Institut für Kommunikationswissenschaft

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Auswirkungen der Nutzung mobiler Kommunikation auf die Verbindlichkeit in engen Freundschaften
(2018) Alius, Daniel
Our world becomes faster, more flexible and more short-term due to the possibilities of mobile communication. This development raises the question of its impact on our social relationships as long-term constructs. The present work examines the consequences of the use of mobile communication and online-vigilance on the commitment, responsiveness and behavior in friendships. The theoretical basis of the study is the investment model of Rusbult (1983). Data collection was conducted by an online-survey and a convenience sample in March 2018. 677 users of mobile communication (68% female/ 32% male) from Germany, with an average age of 30, participated in the survey. To investigate the relationships, a structural equation model with latent variables was specified. In addition, mediation effects were examined for their significance. The results show that the use of mobile communication promotes commitment and responsiveness in friendships. Online-vigilance, which captures the cognitive focus on online content and communication, has both, positive and negative effects on the commitment. On the one hand, it leads to a decrease in satisfaction in friendships and, subsequently, to a lower level of commitment, on the other hand, it increases the perception of investment, which increases the commitment. A high level of online-vigilance is also attended by a greater degree of non-committal behavior.
Do sexist comments hinder participation in online political discussions?
(2023) Reich, Sabine; Bachl, Marko
Women who visibly engage in politics online experience a lot of backlash. The presented study investigates sexist incivility against women in online political spaces as a possible explanation for the gender gap in online political discussion and expression. Online sexism solidifies the masculine norm in online political spaces. Drawing on social cognitive theory and the theory of normative social behavior, we understand online incivility as communication mechanisms that enforce gender norms in online political discussions. We use a preregistered online survey experiment with German Internet users to investigate how sexist comments in online political discussions affect women’s participation in the discussion, perceived social norms about participating, and their internal political efficacy. We found no effects of sexist comments on the propensity to engage in the discussion or the political efficacy to contribute. However, the presence of sexist comments increased the fear of sanctions in both men and women. The null findings of the preregistered experiment occurred despite sufficient statistical power and a successful treatment check. We discuss several possible explanations for the null effects and ways forward.
A gendered perspective on online privacy and self-disclosure
(2024) Frener, Regine; Trepte, Sabine
In research on online privacy and self-disclosure, gender is commonly included as a potentially predictive variable. The results are heterogeneous and sometimes controversial; explanations are often lacking or based on stereotypical assumptions. With this dissertation, I seek to provide a gender-focused perspective on online privacy and self-disclosure by taking a closer look at gender effects in privacy-related outcomes, studying the implementation of gender as a research variable, and investigating how gender is related to people’s inherent need for privacy. To this end, I present a short introduction in the first chapter, followed by four publications: a book chapter on privacy and gender (Study 1), a systematic literature review (Study 2), an empirical investigation of gender effects in privacy behavior (Study 3), and the development of the Need for Privacy Scale (NFP-S; Study 4). In Study 1, the book chapter, I summarize key theoretical advancements in gender and privacy research in line with the feminist movement. Further, empirical findings on gender disparities are presented from a communication science perspective. I discuss the ongoing gender-based digital divide as well as risks associated with automatic gender categorization. Lastly, I address the problems of conceptualizing gender as a binary, static variable, and propose alternative perspectives for more equitable treatment. In Study 2, my co-author Prof. Dr. Sabine Trepte and I examine how scholars in the field of online privacy incorporate gender into their research. For n = 107 articles reporting gender effects (or a lack thereof), we assess whether gender theory is included, to what extent it is referred to, and what function it serves. The results show that in most studies, gender is undertheorized, resulting in reduced explanatory power and the risk of gender essentialism. To meet the need for gender theorization in online privacy research we identified in Study 2, I present an empirical investigation of the social web gendered privacy model (Thelwall, 2011) in Study 3. The model aims to link gender differences in online privacy concerns, data protection behavior and online self-disclosure and explain them via gender differences in offline factors. Using longitudinal data (n = 1,043), I found partial support for the relationships between the privacy-related variables as well as for the transfer from offline to online contexts. The expected gender differences did not arise consistently, which challenges the model’s claim that women constitute an especially vulnerable population regarding social media usage. To offer added value for the broader field of privacy-related research, my co-authors Jana Dombrowski and Prof. Dr. Sabine Trepte and I present the Need for Privacy Scale (NFP-S) in Study 4. The NFP-S is a concise measure of the need for privacy as a personality trait, developed to be applied in any context. Against the theoretical backdrop of Burgoon’s (1982) privacy dimensions, we propose a second-order model with informational, psychological, and physical need for privacy as the first-order factors. In two large-scale surveys (Study 1: n1 = 3,278; n2 = 1,226; Study 2: N = 1,000), the scale was validated with regard to relevant personality traits, privacy-related cognitive criteria and behaviors as well as socio-demographic variables. With the goal of disentangling (biological) sex and gender, we include self-assessed femininity and masculinity. We find that congruity between participants’ perception of their femininity/masculinity and their sex is related to a higher need for privacy. In the overall discussion, I combine insights from the studies, provide ideas for future research, and offer societal and practical implications. Taken together, the four studies contribute to the field of online privacy by emphasizing the psychological perspective of gender as a socially constructed, multifaceted, and dynamic construct. Adopting this view is desirable for privacy researchers, as it helps to better understand privacy-related attitudes and decision-making, hence increasing overall validity. Furthermore, a differentiated understanding of gender is needed to prevent oversimplifications and stereotyping and to promote ethical and fair research.
Kommunikations-Controlling zur zielgerichteten Steuerung der internen Kommunikation in der Bundeswehr
(2015) Abel, Stephan Christopher; Brettschneider, Frank
Presuming that there is need for improvement the doctor’s thesis aims at systematically selecting the best fitting instrument for a strategic-objective-oriented management of the German Federal Armed Forces’ internal communication. It starts with a description and multi-dimensional classification of all available instruments for the management of private enterprises’ internal communication. Before proposing one of them for managing the German Federal Armed Forces’ internal communication, there is conducted an organizational analysis to clear the crucial differences between the German Federal Armed Forces and private enterprises. As a part of this, there is also conducted a research for the differences in internal communication between these two organizations by using Qualitative Research methods. The evaluation of 16 expert interviews leads to a model called ‚Unterschiedsmodell interne Kommunikation Bundeswehr vs. privatwirtschaftliches Unternehmen’. The findings resulting from the organizational analysis are used to create an evaluation tool that finally proposes to establish the ‚Communications Value System’ in combination with the ‚Index Interne Kommunikation’ for a strategic-objective-oriented management of the German Federal Armed Forces’ internal communication.
Kommunikationsprobleme zwischen Landwirtschaft und Naturschutz in Deutschland und ihre Ursachen
(2022) Menauer, Verena Theresa; Schweiger, Wolfgang
Communication is considered a key prerequisite for anchoring nature conservation in agriculture in the long term. However, the longlasting, sometimes heated disputes between ac-tors from both sectors in Germany show clear deficits, especially in public communication. Instead of finding solutions and compromises, the fronts are hardening in many places. The study aimed to identify and detail the existing communication problems and their causes. A coherent framework of communication studies that explicitly deals with communication problems is missing. Nevertheless, there are a number of theoretical approaches and research traditions that examine individual aspects of communication problems or, complementarily, deal with the conditions for successful communication. Of outstanding importance is research on public discourse – it forms the main theoretical point of reference of this work. Studies on journalistic news selection, approaches to strategic communication and research on group identities also appear to be relevant. Within the framework of a qualitative content analysis, 160 publications from the years 2019 and 2020 of the four relevant groups of actors (interest-led actors, state actors, news and specialist journalism) and the available user comments were examined. Thus, a current inventory of the existing communication problems was created. The analysis also provided initial indications of their possible causes. Subsequently, four group discussions were held with representatives from agriculture and nature conservation. The results of the content analysis were discussed and deepened. The initial findings of the content analysis were thus deepened, questioned and supplemented by the subjective perceptions and assessments of those affected. The results show that the observed problems and their causes are manifold: Firstly, actors are often unwilling to reach a rationally motivated agreement. Instead of openly engaging with all actors involved in the dis-course, they refuse to talk or try to influence individual target groups through strategic-manipulative communication. Secondly, not all topics, events and presentation perspectives have the same chance of being publicly discussed. Both news and specialist journalistic media usually only report on negative, conflictrelated issues, their reports are sometimes tendentious and limited to presenting one of several possible perspectives. Thirdly, it became apparent that the manner of communication is not always appropriate because actors do not sufficiently substantiate their positions with arguments, respond sufficiently to topics and arguments of the opposing side or express themselves appropriately. The following aspects can be named as causes for the lack of discourse quality: (1) Farmers seem to have an enormous distrust of outsiders, but also of their own professional representation. More or less all actors are met with great suspicion. (2) Especially among agricultural actors, emotional and financial concerns seem to play a major role. As a result, they sometimes find it difficult to communicate objectively and to accept that non-agricultural actors are also heard in the pub-lic discourse. (3) The actors involved sometimes lack the necessary knowledge to be able to participate optimally in the discourse. This applies to actors from agriculture and nature conservation as well as to journalists. (4) The media, interest groups and state actors are subject to various path dependencies and internal organisational constraints that are not only, but primarily of an economic nature. In some cases, they have the consequence that actors cannot act or communicate freely and discourse-oriented. (5) Moreover, various unresolved conflicts of objectives lead to problems. For example, actors from agriculture and nature conservation are sometimes confronted with the problem of having to pursue conflicting interests at the same time. (6) Group-specific differences in behaviour and evaluation can be cited as a further cause. Future studies should focus on the aspect of lack of knowledge, which negatively impacts the discourse quality in several respects.
Kooperation oder Konfrontation? Die Wirkung von Commitment, Empowerment, Emotion und Kritik in Verhandlung und Mediation
(2019) Hartmann-Piraudeau, Andrea; Brettschneider, Frank
The present work examines the effects of commitment, empowerment, anger, happiness and criticism by means of computer-based negotiation in the laboratory. In negotiation and mediation research, only a few experimental studies exist on the mechanisms of these conditions or interventions in a negotiation context with a mediator or a mediating third party. Usually, the results of experimental negotiation studies are based on classical two-party negotiations. With the research question of how the interventions of a mediator affect the negotiation process and the selected topics commitment, empowerment, emotions and criticism, a scientific contribution to the research of the effect of media-tion should be made. This is relevant because conflicts in society are less and less resolved by power. This development can be seen in different fields of social life In the first part of the work, mediation and negotiation are described as procedures for dealing with conflicts of interest and their similarities and differences are worked out. The state of research on the mechanisms of mediation in general and specifically on the research topics of Commitment, Empowerment, Emotions and Critique forms the theoretical basis of the work. Subsequently, the specific experimental conditions are discussed and the extent to which the negotiation situation in the laboratory can be transferred to the mediation context is worked out. 186 participants took part in the negotiation and were then questioned by questionnaire. The effects of the different test conditions on the willingness to cooperate, the agreement rate, the evaluation of the negotiating partner, the emotions experienced during the negotiation and the evaluation of the mediator were examined. The negotiating movements of the individual groups were compared against two reference groups and evaluated according to the principle of "match and mismatch" (Pruitt and Syna 1985; Benton et al. 1972). There were statistically significant differences between the experimental groups: All in all, those groups that were confronted with anger or criticism agreed faster. In the case of the condition "anger", concessions - analogous to previous attempts (without mediator) - can be seen as a strategic approach. The anger of the negotiating partner was evaluated by the test persons as an indication of their negotiating limits. In order to avoid an escalation or even a break, the participants reacted with concessions, even if they were not happy and felt negative. If the mediator criticised the course of the negotiations, a similar effect resulted: the participants in this group reached agreement more frequently than in other groups. However, the motivation for the concession was not based on strategic considerations, but on the uncertainty triggered by the mediators intervention, and was accompanied by strong negative emotions of its own, which were projected onto all participants. Below-average cooperative behaviour and below-average agreement rates indicate the experimental conditions of "confidence" and "empowerment". The difference between the two conditions lies above all in the emotion experienced and the assessment of the negotiating partner. If the test persons were given "confidence" by their negotiating partner, they reacted in an above-average good mood, little anxious and confident and found their negotiating partner sympathetic and cheerful. In the "Empowerment" group, the mediator induced his own encouraging comments. In addition to the restrained cooperation, these triggered a rather average emotional response, and the mediator was rated as "unhelpful". The analysis shows that the test persons interpreted the confidence of the negotiating partner analogously to the condition "anger" as a sign of his satisfaction with the progress of the negotiation. Accordingly, they saw no strategic necessity to show increased cooperation. In the empowerment of the mediator, the restraint is also based on the fact that the mediator as an external third party evaluates the progress positively. This is interpreted as an indication that there is no danger of escalation or abortion in the room and that the situation does not require increased concessions. However, the subjects were less positive in this condition and were more critical of the mediators intervention. There are indications that the test persons felt restricted in their self-determination. The test condition "Commitment" examines the effect on the demand of a written commitment of the test persons before the beginning of the negotiation. The agreement rate as well as the cooperation behaviour remained rather average. One conspicuous feature of the group analysed, however, is the high number of words used in the comments during the negotiation compared to the other groups. The request to write a first comment significantly increased the communicativeness in the course of the procedure and led to positive emotions among the test persons and an equally positive attribution of the negotiating partners. In addition to descriptive observation, data analysis and interpretation, recommendations for action in mediation practice were derived from the results for each group.
News endorser influence in social media
(2020) Teutsch, Doris; Trepte, Sabine
Social networking sites have become an online realm where users are exposed to news about current affairs. People mainly encounter news incidentally because they are re-distributed by users whom they befriended or follow on social media platforms. In my dissertation project, I draw on shared reality theory in order to examine the question of how the relationship to the news endorser, the person who shares news content, determines social influence on opinion formation about shared news. The shared reality theory posits that people strive to achieve socially shared beliefs about any object and topic because of the fundamental epistemic need to establish what is real. Social verification of beliefs in interpersonal communication renders uncertain and ambiguous individual perceptions as valid and objectively true. However, reliable social verification may be provided only by others who are regarded as epistemic authority, in other words as someone whose judgment one can trust. People assign epistemic authority particularly to socially close others, such as friends and family, or to members of their in-group. I inferred from this that people should be influenced by the view of a socially close news endorser when forming an opinion about shared news content but not by the view of a socially distant news endorser. In Study 1, a laboratory experiment (N = 226), I manipulated a female news endorser’s social closeness by presenting her as an in-group or out-group member. Participants’ opinion and memory of a news article were not affected by the news endorser’s opinion in either of the conditions. I concluded that the news article did not elicit motivation to strive for shared reality because participants were confident about their own judgment. Therefore, they did not rely on the news endorser’s view when forming an opinion about the news topic. Moreover, the results revealed that participants had stronger trust in the news endorser when she expressed a positive (vs. negative) opinion about the news topic, while social closeness to the news endorser did not predict trust. On the one hand, this is in line with the social norm of sharing positive thoughts and experiences on social networking sites: adherence to the positivity norm results in more favorable social ratings. On the other hand, my findings indicate that participants generally had a positive opinion about the topic of the stimulus article and thus had more trust in news endorsers who expressed a similar opinion. In Study 2, an online experiment (N = 1, 116), I exposed participants to a news post by a relational close vs. relational distant news endorser by having them name a close or distant actual Facebook friend. There was a small influence of the news endorser’s opinion on participants’ thought and opinion valence irrespective of whether the news endorser was a close or distant friend. The finding was surprising, particularly because participants reported stronger trust in the view of the close friend than in the view of a distant friend. I concluded that in light of an ambiguity eliciting news article, people may even rely on the views of less trustworthy news endorsers in order to establish a socially shared and, therefore, valid opinion about a news topic. Drawing on shared reality theory, I hypothesized that social influence on opinion formation is mediated by news endorser congruent responses to a news post. The results indicated a tendency for the proposed indirect relation however, the effect size was small and the sample in Study 2 was not large enough to provide the necessary statistical power to detect the mediation. In conclusion, the results of my empirical studies provide first insights regarding the conditions under which a single news endorser influences opinion formation about news shared on social networking sites. I found limited support for shared reality creation as underlying mechanism of such social influence. Thus, my work contributes to the understanding of social influence on news perception happening in social networking sites and proposes theoretical refinements to shared reality theory. I suggest that future research should focus on the role of social and affiliative motivation for social influences on opinion formation about news shared on social networking sites.
The overstated generational gap in online news use? A consolidated infrastructural perspective
(2021) Mangold, Frank; Stier, Sebastian; Breuer, Johannes; Scharkow, Michael
Recent research by Taneja et al. suggested that digital infrastructures diminish the generational gap in news use by counteracting preference structures. We expand on this seminal work by arguing that an infrastructural perspective requires overcoming limitations of highly aggregated web tracking data used in prior research. We analyze the individual browsing histories of two representative samples of German Internet users collected in 2012 (N = 2970) and 2018 (N = 2045) and find robust evidence for a smaller generational gap in online news use than commonly assumed. While short news website visits mostly demonstrated infrastructural factors, longer news use episodes were shaped more by preferences. The infrastructural role of social media corresponded with reduced news avoidance and more varied news repertoires. Overall, the results suggest that research needs to reconsider commonly held premises regarding the uses of digital media in modern high-choice settings.
Privacy, self-disclosure, social support, and social network site use : research report of a three-year panel study
(2013) Trepte, Sabine; Dienlin, Tobias; Reinecke, Leonard
This research report presents data from a study conducted in Germany based on a 3-year panel design. From October 2009 to April 2012, five waves of data collection were established. N = 327 participants from a convenience sample gave answers to questions regarding media use, privacy behaviors, well-being, social support, authenticity, and specific online experiences with a particular emphasis on social network sites (SNSs). It was found that across the 3 years of the study, people increasingly gained online social capital, developed a greater need for privacy, started to disclose more personal information online, and continually spent more time on SNSs. At the same time, people's willingness to disclose information in offline settings as well as their risk assessment of SNSs significantly decreased over time. Furthermore, frequent users of SNSs had more online social capital than less frequent users, disclosed more personal information online, knew more ways to restrict the access to their profiles, and were more authentic in their online profiles. People who had a higher need for privacy were less satisfied with their lives, less authentic in both their personal relationships and their online profiles, and generally showed more negative effects on different psychological variables. Respondents who had more online social capital also reported having more general positive affect and more offline social support. In the research report, further results are reported: Each variable is presented both individually and in context with other measures. The study is the first longitudinal study on online privacy and as such the first to be able to report mutual causalities between online experiences and privacy behaviors.
Professional online networking : investigating the technological and the human side of networking with professional social networking sites
(2021) Baumann, Lea; Utz, Sonja
Professional social networking sites (SNS) have become a vital part of modern days professional lives. They are a convenient way to receive information about job offers, work-related content, and to connect with other professionals independent of time and space. Research in the field of social capital has shown that a network of people can give access to information, influence, and solidarity which positively affect both subjective and objective career outcomes. Moreover, research has shown that a diverse network is most beneficial as it gives access to non-redundant information, new perspectives, and new ideas. Yet, most professional SNS users are mainly connected with others from their direct work environments such as colleagues and university friends. For one thing, this is because of the homophily principle which states that people tend to surround themselves with others who are similar to them. On the other hand, contact recommender systems of professional SNS support connecting with similar others as contact recommendations are usually based on similarity. The cumulative dissertation, therefore, was set out to investigate the technological and the human side of professional online networking to gain evidence on how to encourage professional SNS users to build more diverse business networks. The dissertation consists of four research articles answering the following four research questions: 1. Is there a difference between offline and online professional networking in terms of intensity and in terms of influence factors? 2. How do basic technological features and functions (e.g. diverse contact recommendations) influence professional online networking? 3. How do different information designs of contact recommendations influence professional online networking? 4. How does diverse online networking influence people’s social identification with their online business networks? In summary, the four research articles show that people’s online networking is mainly driven by cognitive factors, more specifically, people’s knowledge about the benefits of (diverse) networking. When people know about the benefits of networking and the benefits of diverse networking, they network more and more diverse. This can be addressed in the design of contact recommendations by displaying an explanation why someone is recommended thereby hinting at the benefits of networking in general and at the benefits of diversity. Moreover, this can be addressed by presenting contact recommendations emphasizing dissimilarity information in contrast to similarity information. Both different types of explanations and different types of information weaken the homophily principle and encourage people to network more diverse. Besides, basic technological functions influence online networking. When people are presented with a more diverse set of contact recommendations to choose from, they do not network less but consequently, end up with a more diverse business network. Furthermore, the negative affective influence of anxiety towards unknown people is different for offline than for online networking. In line with the social compensation hypothesis, in online settings, the negative influence is weaker than it is in offline settings. When only looking at online settings we see that higher levels of anxiety still reduce the number of people connected with but not the diversity of the resulting networks. Hence, people do not feel less anxiety when connecting with similar others than when connecting with dissimilar others. Finally, returning to the side of the user we see that more diverse online networking leads to a reduction of social identification with people’s online business networks. Diverse online networking reduces social identification with the network and as a result the willingness to support the network. Hence, diverse online networking compromises the benefits a network provides. Yet, in the absence of similarity, there is also evidence that people attribute others in their online networks with characteristics of their own to perceive them as similar. Shared characteristics function as a reason to identify and compensate for the lack of formal similarity when business networks become more diverse. Moreover, the specific features and functions of professional SNS besides contact recommendations can compensate for the lack of identification.
Psychological responses to jihadist terrorism: Exploring a small but significant opinion shift towards minority inclusion among French citizens in response to the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attacks
(2023) Lueders, Adrian; Wollast, Robin; Nugier, Armelle; Guimond, Serge
Experiences with jihadist terrorism sparked debates about the boundaries of religious expression within secular societies. Standpoints majority members hold in such discussions may be inclusive or exclusive towards religious minorities and inform wider intergroup perceptions. The present research explores these relationships in the context of the 2015 Charlie Hebdo terrorist attacks in Paris, France. Using longitudinal data from a diverse French sample (N = 558) collected before and after the attacks, we test whether within‐person changes in exclusionary and inclusionary interpretations of the French Laïcité principle can account for changes in public perceptions of context‐relevant minorities. Meta‐analytical findings suggest a small significant conservative shift after experiences with terrorism. Previous research conducted in the context of the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attacks departed from this pattern, however, without identifying underlying psychological mechanisms. Accordingly, the present data suggests a small but significant opinion shift in favor of context‐relevant minorities. This shifting was partially explained through an increased endorsement of an inclusionary interpretation of the Laïcité principle that stresses the freedom of religious expression. We offer a contextualized interpretation of our data, suggesting that the collective coping dynamics that followed the events (i.e., republican marches, #JeSuisCharlie) have been critical for the observed effects.
Public knowledge of alternative media in times of algorithmically personalized news
(2021) Klawier, Tilman; Prochazka, Fabian; Schweiger, Wolfgang
Citizens are likely to encounter various types of alternative media online, especially on algorithmically personalized news channels (APNC) like social network sites or search engines. It is unclear, however, to what degree they are aware of these outlets and familiar with the concept of alternative media. This study investigates the relation between exposure to alternative media and knowledge of them, taking the role of APNC into account. Analyzing representative survey data of German Internet users, we find a gap: While many individuals report to use alternative media, few of them are able to name alternative media titles matching scholarly conceptions. Although the use of APNC increases self-reported exposure to alternative media, it does not improve actual knowledge of them. All in all, many Internet users have little awareness of alternative media and do not clearly distinguish between different types of sources they come across online.
The role of public opinion on ethical AI principles and its implication for a common good-oriented implementation.
(2024) Kieslich, Kimon; Vogelgesang, Jens
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has a tremendous impact on society. While artificial intelligence encompasses a variety of different systems, algorithmic decision-making (ADM) systems in particular are being used to augment or even replace human decision-making. Because ADM systems are susceptible to ethical ramifications, such as fairness issues, opacity, and lack of accountability, how to manage the implementation of ADM is a societal challenge. This is particularly relevant when ADM is used in high impact situations that can potentially affect every member of society, such as in the public sector. As a way to address the harms of ADM, ethical guidelines have been proposed by companies and policy makers. However, scholars argue that these guidelines lack reinforcement mechanisms and that additional incentives are needed for decision makers to actually invest in ethical systems. In my dissertation, I focus on one potential factor that could contribute to the development of ADM in the public interest or for the common good, respectively -- public opinion. Critical public discussions about whether and how society wants ADM to make decisions can put pressure on decision makers to actually develop and implement ADM systems that adhere to ethical standards. The public does this by articulating (political) demands and by legitimizing or critiquing current practices. My research is situated within normative theories of the political public sphere, which propose different approaches for public discourse in the formation of democratic will, as well as the Society in the Loop framework, which emphasizes the need to include citizens' perceptions in decision-making about ethical trade-offs in the design and implementation of AI systems. This cumulative dissertation consists of four peer-reviewed papers: Paper 1 critically discusses at a theoretical level the role of public opinion as an influential factor in technology adoption. It argues that given the serious implications that the emergence of AI could have on society, public opinion can be a crucial incentive for both technological and political decision-makers to invest in AI for the common good. However, the paper also acknowledges and discusses the limits of public influence, and outlines potential avenues for greater inclusion of the public voice. Paper 2 presents data from a large-scale survey on public opinion on AI in Germany. In particular, it examines 1) what citizens have in mind when thinking about AI, 2) what role ethical AI issues play in this regard, 3) which demographic and AI-related factors contribute to a higher salience of (ethical) AI issues, and 4) what consequences the salience of ethical AI issues has in terms of AI avoidance and engagement in public discussions about AI. The paper's main contribution is to provide an empirical database on the engagement of German citizens with AI, thus helping to assess citizen influence on technological and political decision makers. Paper 3 empircally examines citizens' perceptions of the ethical trade-offs that must be made in the design process of AI systems. It uses a use case of AI in the public sector which, from the normative standpoint of AI development for the common good, requires citizen participation. Paper 3 provides insights into 1) citizens' ethical preferences for the design of AI systems, 2) shows that there are different publics with different preferences, and 3) describes how these publics are constituted in terms of demographic as well as AI-related factors. The paper's main contributions are to propose a measurement for evaluating ethical AI principles and to describe different preference patterns of the German public. Paper 4 delves deeper into the topic of the consequences of (non-)compliance with ethical design of AI systems. Again, the paper presents a use case of AI in the public sector and discusses the role of trust in AI as influential factor leading to the legitimization of AI technology. The main contribution of the empirical paper is to elaborate on the role of trust in AI, as it is treated as a major factor in empirical research and policy discussion in light of a widespread implementation of AI. In summary, my dissertation contributes to the literature on public opinion research, the Society in the Loop framework, and the efforts of the FAccT (Fairness, Accountability and Transparency) community, and specifically discusses the role of the public as a potential critical voice in the design and implementation process of AI systems. On a methodological level, I propose a measure for exploring the preference for trade-offs in ADM systems. On an empirical level, I provide a rich empirical (baseline) data on citizens' perceptions of ADM on which future studies can build. On a theoretical level, I discuss my findings in terms of normative theories about the role of the public and the Society in the Loop framework. On a practical level, I address the interplay between public opinion and the economic, media, educational, and political & legal sectors, and I elaborate on future steps that can be taken to strengthen the common good orientation in the development and implementation of AI systems.
Similarities and differences between immersive virtual reality, real world, and computer screens: A systematic scoping review in human behavior studies
(2023) Hepperle, Daniel; Wölfel, Matthias
In the broader field of human behavior studies, there are several trade-offs for on-site experiments. To be tied to a specific location can limit both the availability and diversity of participants. However, current and future technological advances make it possible to replicate real-world scenarios in a virtual environment up to a certain level of detail. How these differences add up and affect the cross-media validity of findings remains a topic of debate. How a virtual world is accessed, through a computer screen or a head-mounted display, may have a significant impact. Not surprisingly, the literature has presented various comparisons. However, while previous research has compared the different devices for a specific research question, a systematic review is lacking. To fill this gap, we conducted this review. We identified 1083 articles in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. Following screening, 56 articles remained and were compared for a qualitative synthesis to provide the reader a summary of current research on the differences between head-mounted displays (HMDs), computer screens, and the real world. Overall, the data show that virtual worlds presented in an HMD are more similar to real-world situations than to computer screens. This supports the thesis that HMDs are more suitable than computer screens for conducting experiments in the field of human behavioral studies.
Der Sleeper Effekt : Theoriekritik und der Versuch eines Nachweises
(2018) Lindemann, Ann-Kathrin; Scheufele, Bertram
The sleeper effect was first described by Hovland, Lumsdaine and Sheffield (1949) in the 1940s. In the study, the influence of a propaganda movie on the attitudes of American soldiers seemed to grow over time: five days after watching the movie, the soldiers were less likely to agree with the movies conclusions than nine weeks later, when they showed a significant attitude change in line with the movies narrative. Consequently, the sleeper effect was defined as a persuasive media effect gaining strength with the passage of time. Despite its long research history, the origin of the sleeper effect is still undetermined (Kumkale & Albarracín, 2004). Therefore, one of the main objectives of this study is an in-depth review of the existing research literature regarding the underlying mechanisms which might cause the effect. Once these basic mechanisms are identified, the second objective is to test these principles in an experimental setting. The present study shows, that neither the order of presentation of the experimental stimuli, nor the extent of pre-existing attitudes have any influence on the sleeper effect - first and foremost, because the sleeper effect failed to occur in this experiment. Therefore, the question on how the sleeper effect is formed remains unsolved.
Stress management and coping using smartphones by mothers of young children
(2021) Wolfers, Lara N.; Utz, Sonja
Being a parent of young children is associated with both joy and stress. High parental stress was shown to be associated with decreased parental wellbeing and negative child outcomes. Thus, it is important that parents successfully cope with stress. Research has shown that becoming a parent often results in constraints on time allocation and a perceived state of isolation, making it harder to cope with stress. Smartphones might be a useful tool for parental stress management. For most parents, smartphones are always and easily accessible. Moreover, smartphones can provide many resources such as social support and information and can be used for short periods. Accordingly, first studies show that parents often use their smartphones to cope with stress. However, parental smartphone use has been widely problematized in academic and public discussions because smartphones are said to distract parents from interacting with their children. Research on how parents use smartphones to their benefit is still limited. Moreover, we do not know yet whether and under what circumstances coping using smartphones effectively reduces parental stress. To fill this knowledge gap, I examined in my dissertation how mothers of young children use their smartphones for coping with stress and under what circumstances coping using smartphones is effective. As mothers are still the primary caregivers, my dissertation mainly focuses on mothers. In a first theoretical step, I conducted a systematic scoping review summarizing and integrating the previous literature on media use for coping. Many studies assessed how media are used for coping. However, the literature had not clearly identified where media have their place in stress management models. In the scoping review, I suggested placing media in the transactional model of stress and coping by differentiating between coping strategies, such as social support or distraction and coping tools, such as talking to a friend or using a smartphone. When confronted with a stressful encounter, individuals choose a combination of coping tools and coping strategies to cope with stress. The fit of this combination with the situational circumstances determines whether the coping efforts are successful. Based on this conceptualization, I conducted a qualitative focus groups study and a quantitative experience sampling study (ESS). In the focus group study, building on a synthesis of the literature on digital media use for parenting and smartphone use while parenting, I interviewed parents in a medium-sized city and a parent-child health retreat clinic about how they use their smartphones for stress management. In the ESS, I additionally drew on theoretical conceptualizations from mobile communication and digital wellbeing research. Over 200 mothers filled in four questionnaires a day for one week and answered questions about a stressful situation that had happened in the last two hours. Both studies showed that when mothers are in stressful situations with their children, they mainly use their phones to distract themselves from the stressful encounter and to find information and support. In the focus groups study, parents reported many instances in which they successfully used their phones for stress coping. In the ESS, mothers, however, experienced a smaller stress decrease in stressful situations in which they used their phone than in situations involving no phone use. Using positive phone content, though, was related to increased coping effectiveness. My dissertation also demonstrated that social norms around maternal smartphone use play an important role when mothers use their phones for coping with stress. To explore this, I suggested a social constructivist viewpoint on media use and media effects. This viewpoint posits that the perception of and feelings around ones own media use are just as important for media effects as characteristics of objectively measurable media use, such as usage time. Further, I argue that these media use perceptions are influenced by what others say about media use and are, thus, socially constructed. Confirming the value of this viewpoint, I show in the ESS that mothers who perceived stronger injunctive norms against parental phone use experienced increased guilt when they used their phone for stress coping. Feelings of guilt around phone use in turn were related to a diminished coping effectiveness. Overall, my dissertation shows that by using positive content, mothers can use their smartphones to their benefit when they are confronted with stressful situations. Negative social norms against parental smartphone use can, by inducing guilt, be associated with diminished coping effectiveness when mothers use their phone to cope with stress. Therefore, academic and public discussions around smartphone use should consider the benefits of smartphone use for parents so that a more nuanced debate does not lead to social pressure and feelings of guilt among parents.
Subtitling vs. dubbing and original version : the effects of different translation methods on consumer behavior towards product placement on audiovisual content
(2024) Noschang, Luis Octávio; Vogelgesang, Jens
The main objective of this dissertation was to investigate whether different versions of a program concerning audiovisual translation formats as well as multitasking would influence product placement effectiveness on audiences. Also, if there would be any relation between levels of multitasking and the version of the program being watched. The first problem to be addressed was determining whether the above-mentioned questions have not been the subject of research in the past. A systematic search on the three most prominent research databases available (Scopus, Web of Science, and EBSCO) followed by a manual analysis of the publications was conducted and research items of these publications were further investigated to identify effects caused by placements as well as variables or drivers of product placement effectiveness. Some 320 research items (hypotheses, research questions, empirical generalizations, and results) featured effects caused by placements. The total of effects identified was 11. Brand attitude and brand recall were the two most prominent effects identified. In the case of variables, or drivers of effectiveness, 417 research items included 57 different variables that could be divided into 2 categories: 33 variables derived from characteristics of the audience and 24 variables pertaining to the content, medium, or placement. None of the publications featured audiovisual translation formats as variables, confirming the research gap in the field. For multitasking, 2 publications were identified that covered the subject, nevertheless, in a different form than the intended of this dissertation. The empirical investigation was performed through an experiment where participants could freely choose between four options of pre-defined episodes of two different sitcom series as well as the version between original, dubbed, and subtitled, the last only as a choice for those that could not understand the spoken dialogues. Some 2302 participants were recruited and answered a questionnaire containing questions about aided recall of brands placed in the episode, and multitasking behavior while watching the program. Results on brand recall of placements remained constant between groups watching different versions of the programs. Punctual percentual differences could be identified, nevertheless, reversed results appeared for different products, and Chi-square tests revealed no statistically significant differences. The presence of subtitles did not significantly alter brand recall. Brand recall also remained stable among viewers of programs in original, dubbed, and subtitled versions. Results compared brand recall of placements between viewers who declared that they engaged in other activities while watching the program and viewers who did not multitask. The levels of brand recall did not differ significantly between these two groups. The time spent not looking at the screen was the next aspect evaluated in the experiment. Here, no significant difference in the levels of brand recall was identified between the viewers who did not look at the screen for less than 1 minute and the viewers who looked away from the screen for between 1 and 5 minutes during programs of around 20 minutes in length. The different versions of the program were tested with regard to their influence on multitasking behavior. The presence of subtitles decreased viewers’ levels of multitasking when compared with those of viewers who watched the program in its original or dubbed versions with no subtitles added to enhance comprehension of the spoken dialogues. The levels of multitasking remained constant between viewers of the dubbed and original versions of the program. To increase the validity of the results, a method of observing the respondents was also implemented. A total of 274 respondents were recorded in videos that were later analyzed manually. This method was introduced to more precisely determine the time they spent not looking at the screen as well as to detect false positives on the respondents’ answers.
#unfollow on Instagram – Factors that have an impact on the decision to unfollow public figures
(2020) Werning, Carolin; Oßwald, Liv Tasja
The social media platform Instagram allows users to subscribe to various people from their immediate circle of acquaintances or to follow public figures. Recent research has identified reasons concerning the discontinuance of social media use and the unfollowing behaviour on certain social media platforms. However, little is known about the unfollowing behaviour on Instagram and what causes users to unfollow public figures in particular. This study was the first trying to find out what factors influence users between the ages of 20 and 29 years of age to unfollow public figures. To this end, a total of nine qualitative guideline interviews were conducted with users recruited via Instagram. The interviews were analysed by means of an summary qualitative content analysis. Thereby, a total of eleven factors could be identified. The first factor relates to the negative feelings that arise when the content is received. The second and third factors relate to the public figure: behaviour and communication. The fourth, fifth and sixth factors relate to the frequency of posts, stories and the same content. The seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh factors relate to content, but in different aspects: advertising, design, lack of identification, unfulfilled expectations and changes.

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