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An Application of the Societal Risk Reduction Motiv Media Use and Willingness to Engage in Activism Against Sexual Harassment: An Application of the Societal Risk Reduction Motivation Model Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Dinah Adams Graduate Program in Communication The Ohio State University 2018 Thesis Committee Hyunyi Cho, Advisor Siyue Li 1 Copyrighted by Dinah Adams 2018 2 Abstract This paper seeks to examine the relationship between media selection and use, societal risk perceptions, and actions taken to reduce societal risks. Through the lens of the Societal Risk Reduction Motivation Model (SRRM), the introduction of social media use as a predictor of societal risk perceptions is examined. A cross-sectional survey of 277 women sought to examine the influence of both mass media and social media use, cognitive and emotional involvement, and efficacy beliefs on perceptions of and behavioral responses to the issue of sexual harassment. Furthermore, the relationship between online and offline societal risk reduction actions is examined in the context of the social movement #MeToo. Findings and implications for future research are discussed. ii Dedication This thesis is dedicated to all the individuals who have come forward to share their experiences of assault and harassment. iii Acknowledgments I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Hyunyi Cho, for her assistance and support through my Master’s degree. Her expertise was invaluable, and provided me with crucial guidance as I completed this thesis. I would also like to thank Dr. Siyue Li for her insights and helpful comments as a member of my thesis committee. Finally, I am grateful to the faculty and students in the School of Communication. Their support and influence have afforded me countless opportunities to grow, not only as an academic, but also as an individual. iv Vita 2015……………………………………….B.S. Psychology, Heidelberg University 2016 to present…………………………….Graduate Teaching Associate, School of Communication, The Ohio State University Publications Fields of Study Major Field: Communication v Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iv Vita ...................................................................................................................................... v List of Tables .................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures .................................................................................................................. viii Chapter 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2. Theoretical Framework ..................................................................................... 4 Overview ......................................................................................................................... 4 Media Exposure: Mass Media and Social Media ........................................................... 5 Social Media and Societal Risk Reduction Action ......................................................... 8 Mediators, Moderators, and Outcomes ......................................................................... 11 Chapter 3. Method ............................................................................................................ 23 Participants. ................................................................................................................... 23 Materials and Procedure. .............................................................................................. 23 Chapter 4. Results ............................................................................................................. 33 Chapter 5. Discussion ....................................................................................................... 42 Implications................................................................................................................... 49 Limitations and Future Directions ................................................................................ 52 References……. ................................................................................................................ 56 Appendix A. Tables…………..………………………………………………………….73 Appendix B. Figures……………………………………………………………………..80 Appendix C. Construct Measures………………………………………………………..81 vi List of Tables Table 1. Sample Characteristics………………………………………………………….73 Table 2. Moderated Serial Mediation (Facebook)…….…………………………………76 Table 3. Moderated Serial Mediation (Twitter)………………………………………….78 vii List of Figures Figure 1. Proposed Pathway Model……………………………………………………...80 viii Chapter 1. Introduction Increasing numbers of individuals participate in, and receive information from, online social networks. According to the Pew Research Center, as of 2016, 57% of Americans got their news from television, 25% from radio, and 20% from print newspapers (Mitchell, Gottfried, Barthel, & Shearer, 2016). While television remains a popular news source, particularly among older adults, print media use has steadily fallen. The decrease in print news consumption is contradicted by an increase in the number of Americans who report getting their news online, with 81% sourcing news from online platforms (Mitchell, Gottfried, Barthel, & Shearer, 2016), and 67% of Americans getting their news on social media (Shearer & Gottfried, 2017). In recent years, social media has also provided a platform for users to share their own messages. Viral hashtags and social media posts have been used to raise awareness of societal risk issues, such as the #MeToo and #YesAllWomen movements, which were used to bring awareness to the issues of sexual assault and harassment. While reports on sexual harassment scandals have been broken by traditional news outlets (such as The New York Times coverage of allegations against Harvey Weinstein) discussions of sexual harassment have taken on new life online (Kantor & Twohey, 2017). Online movements to combat harassment have spread—as of November 2017, at least 1 in 5 Americans reported knowing someone who had used #MeToo on social media (Grinberg & Agiesta, 1 2017). This demonstrates that social media not only serves as a source of information, but also as a platform for users to participate in discourse about important risk issues. The Societal Risk Reduction Motivation model (SRRM) (Cho & Kuang, 2015) argues that media exposure influences societal risk perceptions, which in turn influence the actions taken to address those risks at a societal level. The relationship between societal risk perceptions and societal risk reduction actions is mediated by involvement (both cognitive and emotional) and moderated by efficacy beliefs (which encompass action, institutional, self, and collective efficacy). Depending upon the interplay of those factors, the societal risk reduction actions that are undertaken may be adaptive or maladaptive. The SRRM has focused on mass media’s influence on societal risk perceptions and subsequent societal risk reduction actions. Now, examining the influence of social media is a crucial next step in understanding why and how individuals engage with societal risk issues and take action to reduce societal risks. The SRRM provides an empirically supported framework for understanding how media exposure influences risk perceptions at the societal level. Although Cho & Kuang (2015) suggest that social media may foster societal risk perceptions and influence societal risk reduction actions, to my knowledge these relationships have not been examined empirically. This paper contributes to the existing literature by A) extending the application of the SRRM to social media, and by B) expanding the scope of its relevance to a variety of societal risk topics. Using the SRRM to understand the influence of media use on societal risk reduction behaviors is important for multiple reasons. First, it is important to identify 2 differential effects between mass media and social media on audiences’ societal risk perceptions, and whether those lead to online or offline societal risk reduction actions. Furthermore, the SRRM’s societal risk reduction actions parallel the literature on social activism. To my knowledge, little research has examined the relationship between media consumption and social activism, whether online or offline. Additionally, scholars have lodged criticism against online activism behaviors (Gladwell, 2010) with seemingly little theoretical justification for those criticisms. Not only will this examination shed light on how individuals perceive societal risk information, but also on how they respond to it. Examining social activism through the SRRM framework will elucidate the relationships between media use and social activism, serving to bridge the gaps within and between these bodies of research. A model delineating these pathways can be found in Figure 1. This study seeks to examine societal risk perceptions of (and risk reduction actions taken to mitigate) sexual harassment.
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