Carolyn A Lin

University of Connecticut | UConn · Department of Communication

Internet addiction has been identified as a pathological behavior, but its symptoms may be found in normal populations, placing it within the scope of conventional theories of media attendance. The present study drew upon fresh conceptualizations of gratifications specific to the Internet to uncover seven gratification factors: Virtual Community, I...

Recent reports of problematic forms of Internet usage bring new currency to the problem of "media addictions" that have long been the subject of both popular and scholarly writings. The research in this article reconsidered such behavior as deficient self-regulation within the framework of A. Bandura's (1991) theory of self-regulation. In this fram...

As a subscription medium, satellite radio diffusion remains stagnant. To compete effectively against their terrestrial and online counterparts, the satellite radio industry needs to understand their potential audiences' listening needs and wants. This study surveyed a national sample to examine audience affinity, motives, and activity as well as fo...

This study examines differences in informational strategies by product categories in Japanese and American television advertisements. Overall findings suggest that American advertisements are perhaps more informative than Japanese advertisements, based on the western standard. However, only by examining the qualitative and quantitative nature of th...

Empirical evidence generated from theory-driven research addressing the relationship between misinformation and vaccine information avoidance during a pandemic remains lacking. Using the Stimulus-Organism- Response (S-O-R) framework, this study examined the influence of vaccine misinformation exposure and information overload on cognitive and affec...

ABSTRACT Well-known K-pop (Korean popular music) bands have gained the status of pop music icons, owing to their widespread popularity around the world. This study explored the interrelations between a set of relevant social and psychological factors to explain how K-pop has also contributed to a one-of-a-kind transcultural communication phenomenon...

Climate change and more frequent severe storms have caused persistent flooding, storm surges, and erosion in the northeastern coastal region of the United States. These weather-related disasters have continued to generate negative environmental consequences across many communities. This study examined how coastal residents' exposure to flood risk i...

Existing research explaining product and technology factors influencing the effectiveness of newsfeed ads embedded in social media platforms remains scarce. Applying the flow concept and technology fluidity theory, this experiment explored how product and technological factors influenced consumers’ interaction with and evaluation of newsfeed ads on...

Extant research addressing the relations between TikTok videos and sustainable apparel consumption behavior is limited. This study explores these relations by testing the following theories and constructs: social consciousness, prior sustainable apparel purchasing, attitude toward TikTok videos (featuring sustainable apparel content), and theory of...

Limited research has examined how racially diverse spokespersons in advertising may influence advertising effectiveness in an experimental setting. An online experiment (N = 330) was conducted via a 3 (spokesperson race) x 2 (product type) between-subject design with random assignment. Results showed that spokespersons’ race had a significant effec...

This study examined the #MeToo movement with an analysis of user comments on Twitter. The study tested an integrated framework of theories and constructs, including social identity, social judgment, and social support as well as race and gender. Findings suggest that social judgment differed between users with separate social identity. Specifically...

The sustainable consumption trend is gaining popularity among Gen Z. Guided by the environmental awareness construct, Norm Activation Model, corporate social responsibility paradigm, and shopping value perspective, this study aims to assess how environmental awareness is connected to consumer evaluations of their personal consumption behavior and c...

Obesity among children is a rising concern throughout the world. In the U.S., rates of childhood obesity are the highest among children from diverse and economically disadvantaged households. Obesity in adolescence increases the risk of negative physical and psychological health consequences. Mobile-app-based health interventions have been found to...

The current study drew from emotional contagion and source credibility theories to investigate whether watching differentially sourced panda videos may influence attitudes toward the “brand” image of China. An experiment (N = 245) conducted with a U.S. college student sample showed that perceived source credibility and nature relatedness were posit...

Background Our interdisciplinary team developed a publicly available online game—Eat and Move as I Like (EAMAIL)—for tweens based on the MyPlate evidence-based representation of the Dietary Guidelines. Objective We aimed to test the feasibility of using EAMAIL in a classroom setting to promote engagement and self-awareness and motivate healthier d...

Advances in information technologies today have created rich forms of reality to engage consumers. This study examines the effects of augmented realism and technology fluidity of augmented reality (AR) applications on consumer decision-making. A posttest-only between-group experiment was conducted in a laboratory setting to enable the completion of...

Objectives To assess the awareness, beliefs, attitudes, and consumption intention of college students associated with the consumption of plant-based meat and its environmental impact. Methods Undergraduate students enrolled (aged 17–23) in a general education course at a large Northeast university completed an online survey in early December of 20...

YouTube videos offer a potentially useful vehicle for the communication of science, health, and medical information about COVID-19 to children. Findings from this research showed that primary characters appearing in children's educational YouTube videos about COVID-19 were most often adults, with about an equal number of men and women and few chara...

This study explores how individuals react to COVID-19 prevention measures in relation to their national cultural values and health belief factors. Specifically, guided by the most relevant Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and the health belief model (HBM), this study tested a conceptual framework through conducting a survey of the U.S. adult populati...

During the COVID-19 pandemic, news media are expected to play a critical role in reducing health disparities. However, we know little about whether and how disparities in COVID-19 have been covered in national and local U.S. newspapers. This study examined whether minority health gained news attention and whether partisan bias affected related cove...

Objective: The current study investigates the effects of an alcohol-prevention program delivered to college students in a formal classroom setting. Participants: The sample comprised 231 first-year college students who enrolled in a multisection "First Year Experience" course at a large northeastern university in the United States. Method: A natura...

Purpose This study examined whether marketing an apparel product via an advertisement with a sustainability vs a conventional message would affect consumer perception of the brand's CSR image and their attitude toward the brand. Design/methodology/approach An online experiment via a posttest-only between-group design with random assignment was adm...

This book discusses the role of television drama series on a global scale, analyzing these dramas across the Americas, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa. Contributors consider the role of television dramas as economically valuable cultural products and with their depictions of gender roles, sexualities, race, cultural values, political systems, a...

Online consumer reviews serve an important marketing function, as they provide useful consumer-generated product information that could help online shoppers evaluate a product for making a purchase decision. To capitalize on this consumer-driven marketing opportunity, a common practice among marketers, for example, is to display these reviews from...

In time of a global health crisis such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, media play the most important role in keeping the public informed and educated about the scientific facts and government responses related to this crisis. If correctly educated by reliable media sources, individuals will be better equipped to take appropriate actions to avoid...

As the bottled water market is projected to grow continuously worldwide, so is the plastic waste that pollutes the environment. The beverage industry's marketing campaigns have played an important role in sustaining the popularity of bottled water. Social science theory-based empirical research examining how consumers make bottled water consumption...

Social media influencers are often seen as independent third-party endorsers who can utilize their blogs, tweets and other type of social media tools to influence the attitudes of their readers and followers. This study tested a model that assesses the effectiveness of an Instafamous influencer in promoting a product and facilitating consumer decis...

We tested the feasibility of a school-based, liking-based behavioral screener (Pediatric Adapted Liking Survey (PALS)) and message program to motivate healthy diet and activity behaviors. Students, recruited from middle- (n = 195) or low-income (n = 310) schools, online-reported: likes/dislikes of foods/beverages and physical/sedentary activities,...

Obesity prevention involves promoting healthy eating and physical activity across all children. Can we leverage technology to feasibly survey children’s health behaviors and deliver theory-based and user-tailored messages for brief clinical encounters? We assessed the acceptability and utility of an online pediatric-adapted liking survey (PALS) and...

When attempting to communicate flood risk, trust in and perceptions toward risk-information disseminated as well as individual efficacy factors can play a significant role in affecting risk-mitigation motivation and intention. This study seeks to examine how risk communication, risk perception and efficacy factors affect evacuation motivation and b...

The digital divide conception can be defined as gaps in access to (or utilization of) Internet‐based information and communication technology (ICT). This entry addresses sociopsychological and geographical factors governing digital media diffusion—including social media and mobile communication technologies—across variegated social strata. It focus...

Heavy episodic drinking among college students is a common but scarcely researched public health problem in China. Although social drinking could be regarded as an enjoyable activity across cultures, the Chinese cultural belief about alcohol use is different from that of its Western counterpart, which has been richly evidenced in the research liter...

Adults aged 18–29 have the lowest vaccination rates in the United States, which include the college student segment. Even though influenza can spread quickly on a college campus and its adjacent communities, only 8–39% of college students receive vaccination annually. This study assesses the influence of media exposure, knowledge, and perceptual fa...

As we look back at the year 2019, the competition for audience attention has continued to intensify amidst a vast and diverse media landscape. If we observe the collapse of civil public discourse during the 2016 presidential election cycle more closely, one cannot help but notice a more alarming phenomenon looming on the horizon. This phenomenon re...

Coastal communities in Connecticut suffer from chronic flooding and erosion damage due to the effects of severe weather events, storm surge and sea-level rise. To reduce the negative socioeconomic consequences wrought by these natural disasters, it is necessary to activate social or human resilience that could enable these communities to efficaciou...

The articles included in this collection on bullying provide a wide lens through which to view this complexity.

Consumption of single-use bottled water has created severe environmental pollution problems around the world. By incorporating the theory of planned behavior with the additional cognitive and behavioral factors of perception, prior behavior, and knowledge variables, this study examined college students’ bottled water consumption intentions. Results...

Is cyberbullying essentially the same as bullying, or is it a qualitatively different activity? The lack of a consensual, nuanced definition has limited the field's ability to examine these issues. Evidence suggests that being a perpetrator of one is related to being a perpetrator of the other; furthermore, strong relationships can also be noted be...

Most college students have never been tested for HIV, even though they regularly have unprotected sex and multiple sex partners. Theory-based research addressing factors influencing HIV testing among college students is limited. This study explored this topic via a conceptual framework that integrates the health belief model with emotion and commun...

This study is the first to explore the motivational, cognitive, affective, and personality factors that influence the enjoyment of and exposure to TV series with horror content. The most-watched TV series identified by 411 study participants were examined in the study. Results indicate that personality traits significantly predict cognitive and aff...

This study investigated how social media use and online social capital might have influenced social trust and risk perception of a public health crisis in China. It also tested the validity and reliability of the online social capital measurement in the context of a Chinese food-safety crisis. Study findings validated the impact of online social ca...

The practice of naming winter storms has generated a large amount of discussion within the meteorology community of late. While storm naming has typically been reserved for tropical systems, some media organizations in the United States recently began naming winter storms but oftentimes using differing criteria. Anecdotal comments have labeled this...

Purpose Extant research addressing how consumers respond to electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) remains limited. Even less attention has been devoted to examining the trustworthiness of consumer reviewers with different ethnic backgrounds. The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of reviewer ethnicity, review valence and social distance (t...

Female sports journalists face many challenges, including being judged differently from men, based on their looks and the sport being covered. The present study utilized a quasi- experimental design to examine the impact of attractiveness and role congruence on source credibility and reader loyalty for female sports print journalists. A sample of 3...

Women remain underrepresented in sport media despite increased opportunities in other facets of sport and journalism. Further, women who have held positions in sport media are often perceived as being less credible than men in the field. In an effort to understand why these perceptions exist, the present study examined the influence of gender-role...

Sponsored advertising has generated strong advertising revenues for Facebook in recent years. As sponsored ads are built on an interactive platform that could be seen as invasive to user privacy, the growth of this advertising platform has important implications for consumers, and advertisers alike. As little research is available on consumer respo...

The study explores which activities on social networking services influence political involvement. A range of public sphere influences—including SNS evaluation, political orientation, offline political discussion, and social capital formation activities via social network services—will be explored by using national survey data (PEW data). In partic...

This article explores the venerable diffusion of innovations model and how changing technologies impact its applications and generalizations viewed as “products” of the model. We've examined some of the concepts involved, including characteristics of innovations, stages in the process, and characteristics of adopters. Then we attempted to develop a...

Previous research has not linked the perspectives of social influence, interpersonal discourse, and behavioral theory to study new media diffusion. The current study integrated these perspectives by incorporating theory of planned behavior with the concepts of normative beliefs and interpersonal communication to explain podcast-adoption intention....

This study examined the effects of antismoking ads on Korean adult male smokers. An experiment was conducted to explore how message framing and visual-fear appeals embedded in antismoking ads may influence ad-evoked fear, threat appraisals, and intention to quit smoking. Results showed that (a) antismoking ad exposure increased ad-evoked fear and c...

Undergraduate students were recruited to participate in an online survey to report their use of amphetamine stimulants and other drugs. Significant differences were found between students reporting (n=79; 4.0%) and not reporting (n=1,897; 96%) amphetamine-stimulant use in the past month – in terms of race/ethnicity, class standing, residence, healt...

The current project assessed college students' party-hosting skills and consequences to help facilitate the development of an environment-based strategy to reduce unsafe and underage drinking behaviors at social events. Three focus groups were conducted with students at a large Northeast institution; these students resided in the largest privately...

This study examined the Chinese public’s use of Weibo (a microblog platform) and their cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses to a series of food safety crises. Based on a sample of 1,360 adult Weibo users across China, the study found that Weibo use contributed to cognitive and behavioral responses to food safety concerns, but access to ot...

The present study applied theories of diffusion, technology acceptance, and uses and gratifications via an exploratory model to explain the photo-messaging behavior of 682 college students. Structural equation modeling results indicate that greater photo-messaging activity within one's social network predicts personal relationship formation and rel...

This chapter discusses the major communication theories relevant to the issue of communication divides. Siebert, Peterson, and Schramm provided the classic framework of the four theories of the press, which hypothesizes how different political systems may establish a media system that conforms with their special censorship agenda to control press f...

This study illustrates the modeling of mutual dynamical changes to assess the comparative effectiveness of intervention effects of substance use prevention programs. Youth Action Research for Prevention aimed to improve self-efficacy and strengthen drug prevention skills among African American, Caribbean and Latino youth from high-risk US neighborh...

The threat of a potential H1N1 pandemic was first reported in April 2009. Unlike the regular seasonal influenza that affects primarily preschool children, pregnant women, and the elderly, young, healthy adults were identified as 1 of the high-risk groups for contracting the H1N1 virus. This study was among the first to explore the impact of influen...

Unhealthy dietary habits, such as fast food consumption, have been identified as one of the major factors linked with the co-morbidity of obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. Nutrition facts displayed on nutrition labels are aimed at providing the public easy access to nutrition information to facilitate better nutrition behavior and dietary habits...

Online privacy seeks to protect the identity of individuals who use the internet to collect information or express opinions. However, given the proliferating vehicles through which one's identity can be ascertained, the question remains as to what policies can most effectively protect personal identity. This paper explores the similarities and diff...

A randomized controlled efficacy trial targeting older adults with hypertension (age 60 and over) provided an e-health, tailored intervention with the "next generation" of the Personal Education Program (PEP-NG). Eleven primary care practices with advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) providers participated. Participants (N = 160) were randomly...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the insertion of an endorsement – or the lack of it – in conjunction with product information relevancy, have an impact on consumers' purchase intentions related to a particular product. Design/methodology/approach An experiment was conducted to test the research hypotheses posited by this st...

The intent of this research paper is to discover if LibQUAL+® results can be used to identify "best practices" in academic research library website design. As demonstrated by responses to the LibQUAL+® survey item "A library Web site enabling me to locate information on my own", website design is an important consideration for academic research lib...

Subscription-based satellite radio services altered the economic fundamentals of the radio industry. To better understand the reasons behind radio audience adoption of satellite radio, this study examines the adoption process by exploring audience beliefs, perceptions, attitudes and intentions, in addition to economic and situational factors. Data...

This study tested the usability of a touch-screen-enabled Personal Education Program with advanced practice RNs. The Personal Education Program is designed to enhance medication adherence and reduce adverse self-medication behaviors in older adults with hypertension. An iterative research process was used, which involved the use of (1) pretrial foc...

Even though online radio services have been available since the mid-1990s, academic research on online radio diffusion remains scarce. The present study explores how online radio's value-added affordances may help shape the cognitive and affective responses to influence the adoption process among terrestrial radio listeners. Results show that onlin...

A randomized controlled efficacy trial targeting older adults with hypertension is providing a tailored education intervention with a Next Generation Personal Education Program (PEP-NG) in primary care practices in New England. Ten participating advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) completed online knowledge and self-efficacy measures pre-on...

This paper argues that the primary obstacles facing the transition to digital TV involve: (1) administrative infighting, (2) heavy-handed policymaking processes, and (3) the pursuit of self-interest and centralized control by the state network. After profiling China’s television infrastructure, the paper concludes that the Communist Party’s current...

Failure to adhere to an antihypertensive regimen and interactions between antihypertensives and other medicines represent serious health threats to older adults. This study tested the usability of a touch-screen-enabled personal education program (PEP). Findings showed that older adults rated the PEP system usability, system usefulness, and system-...

News media coverage of the Iraq war plays a significant role in informing the public about the war event itself. This study examined whether exposure to different news sources had an impact on the public's opinion on the war starting from the initial military-action phase through the early postwar period. It also explored how the public's patriotic...

A touch screen-enabled "Personal Education Program" was modified to the "next generation" to capture self-medication behaviors of older adults with hypertension and assess related knowledge and self-efficacy. The program analyzes patient-entered information and delivers interactive educational content tailored to the reported behaviors. Summaries o...

The Internet, a truly “on-demand” medium and not bound by geographic location, is a natural sphere for local broadcasters to obtain further branding advantages and additional advertising revenues by providing entertainment, infotainment and shopping services. This scenario could become a reality, provided that the broadband technology allowing for...