions in an easy or difficult to read print font. As predicted, low processing fluency facilitated detection of the misleading nature of the question and reduced the proportion of erroneous answers. However, low proce

Political communication has become one of the central arenas of innovation in the application of automated analysis approaches to ever-growing quantities of digitized texts. However, although researchers routinely and conveniently resort to certain forms of human coding to validate the results derived from automated procedures, in practice the actual “quality assurance” of such a “gold standard” often goes unchecked. Contemporary practices of validation via manual annotations are far from being

As citizens inadvertently “encounter” news and political information through digital media and social networking sites, they might perceive themselves to be well informed about politics without actively seeking political information, which has been labeled as the “News Finds Me” (NFM) perception. We attempt to explicate and further advance the conceptualization and corresponding measurement of “News Finds Me” perception. Using a nationally representative survey conducted in Austria, our analysis

Within the context of partisan selective exposure and attitude polarization, this study investigates a mutually reinforcing spiral model, aiming to clarify mechanisms and boundary conditions that affect spiral processes—interpersonal agreement and disagreement, and the ebb and flow of message receptions. Utilizing agent-based modeling (Abm) simulations, the study formally models endogenous dynamics of cumulative processes and its reciprocal effect of media choice behavior over extended periods o

The present study focuses on how different features of discussion networks and the contexts in which they reside are related to political ambivalence, participation, and knowledge. Using full sociometric network data derived from 25 different student activity organizations, we reveal complex implications of various facets of discussion networks and their contextual settings. Ambivalence is amplified by being highly central within a discussion network and a political minority within the group. Di

Abstract With the explosive growth in research topics, communication science is said to be more fragmented and hyper-specialized than ever before, producing an increasing number of small, niche research topics that lack intellectual coherence as a whole. While such issues have been a central concern for the field, there has been a relative lack of systematic effort to map the topical interconnections among different communication science subfields, answering the question of how they remain empir

Recent advances in partisan selective exposure research have provided compelling evidence for the distinction between selective approach and selective avoidance. Yet the questions of whether, how, and to what extent discrete emotions systematically shape either of these patterns has not been sufficiently addressed. This study explores the differential roles of fear, anger, and enthusiasm in selective approach to and selective avoidance of partisan news programs, focusing on partisan differences

While the online sphere is believed to expose individuals to a wider array of viewpoints, a worry about self-reinforcing political echo chambers also persists. We join this scholarly debate by focusing on individual motives for political discussion and dyadic- and structural-level mechanisms that can drive one’s message-selection decision in online discussion settings. Using unobtrusively logged behavioral data matched with panel survey responses, our temporal exponential random graph model (TER

Abstract Researchers often focus on the benefits of adopting open science, yet questions remain whether the general public, as well as academics, value and trust studies consistent with open science compared to studies without open science. In three preregistered experiments (total N = 2,691), we find that the general public perceived open science research and researchers as more credible and trustworthy than non-open science counterparts (Studies 1 and 2). We also explored if open science pract

How do individuals structure their political discussion networks, and what factors systematically shape such patterns? While much research has focused on the effect of personality traits and one's motivations, abilities, and opportunities, network-structural factors present different principles of tie formations. Evidence from an Exponential Family Random Graph Model and the meta-analysis of an Exponential Random Graph Model (Ergm) from 20 different groups' networks indicated that the pattern of