eCommons

 

The Indirect Effects Of Power On Moral Judgments During Parasocial Processing

Other Titles

Abstract

The present research examined the role of attribution as a mediator of the parasocial processes of moral judgment and empathic engagement within the context of a textual fictitious narrative. To address this research, the current study investigated the interactions between aspects of the parasocial phenomenon, user experience, and narrative context, and connected these relationships to the area of information processing in media psychology. Focusing on the information processing aspect of the parasocial experience the dissertation reports on an experimental study that empirically tests the degree to which power, by way of attribution, influences moral judgment of and empathic engagement with a narrative protagonist. Specifically, a protagonist perceived to be in a high-power position will bring about deontological moral judgments based on abstract notions of what is right and wrong, in addition to a low expression of empathy and high expression of counter empathy. Alternatively, a protagonist perceived to be in a lowpower position will lead to consequential moral judgments based on the relative goodness of an action's consequences and will be accompanied by a high expression of empathy and low expression of counter empathy. In both directions, attribution was hypothesized as the mechanism of the effect. This central hypothesis was supported in that power distinctions were found to be related to moral judgments and affective engagement, with attribution mediating the effect. Ultimately, the study bridges research on attribution and power with the theoretical concept of parasocial processing, while also providing practical guidance for the characterization of protagonists in narrative content.

Journal / Series

Volume & Issue

Description

Sponsorship

Date Issued

2015-05-24

Publisher

Keywords

Parasocial; Moral Judgment; Power

Location

Effective Date

Expiration Date

Sector

Employer

Union

Union Local

NAICS

Number of Workers

Committee Chair

McLeod,Poppy L

Committee Co-Chair

Committee Member

Schrader,Dawn Ellen
Shapiro,Michael A
Segal,Harry George

Degree Discipline

Communication

Degree Name

Ph. D., Communication

Degree Level

Doctor of Philosophy

Related Version

Related DOI

Related To

Related Part

Based on Related Item

Has Other Format(s)

Part of Related Item

Related To

Related Publication(s)

Link(s) to Related Publication(s)

References

Link(s) to Reference(s)

Previously Published As

Government Document

ISBN

ISMN

ISSN

Other Identifiers

Rights

Rights URI

Types

dissertation or thesis

Accessibility Feature

Accessibility Hazard

Accessibility Summary

Link(s) to Catalog Record