Parasocial Relationships With President Trump as a Predictor of COVID-19 Information Seeking

Kelly, Stephanie; Goke, Ryan; McCall, Mackenzy; Dowell, Susan

doi:10.3389/fcomm.2020.596663

Cited by 4 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 43 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In their examination of the role of political ideology in consumer reaction to multiple consumption regulations (e-cigarettes, food warning labels, and using mobile phones while driving), Irmack and others (2020) found that the position held by the political party that subjects support affects how they cognitively and affectively process information presented to them about an issue. Moreover, numerous studies demonstrate that political ideology is a key contributor to individuals' attitudes about the level of threat attributed to the COVID-19 virus (Cakanlar et al, 2020;Kelly et al, 2020;Nowlan and Zane 2020;Roozenbeek et al, 2020;Van der Linden et al, 2020), as well as the efficacy of the vaccine (Bechler and Tormala, 2020;Chou and Budenz, 2020;Tyson et al, 2020).…”

Section: Political Ideologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Research on the psychological foundations of attitude certainty suggest that factors such as information-seeking behavior (Kelly et al, 2020), having direct experience with the issue (Wu and Shaffer 1987); perceiving social support for one's attitude (Visser and Mirabile 2004), and the frequency of expressing an attitude about the issue (Holland et al, 2003) all contribute to attitude certainty. Moreover, the so-called "bandwagon effect" (an individual's tendency to adopt a particular style, behavior or attitude because they believe everyone else is doing it), can strengthen or weaken attitude certainty (Li and Sundar 2021).…”

Section: Institutional Trust and Attitude Certaintymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, given the findings of recent scholars examining antecedents to attitudes about the COVID-19 vaccine, future studies might test persuasive message strategies incorporating frames based on personal responsibility (Cakanlar et al, 2020) or information seeking intent (Kelly et al, 2020) to determine if these factors play a role in attitude formation and change.…”

Section: Limitations and Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Resistance to Persuasion: Examining the Influence of Political Ideology on COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake Hesitancy

Brinson

2022

Front. Commun.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to the death of over 625,000 Americans and it continues to have monumental consequences worldwide for economic, social and individual life. An effective vaccine program is considered vital to securing collective immunity; yet, many Americans are still hesitant to be vaccinated. This two-part study first experimentally tests two message frames (inoculation vs control) designed to counter resistance to the COVID-19 vaccine with individuals who are initially supportive, neutral or opposed to it. Based on a key finding from Study 1 (that political ideology appears to be impacting receptiveness to the messaging), Study 2 examines response to these same two messages using either a politicized (Dr. Anthony Fauci) or neutral source to test the mediating effects of political ideology. Results contribute to existing literature by examining inoculation effects in a new context (“debunking” misinformation vs “prebunking” to bolster supportive attitudes), and demonstrate how psychological reactance is working in tandem with inoculation to influence attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine.

show abstract

Section: Political Ideologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Institutional Trust and Attitude Certaintymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Limitations and Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Resistance to Persuasion: Examining the Influence of Political Ideology on COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake Hesitancy

Brinson

2022

Front. Commun.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Studying people's information seeking behaviors amid the COVID-19 has become an urgent research topic in the latest LIS literature (Ali et al, 2020;Kelly et al, 2020;Li and Zheng, 2020;Moreno et al, 2020;Superio et al, 2021;Zimmerman, 2021). While some of these studies focus on older adults, only a handful to date have focused on older adults from a non-healthspecific perspective.…”

Section: Studies Of Information Sources During Public Health Crisesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring information seeking of rural older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

Lund

2021

AJIM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

PurposeThis study investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the types and sources of information sought by older adults along with their motivations in the Midwestern United States.Design/methodology/approachInterviews were conducted with 30 older adults residing in rural communities around the Midwestern United States during late-summer (July/August) 2020, using a protocol based on Dervin's Sense-Making Methodology. The resulting data was analyzed using standard content analysis procedures, guided by the theoretical frameworks based on Dervin's Sense-Making and Williamson's Ecological Model of Information Behavior. Implications of COVID-19 for the normative behaviors described in these models are discussed.FindingsFindings show that older adults were concerned primarily with health and political information during this period, but that this information was not necessarily sought only to address an informational need, but also to satisfy the need to maintain social and emotional connections in coping with isolation and loneliness. Sources of information that allowed for social interaction with people were favored. Wider personal networks (community members) were strained by the social distancing measures and closures. These findings have theoretical and practical implications for considering the impact of social restrictions on information seeking behaviors of older adults in a time of crisis.Originality/valueThis study is the first, known to the authors, that applied the two adopted theoretical frameworks to explore information seeking behaviors of older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.

show abstract

“…Parasocial relationships also influence information seeking. Parasocial relationships with the former president of the United States of America, Donald Trump, were negatively related to information seeking for Covid-19 (Kelly 2020 ). The stronger the parasocial relationship, the weaker the information seeking.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Favorite YouTubers as a source of health information during quarantine: viewers trust their favorite YouTubers with health information

Bérail

Bungener

2022

Soc. Netw. Anal. Min.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

During quarantine, between March and May 2020, YouTubers disseminated information about Covid-19 and the quarantine. The objectives of this study are (1) to explore whether YouTubers are considered as reliable sources of information regarding quarantine by French social media users, (2) to evaluate the link between the parasocial relationship with a favorite YouTuber and the level of trust in the information provided by this YouTuber and (3) to test the effectiveness of the favorite YouTuber as a source of information about the benefit of quarantine. Data from 596 participants were collected through an online survey, among whom, 251 had a favorite YouTuber. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests and ordered logistic regressions were used to explore two research questions and to test two hypotheses. Results show that (1) information about the benefit of quarantine from the favorite YouTuber is considered just as reliable as information from journalists, friends or family members, (2) the intensity of the parasocial relationship with the favorite YouTuber is positively and significantly associated with the level of trust in that favorite YouTuber, (3) having received trusted information about the benefit of quarantine from one’s favorite YouTubers is positively and significantly associated with the perception of the utility of quarantining. This study identifies YouTubers as important sources for health communication.

show abstract

Parasocial Relationships With President Trump as a Predictor of COVID-19 Information Seeking

Cited by 4 publications

References 43 publications

Resistance to Persuasion: Examining the Influence of Political Ideology on COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake Hesitancy

Resistance to Persuasion: Examining the Influence of Political Ideology on COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake Hesitancy

Exploring information seeking of rural older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

Favorite YouTubers as a source of health information during quarantine: viewers trust their favorite YouTubers with health information

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About