The Need for Orientation Towards News Media: Revising and Validating a Classic Concept

Abstract

The need for orientation is the most prominent contingent condition for agenda-setting effects. It provides a psychological explanation for why people engage in information seeking and why some people are susceptible to agenda-setting effects while others are not. The purpose of this paper is to present the development and empirical validation of a three-dimensional scale of need for orientation. Based on a review of previous measures, three dimensions of need for orientation are posited: The need for orientation towards issues, the need for orientation towards facts and the need for orientation towards journalistic evaluations. In a first step, the model is tested on a representative sample applying confirmatory factor analysis. After some modifications, the model is finally validated on another, independent sample. A series of studies demonstrate the psychometric properties of the measure and its construct validity with respect to related constructs. The theoretical utility of the construct and the measure of need for orientation are discussed.

How social is Twitter use? Affiliative tendency and communication competence as predictors

“…On the one hand, it may indicate that user demographics have greater effects on informational than social Twitter use, but it may well be due to the fact that only individual traits related to social interaction were included as predictors of motivations. Had other variables relevant to environmental monitoring, like need for orientation (Matthes, 2006), been included, the effects of demographic variables might have dissipated even for the surveillance motivation.…”

Beyond accessibility? Toward an on-line and memory-based model of framing effects

“…Although there is a vast amount of other contingent conditions for agenda setting effects, media salience has an undeniable impact on issue relevance. We know from more than 35 years of agenda setting research that this perceived issue relevance, in turn, fosters the need for orientation toward an issue (Matthes, 2006;McCombs, 2004;Weaver, 1980). The need for orientation refers to the tendency of an individual to seek information about an issue in the news media.…”

Formación de la agenda pública sobre temas experienciales en Santiago de Cuba durante el año 2015

“…• La necesidad de orientación, como resultado de la relevancia que los asuntos públicos adquieren, de los vacíos cognitivos que se generan en el proceso de comprensión social de la realidad y del interés de las personas en saciarlos (Matthes, 2006;Kim, 2013;Camaj, 2014).…”