Americans have increasingly changed employment in recent years, with public polling reporting a desire to boost personal well-being, improve benefits, and work in a job they are passionate about. While these changes create new opportunities, they can also disrupt social networks, which in turn may affect well-being. Drawing on a sample of adult Americans (N = 1327) who experienced a change in employment within the past year, this study explored how employment change related to friendship (satisfaction and network size) and well-being (connection, disconnection, life satisfaction, and loneliness). Results suggest starting a new job may widen friendship networks but may also contribute to maintenance difficulties, greater feelings of disconnection and loneliness, and lower life satisfaction.
Mental health in media has been studied extensively. The role of celebrity disclosure is also considered in the process of destigmatizing mental illness. On January 12, 2025, a clip of Zane Gonzalez (National Football League player) went viral, leading to a broader discussion about him living with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). We conducted an online survey with a nationally representative American sample (N = 397) and found that attention paid to Zane Gonzalez media stories right after his disclosure was a media hot topic was associated with intentions to share OCD awareness, and it moderated the relationship between attitudes toward OCD and intentions to share OCD awareness, as well as information seeking efficacy and intentions to share OCD awareness.
This research compares communication technology (CT) use, job demands/resources, and burnout between remote workers in crisis and routine (non-crisis) contexts. Findings indicate that remote workers rely on CTs less frequently in routine contexts. Remote worker burnout levels were consistent across crisis and routine workers, but job demand and resource levels differed; compared to crisis remote workers, routine remote workers perceived higher role clarity, less work overload, and less coworker support. While no CT is significantly related to work overload or role clarity among routine remote workers, instant messaging (IM) is positively related to coworker support. IM also significantly related to lower burnout via coworker support. We relate findings to the affordance framework, demonstrating how remote workers have made sense of CTs and work processes.
As traditional news media continue to create and reinforce stigma through biased or sensationalized coverage, stigma remains a significant obstacle to mental health care. Prior research shows that news framing can shape public attitudes and beliefs. Building on this literature, this study examines news headline framing regarding college students' mental health prescription use, amid increasing rates of mental health difficulties. Results of the experiment found that even brief exposure to headline framing can significantly shape attitudes toward mental health prescriptions. Headlines emphasizing effectiveness led to more positive attitudes than mixed or controversy-framed headlines, and these attitudes were positively associated with behavioral intentions. Notably, personal stigma functioned as a key variable influencing credibility and attitudes.
The subconscious mimicry of others' behaviors, termed "the chameleon effect," has been studied in face-to-face interactions and is now gaining attention in digital contexts. Such mimicry is linked to likability in both face-to-face and online communication. Additionally, recent work indicates subtle social biases may influence perceptions in online interactions. The present study examined how linguistic mimicry, message style, and phone type (iPhone vs. Android) affect text message sender likability. Results indicated that mimicked messages and cases where both texters used iPhones led to higher likability ratings. These findings are the first to empirically demonstrate how subtle digital cues (e.g. message bubble color reflecting phone type) affect interpersonal perceptions, offering new insights into the role of mimicry in computer-mediated communication.
Recent technological advancements have significantly enhanced AI chatbots' ability to engage in meaningful conversations and empathic interactions, creating new opportunities for human-AI interaction while also introducing ethical considerations. This study surveyed 789 U.S. users of AI chatbots to examine how their perceptions of empathy and ethics in these chatbots influence trust in the company. The results show that perceived empathy and ethics are strongly linked to users' trust in the company, which, in turn, affects their intention to continue using the chatbots and their likelihood of providing positive word of mouth. This study highlights the importance of empathy and ethics in AI chatbot usage from the end user's perspective, with both theoretical and practical implications discussed.
Faculty burnout is a pervasive concern for higher education institutions, with instructors reporting heightened exhaustion, increased cynicism toward the workplace, and reduced task efficacy. This study examines the potential of instructor-student rapport and out-of-class communication (OCC) as resources to mitigate faculty burnout, using the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model as a guiding framework. The results reveal that strong instructor-student rapport significantly reduces burnout, while OCC offers additional support. These findings highlight the importance of fostering relational dynamics between faculty and students as a proactive strategy to address burnout and elevate faculty well-being, satisfaction, and retention in higher education.
Belief in vaccination-related conspiracy theories poses a significant threat to public health. However, the psychological mechanisms underlying this relationship are not yet fully understood. This study addresses these gaps by examining how vaccination conspiracy beliefs erode trust in institutions, a critical factor in vaccine acceptance and the role of issue involvement. Specifically, vaccine conspiracy beliefs were found to reduce trust in institutions involved in vaccine development, which in turn increased vaccine hesitancy. Additionally, this study found that vaccination issue involvement moderated this relationship. Among individuals who were highly involved in vaccination issue, the influence of vaccine conspiracy beliefs on vaccine hesitancy was weaker. These findings offer theoretical insights into the psychological processes driving vaccine hesitancy and provide practical implications for strategies aimed at mitigating vaccine-related conspiracy theories.
Integrating prospect theory, loss aversion, and the heuristic-systematic model (HSM), this study examines how gain and loss framing shapes employees' intentions to adopt AI in the workplace. Prospect theory explains that individuals with high loss aversion are more sensitive to loss framing, while HSM predicts that low involvement amplifies heuristic-driven responses, such as loss aversion. An experiment revealed that loss framing significantly increased adoption intentions, with a three-way interaction showing that employees with high loss aversion and low involvement were most responsive to loss framing. These findings offer theoretical insights and practical guidance for organizational communication, emphasizing how integrating framing, involvement, and loss aversion can inform strategies to promote AI adoption.
National parks are unique places that offer visitors opportunities for recreation and education; park rangers play a critical role in preserving and promoting them. This research focused on a single national park in the western United States to gain a deeper understanding of park rangers' communication and roles. Interviews with participants revealed an ongoing dualism between recreation and preservation in the park, along with a contradiction for rangers to educate visitors while enforcing the park's rules. These tensions are nested within the existential contradiction between human systems and natural systems, creating a tensional knot that impacts rangers and visitors alike. Discussion surrounding these results indicates the importance of addressing tensions in ways that are productive for rangers and the park.
A between-subjects design experiment (N = 159) was conducted to examine the relationships between parasocial relationship (PSR) with favorite media character in childhood, nostalgia of the character, and emotions. In contrast to those in the control condition, participants in the experimental condition who were instructed to engage in nostalgia of their favorite media characters in childhood exhibited significantly higher levels of positive emotions. There was no significant difference in negative emotions between the two conditions. More intimate PSRs with characters were associated with more positive nostalgia of the characters. Implications of findings as well as limitations and future directions were discussed.
This article investigates how fan slogans during UEFA Euro 2024 reflect cultural pride or xenophobia. Using data from X, Instagram, and Reddit, the study employs sentiment and emotion analysis to understand public reactions. It explores the thematic clusters and emotional tones across these platforms, highlighting differences in how fans express support, rivalry, and cultural identity. The study leverages Social Identity Theory, Threat Theory, and Ethnolinguistic Identity Theory to interpret the findings. Results reveal distinct themes such as national pride, friendly rivalry, and game analysis, with variations in sentiment and emotion across platforms. X shows a mix of positive and neutral sentiments, Instagram highlights personal and cultural expressions, and Reddit exhibits more critical discussions. The study emphasizes the importance of a cross-platform approach to comprehensively capture public sentiment during major events. Future research should consider additional platforms and longitudinal data to further understand these dynamics.
Serial arguments are recurring relational conflicts characterized by unresolved issues and chronic distress. Integrating Relational Turbulence Theory (RTT) and the Serial Argument Process Model, this study examines how relational uncertainty indirectly influences conflict strategies through perceived resolvability and taking conflict personally (TCP). Survey results from 383 dating participants indicate relational uncertainty decreases perceived resolvability and increases TCP, promoting distributive and avoidant strategies and inhibiting integrative communication. Theoretically, this study extends previous research by identifying perceived resolvability and TCP as cognitive biases shaped by relational uncertainty, offering clearer insight into the mechanisms linking relationship dynamics and conflict behavior. Practically, results suggest that relationship educators and counselors should help partners recognize uncertainty-driven cognitive biases to enhance healthy communication patterns.
This study investigates how support providers' friendship standards influence their support provision when talking with friends experiencing stress and whether sex moderates those associations. Data from college students (N = 102) revealed through regression analysis that communion standards predict the provision of informational support for men and women. Notably, females' enjoyment standards were negatively correlated with the provision of distraction support. On the other hand, males' distraction support provision was positively related to their standards of enjoyment and similarity. These findings highlight the intricate dynamics of support provision in emerging adult friendships and emphasize the role of individual differences and relational standards in supportive interactions.
We apply relational turbulence theory to identify relationship characteristics and features of interpersonal interactions that contribute to relational turbulence for couples experiencing infertility. This study identified relational uncertainty and interference from partners as relationship characteristics associated with perceived partner responsiveness and negative emotions, which in turn correspond with topic avoidance and relationship talk in interpersonal episodes, which contribute to perceptions of relational turbulence. Women (N = 152) who were experiencing infertility completed an online survey about their perceptions of their relationship and communication with their partner. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results are consistent with the theorized cognitive pathways to turbulence but offer less support for emotional pathways. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
This study examined generational differences in texting preference and call anxiety, focusing on their associations with social anxiety and perceived controllability of texting. Younger adults (in their 20s and 30s) reported stronger preferences for texting and higher call anxiety than older adults (in their 40s and 50s). Social anxiety significantly predicted perceived controllability in texting-defined as the sense of preparedness and editability in text-based communication-which, in turn, influenced both texting preference and call anxiety. Age was negatively associated with social anxiety and controllability in texting, suggesting that younger individuals are more socially anxious and value the control afforded by text messaging. These findings illustrate how dispositional factors and digital media norms interact to shape generational differences in communication behavior.
We applied the theory of normative social behavior (TNSB) to examine how perceived norms are related to mpox preventive intentions among U.S. gay and bisexual men (GBM). An online survey (439 GBM) at the 2022 outbreak peak found that injunctive norms of GBM in general were positively associated with intentions to perform three preventive behaviors. Descriptive norm-intention relationships were moderated by injunctive norms of both GBM friends and GBM in general but only injunctive norms of GBM friends aligned with TNSB predictions. Higher perceived benefits to self strengthened the link between injunctive norms of GBM friends and intentions to avoid contact with infected objects. Benefits to others and GBM community connectedness did not interact with any norms. Implications were discussed.
Previous studies frequently demonstrate that descriptive norm messages positively influence behavior. However, research indicates that in prosocial contexts, these messages may reduce individuals' perceived personal responsibility and, in turn, hamper prosocial behavior intentions. This study replicates these findings in the context of online donations and extends the model by incorporating personal and collective response efficacy as mediators. Through a pre-registered experiment, the study reveals a significant negative effect of descriptive norm messages on perceived personal responsibility among individuals without prior user experience.
There is an urgent need to increase parental support of transgender youth, who experience high levels of discrimination and violence. One potential mechanism for increasing this support is narrative persuasion, which involves embedding persuasive messages within a story. After developing a narrative about a parent's path of acceptance of their trans child, based on real interviews with supportive parents of trans youth, we conducted a controlled experiment to determine its effects on attitudes and values toward trans youth. A one-month follow-up questionnaire was given to test for longitudinal effects. Results suggest narrative persuasion can marginally improve parental attitudes toward trans youth. Suggestions for more impactful narratives are provided.
This study examines whether meditation practices can increase prosocial orientations (i.e. compassion, empathic concern), as well as the processing and provision of person-centered supportive messages. Participants (N = 217) were randomly assigned to either one of two week-long meditation practices (loving kindness or concentration) or to a no-meditation condition. Meditation practitioners scored higher on empathic concern than people in the no-meditation condition. Loving kindness meditators provided supportive messages that were of higher quality than non-meditators. Compassion also partially mediated associations between concentration meditation and both person-centered message processing and provision. These findings demonstrate that meditation can cultivate prosocial orientations and may, in turn, facilitate person-centered supportive communication.
