communication's next top model
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Communication Mediation Model vs. Differential GainsTRANSCRIPT
Comparing the Differential Gains and Communication Mediation Models as Predictors of Political Participation and Knowledge
Hong Vu, Joseph Yoo, Maegan Stephens, Brian Barech, Rachel Reis Mourao & Tom Johnson
The University of Texas at Austin
Communication’s Next Top Model:
Introduction
• Well-agreed: Interpersonal communication works in tandem
with mass communication to influence politicalparticipation and knowledge.
• But which model better explains the relationship between media, discussion, and political effects?
Differential Gains?Communication Mediation Model?
Literature
• Differential Gains Model (Scheufele and colleagues) The political effects of news media messages are
contingent upon the media’s interaction with interpersonal communication.
• Communication Mediation Model (Shah and colleagues) Mass Communication has an influence on political
aspects but such relationship is indirect: interpersonal communication mediates the effects
Additional Theoretical Inquiry• Would wider range of media reliance variables
influence the predictive power of the two models?
Hypotheses and Research Questions
Interaction effects on political outcomes:H1- Exposure to news media;H2- Interaction between news media and face-
to-face communication, and;H3 - Interaction between news media and online
communication: Greater political outcomes (e.g., online, offline
political participation, and knowledge). Which effects are larger? Direct or interaction?
RQ1 media vs. interaction bt. media & face-to-face; RQ2 media vs. interaction bt. media & online comm
Hypotheses and Research Questions
• Mediation effects on political outcomes:• H4 – Face-to-face communication:• H5 – Online communication:• Mediate the relationship between news media and
political outcomes.
• Which effects are larger? Mediation or direct?• RQ3: Media reliance vs. mediation bt. Media & face-
to-face communication.• RQ4: Media reliance vs. mediation bt. Media & online
communication
MethodAmazon Mechanical Turk survey
N = 1267 U.S. respondents
AnalysisHierarchical regression analysis (Differential Gains Model)
Path analysis (Communication Mediation Model)
Independent variables
Online/OfflineFOX/CNN/MSNBC
NewspapersNews Magazines
News & Talk Radio
AgeGender
RaceEducation
Income
Party Ties IdeologyInterest
Online DiscussionInterpersonal Discussion Interaction Variables
Dependent variables
Results• Offline political participation is predicted by:
• Media reliance: • Radio news, • Fox news
• Political discussion: • Both online and offline discussion
• Interaction: • Face-to-face discussion – Fox News; • Online discussion and print news; radio news; and
Fox news.
Results (cont.)
• Online Political participation is predicted by:• Interaction: print news - online discussion
• Political knowledge is predicted by no variable• Comparing effects on political participation (RQ1
&RQ2): • Direct effects of media > interaction - face-to-
face discussion on political participation;• Effects of media reliance > media interaction –
online discussion
Research Questions and Hypotheses
Discussion
• Comparison of two models:• No perfect prediction on either of the two• Differential Gains: Little support • Communication Mediation: Considerable support.
• Political discussion should be used as mediation rather than interaction in predicting political participation and knowledge.• Fox News is different from other media variables in
predicting political knowledge and participation.• Online discussion is important in motivating people to
engage in political activities.