The impact of expressing mixed valence emotions in organizational crisis communication on consumer’s negative word-of-mouth intention

This paper examines the impact of expressing different discrete emotions with a mixed valence (anger and hope) in organizational crisis communication on negative word-of-mouth on social media. In particular, the effects of expressing discrete emotions with a single valence (either positive or negative) versus mixed valence (expressing both positive and negative emotions) emotions are studied by means of a 4 (emotional message framing: control vs. positive emotion vs. negative emotion vs. mixed valence emotions) by 2 (crisis type: victim vs. preventable crisis) between-subjects experimental design (N?=?295). Results show that in a preventable crisis, expressing mixed valence emotions elicits higher perceived sincerity and more empathy towards the spokesperson, and subsequently less negative word-of-mouth compared to expressing either single emotions or the control condition. However, in the case of a victim crisis, expressing single emotions, and especially a negative emotion like anger, results in less negative word-of-mouth through an increase in perceived sincerity and empathy towards the spokesperson.     

An Empirical Analysis of the Influence of Perceived Attributes of Publics on Public Relations Strategy Use and Effectiveness

This study replicates and extends previous research by examining the influence of problem recognition, constraint recognition, involvement, and goal compatibility on use of informative, facilitative, persuasive, and cooperative problem-solving strategies. Members of the Public Relations Society of America (n = 403) were surveyed using direct mail and online modes of administration. The results indicate that perceived attributes of publics significantly influence public relations strategy use in organizations. In addition, attributes of publics were significant predictors of strategy effectiveness. Goal compatibility was found to be the strongest predictor of effectiveness across strategies.     

Do PR Practitioners Have a PR Problem?: The Effect of Associating a Source With Public Relations and Client-Negative News on Audience Perception of Credibility

Through a 2 × 2 factorial experiment (N = 141), information source type (public relations spokesperson or generic spokesperson) and message topic (client-neutral and client-negative) were varied to determine whether they affect audience perception of source credibility. Results suggest public relations professionals and the organizations they represent are perceived as less credible than unidentified sources and their employers. Also, sources and their sponsors communicating organization-negative news are perceived as less credible than those communicating client-neutral information.     

CEO credibility,perceived organizational reputation,and employee engagement

The current study explores how corporate leadership influences the effectiveness of internal public relations by linking CEO credibility, employee evaluation of the organizational reputation, and employee engagement. An online survey of 157 employees from a Fortune 500 company shows that CEO credibility is positively associated with perceived organizational reputation and employee engagement. Perceived organizational reputation significantly and positively affects employee engagement. Employee perception of organizational reputation fully mediates CEO credibility impact on employee engagement.     

A close look at why one social norms campaign did not reduce student drinking

The authors examined 3 possible explanations for the failure of a social norms campaign at a large public university. They administered an anonymous survey to 2 random samples of undergraduate classes: a baseline assessment of 616 students before the campaign's implementation and a follow-up survey of 723 students 4 academic years later. At follow-up, 66.5% of the students were aware of the campaign, yet the survey revealed no reduction in perceived drinking norms or alcohol use in this group. An analysis of the postcampaign sample revealed that (1) a majority of the students did not find the statistics used in the campaign messages credible, (2) higher levels of alcohol use predicted lower levels of perceived campaign credibility, and (3) only 38.5% of the students understood the campaign's intended purpose. If they are to influence personally relevant drinking norms, these campaigns must undergo further development to enhance message credibility and participants' understanding.     

How interrank contacts benefit masters in a Buddhist monastery: Comparing the effects of ascribed Dharma titles and perceived status

Social interactions within modern Buddhist communities reflect two hierarchical rules. First, the Dharma titles ordained to specific masters affect how they interact with one another. Second, as more Buddhist organizations adapt to secular society, their members also network along nonreligious hierarchies. To capture how such changing social hierarchies shape masters’ social networks, this study examines the “status effects” embedded in social interactions within Foothills, a Buddhist monastery in Taiwan, based on contact diaries recorded over twenty-eight months. Multilevel analyses that focus on 102,254 contacts nested in 582 interpersonal ties among 53 Buddhist masters indicate that nearly all pairings of the ascribed Dharma titles had significant effects on emotional gain, and perceived status was not significant. In addition, contact with the highest ascribed title was clearly more important for instrumental gain, whereas the pattern of the perceived status effect was ambiguous. While the modern monastery has incorporated task-oriented work from secular society, the ordained titles continue to generate more profound effects than perceived status.     

Job satisfaction among control room operators of electrical systems

Shift workers from control centers of electrical systems are a group that has received little attention in Brazil. This study aimed to compare workers' job satisfaction at five control centers of a Brazilian company electrical system, and according to their job titles. Method: The Organization Satisfaction Index (OSI) questionnaire to assess job satisfaction was used. ANOVA was used to compare OSI means, according to job title and control center. The results showed that there is no difference in job satisfaction among job titles, but a significant difference was found according to the control center. A single organizational culture cannot be applied to several branches. It is required to implement actions that would result in job satisfaction improvements among workers of all studied control rooms centers. The high level of education of operators working in all centers might have contributed to the similar values of perceived satisfaction among distinct job titles.     

The role of source and the factors audiences rely on in evaluating credibility of health information

In the wake of public relations crises of credibility such as FEMA's staged press conference in response to the California wildfires, source credibility merits increased scholarly and practitioner scrutiny in order to maximize the effectiveness of the information practitioners release, particularly when the objective is to promote action vital to public health and well-being. Through a random national telephone survey (n = 400), this research analyzes how the source itself moderates credibility as well as the criteria important to audience evaluations of credibility. Results indicate practitioners are perceived as credible sources of health information and that audiences take a rather mindful route in their evaluations of source credibility.     

A Bayesian approach for the reliability of scientific co-authorship networks with emphasis on nodes

The co-authorship among members of a research group commonly can be represented by a (co-authorship) graph in which nodes represent the researchers that make up of this group and edges represent the connections between two agents (i.e., the co-authorship between these agents). Current study measures the reliability of networks by taking into consideration unreliable nodes (researchers) and perfectly reliable edges (co-authorship between two researchers). A Bayesian approach for the reliability of a network represented by the co-authorship among members of a real research group is proposed, obtaining Bayesian estimates and credibility intervals for the individual components (nodes or researchers) and the network. Weakly informative and non-informative prior distributions are assumed for those components and the posterior summaries are obtained by Monte Carlo-Markov Chain methods. The results show the relevance of an inferential approach for the reliability of scientific co-authorship network. The results also demonstrate that the contribution of each researcher is highly relevant for the maintenance of a research group. In addition, the Bayesian methodology was a feasible and easy computational implementation.     

Individuals’ power and their social network accuracy: A situated cognition perspective

Individuals differ in how accurately they perceive their social environment, but research and theory provide conflicting predictions on whether powerful people are more or less accurate than others. Drawing on social network theory and the situated cognition theory of power, we examine the relationship between individuals’ formal and informal power and their perceptual accuracy of social network relationships. We propose that individuals’ perceptual accuracy is related to: 1) their formal and informal power in the organization; 2) the type of relationship being perceived (positive/negative valence) and its relevance to task and goal completion; and 3) the dependence relationship with the target of perception (i.e., whether the perceiver is dependent on the perceived to get their work done). Predictions were tested using cognitive social structure data collected from a technical call center. Results showed that power was generally linked to increased perceptual accuracy, particularly for the types of relationships most relevant for task and goal completion. We further demonstrated that social network accuracy was related to employees’ outcomes, including subsequent transfer, promotion, and exit from the organization.     

Feeling the Beat and Feeling Better: Musical Experience,Emotional Reflection,and Music as a Technology of Mental Health

Using data from the 1999 Arts and Religion Survey, this article builds on the work of Tia DeNora and the understanding of music as a technology of health by focusing on an important aspect of music's impact on mental health, emotional reflection. The study first examines the relationship between musical experiences and the perceived effectiveness of music as a coping tool in everyday life. The results indicate that musical experience is positively associated with the perception of music as an effective coping mechanism, controlling for relevant demographic and artistic factors included in the survey. The analysis then assesses the relationship between music's perceived effectiveness as a coping mechanism and emotional reflection, indicating a positive association between the two. Aesthetic disposition and parental education are also positive predictors of using music to cope and emotional reflection. The study demonstrates that those who value music as a means of coping may be more emotionally reflective and in turn, experience benefits related to positive mental health. The results also highlight the importance of considering both micro‐ and macro‐theoretical approaches to understanding musical practices and their role in health improvement.     

Trends in sociology titles

Recent reflections on the state of publications in sociology (Becker, 2003) suggest that article titles are getting longer. I test this hypothesis with data from ASR since inception and a wider sample of papers from Sociological Abstracts between 1963 and 1999. My results indicate a rapid and widespread increase in title length. Further analyses suggest that title length does not predict citation, suggesting that long titles are not an avenue for getting more readers. Thanks to Randy Hodson, Joan Huber, David Jacobs, Lisa Keister, Ryan Light, Betty Menaghan, and members of the Social Structure Reading Group for comments on earlier drafts of this paper.     

The prevalence, distribution, and mental health correlates of perceived discrimination in the United States.

The survey data presented here are on the national prevalences of major life-time perceived discrimination and day-to-day perceived discrimination; the associations between perceived discrimination and mental health; and the extent to which differential exposure and differential emotional reactivity to perceived discrimination account for the well-known associations between disadvantaged social status and mental health. Although more prevalent among people with disadvantaged social status, results show that perceived discrimination is common in the total population, with 33.5 percent of respondents in the total sample reporting exposure to major lifetime discrimination and 60.9 percent reporting exposure to day-to-day discrimination. The associations of perceived discrimination with mental health are comparable in magnitude to those of other more commonly studied stressors, and these associations do not vary consistently across subsamples defined on the basis of social status. Even though perceived discrimination explains only a small part of the observed associations between disadvantaged social status and mental health, given its high prevalence, wide distribution, and strong associations with mental health, perceived discrimination needs to be treated much more seriously than in the past in future studies of stress and mental health.     

The Attributes of Effective NGOs and the Leadership Values Associated with a Reputation for Organizational Effectiveness

Building on prior research characterizing organizational effectiveness as a social construction, this article identifies the perceived attributes of effective transnational nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the leadership values associated with higher reputations for organizational effectiveness. Results are based on an in‐depth, mixed‐method interview study of 152 NGO leaders located in the United States and representing all major sectors of organizational activity. Among the twenty‐nine attributes that leaders identified in peer organizations that they regarded as particularly effective, leaders stressed instantiation of sound principles or strategy, a grassroots approach, large organizational size and resources, being collaborative, singleness of focus, campaigning abilities, funding and fundraising prowess, global scope, and quality people. Furthermore, statistical analysis reveals that NGOs with leaders who value similarities with peer organizations, grassroots approaches, diversity of strategies, dedication, professionalism, and distributed organizational structures have significantly higher reputations for effectiveness.     

Subtle priming of subtraction versus addition: a spill-over effect of math / La inducción sutil de sumar vs. restar: un efecto indirecto de las matemáticas

Abstract

Studies on bias correction have often used blatant inductions to motivate people to reduce the mental impact of perceived biases. In the current research, we test a relatively unexplored, subtle way of inducing bias correction based on the activation of different calculative mindsets. Across two studies, participants were exposed to an advertisement introducing a new consumer product delivered by a credible or non-credible source. Then, as part of an ostensibly unrelated study, participants completed mathematical operations that involved subtracting or adding. Study 1 revealed that when participants were primed with an addition calculative mindset, an expert source elicited more favourable attitudes towards the product than a non-expert source. This pattern illustrates the traditional effect of source credibility on persuasion. In contrast, within the subtraction calculative mindset condition, persuasion was no different between an expert and a non-expert source. These results were obtained exclusively under high thinking conditions (e.g., for participants high in Need for Cognition). This finding can be interpreted as if the effect of source credibility was subtracted from the evaluative judgement. Study 2 replicated this two-way interaction using different materials and inductions. The present research has implications for bias correction, procedural priming, persuasion and beyond.     

Improving child welfare services with family team meetings: A mixed methods analysis of caseworkers' perceived challenges

Various forms of family team meetings have been increasingly employed in child welfare systems to empower families and provide effective individualized services through community partnerships. However, many family team meetings often fail to achieve their intended goals mainly due to ongoing challenges that team members face. Using data from a survey of caseworkers, this study examined dynamic processes of family team meetings to improve child welfare service outcomes, specifically focusing on caseworkers' perceived challenges. Also, responses to an open ended question were reviewed using content analysis to identify similar or different challenges encountered by diverse team members. Survey data were analyzed using path analysis and found that logistical barriers tended to decrease both family and stakeholder engagements, which in turn made child welfare services less accessible, less utilized, and less effective for children and families. Content analysis revealed that caseworkers perceived disagreement/conflict and knowledge deficits about child welfare as common challenges for all team members. This paper concludes with practice implications suggesting ways to minimize challenges identified and maximize the effectiveness of a family team meeting.     

Children's credibility on camera: the influence of age and production factors

SUMMARY. An experiment was conducted to examine whether the use of different camera shots-medium or close-up-affected the way in which child witnesses were perceived by adult raters. School children were video-recorded describing an event in which they had participated, and students rated the children s perceived credibility on a number of scales. Type of shot used did not influence perceived credibility in a consistent manner, although it did influence some aspects of a child's credibility when the child's age and/or sex was taken into account. Children seen in medium shot were judged more honest than children seen in close-up. Age of the child was the most influential factor, with older children generally perceived as more credible than younger children; this effect was particularly noticeable for girls and children seen in medium shot. The relevance of the current study for the testimony of child witnesses is discussed in the light of current and proposed legal reforms.     

Ratings checklist for warnings: a prototype tool to aid experts in the adequacy evaluation of proposed or existing warnings

In the field of forensic human factors, experts are often called upon to assess and evaluate the adequacy of new or existing products' warnings or warnings systems. The usual goal of this evaluation is to arrive at a simple binary decision regarding the warning in question (i.e., does it "pass/fail", or is it "adequate/inadequate"). However, such a warning assessment process may in fact be quite complex and multidimensional in its execution. The existing warnings research literature has identified a fairly large number of warnings features or factors likely to have an impact on a given warning's effectiveness or adequacy. The tool addressed in this article is intended for use by a warnings expert (as opposed to one less knowledgeable and informed about complex warnings issues), and can serve as a reminder checklist to help ensure that the expert has taken into consideration the most relevant features or factors during such a warnings adequacy assessment.     

Risk and protective factors for depression and substance use in an adolescent child welfare sample

Research on the mental health needs of maltreated youth in out-of-home care remains limited. The goal of the current study was to examine two common mental health concerns (i.e., depression, substance use) among 122 12-15 year olds in out-of-home placements. Specifically, we investigated potential risk and protective factors among socio-demographic, maltreatment, youth, family, and community variables. We relied on data collected through the AAR-C2, a Canadian needs assessment and outcome monitoring tool. Approximately 4 in 10 (39.2%) youth endorsed at least one mental health problem, which we defined as the youth scoring at least one standard deviation above the sample mean for the depression items and the youth indicating the presence of alcohol and/or substance use over the past year. Almost 1 in 10 (8.3%) reported struggling with both mental health issues. Results from logistic regressions indicated that adolescent females were at higher risk of experiencing depression than males, and increasing age was associated with increased risk for substance use. Turning to protective factors, results indicated that the greater the perceived quality of the youth-caregiver relationship, the lower the risk for mental health difficulties (i.e., depression, substance use). Moreover, participation in extracurricular activities appeared to protect youth against depression or substance use. Results imply that the youth-caregiver relationship and involvement in extracurricular activities are important areas to consider to promote the well-being of maltreated youth in out-of-home care.     

Area Agencies on Aging and the Prevention of Elder Abuse:

This study reports findings from a 1989 survey of a national sample of directors of Area Agencies on Aging. The survey provided data on the structure of those agency activities which are intended to prevent elder abuse and on the perceptions of key decision makers with regard to the status of current efforts to prevent abuse. In addition, relationships between the population characteristics of planning and service areas (size, distribution) and program structures and perceived effectiveness were also examined.