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The present contribution aims to advance discussion toward theoretical and methodological shifts in the field by tailoring a media-effects model to selective exposure research. The first section reviews earlier theorizing and highlights media exposure motivations, conceptualizations of media user characteristics, and methodology with an emphasis on exposure measures. The second section develops the Selective Exposure Self- and Affect-Management (SESAM) model, which is based on the selective exposure paradigm and addresses the roles of the self, affect, motivations, and time. The third section illustrates applications of the model with analyses involving messages about race, politics, and health.

How do users pick out online information sources? Building on a self-regulation perspective to media use, this study investigates routes to self-enhancement (i.e. state self-esteem [SSE] increase) through selective exposure to sources of political online information. Personal-self importance (PSI) and social-self importance (SSI) were conceptualized as moderators of self-enhancement. An experiment mimicked the filter bubble, as participants ( n = 88) browsed only attitude-aligned political content. The experiment varied source cues, with two (of eight) bylines displaying individual participants' name initials as author initials. The selective exposure time participants spent on messages from same-initials authors was logged to capture egotism (based on the well-established name-letter effect). Pre-exposure SSE influenced self-enhancement, contingent upon both PSI and SSI. Perceived source similarity affected post-exposure SSE, contingent upon the same moderators. The findings show that algorithms can personalize source cues to attract users and impact self-esteem.

The greatest obstacle for health campaigns is most likely a lack of adequate exposure (Hornik, 2002), as public health messages compete with a flood of alternative messages. In light of America's obesity epidemic, the present work examines message characteristics that may foster exposure to recommendations on healthful weight management. Drawing on social cognitive theory and exemplification theory, the present three-session 2×2 experiment examined impacts of efficacy and exemplification, as characteristics of an online weight-loss message, on selective exposure and change in recommended behavior. Exposure depended on both characteristics, as the exemplar, high-efficacy version resulted in longest and the base-rate, high-efficacy version in shortest exposure, while both low-efficacy versions fell in between. Change in recommended behavior was positive and significantly higher in exemplar message groups than for base-rate version groups, where the change was negative.

The present study examined prolonged exposure effects of thin-ideal media messages. College-aged females participated in seven online sessions over 10 days including a baseline measures session, five daily measures, and a posttest. Two experimental groups viewed magazine pages with thin-ideal imagery. One of those groups was induced to engage in social comparisons with the thin-ideal models. The control group viewed messages with body-neutral images of women. Prolonged exposure to thin-ideal messages led to greater body satisfaction. This finding was attributed to the fact that the experimental groups reported more dieting behaviors. A mediation analysis showed that the impact of thin-ideal message exposure on body satisfaction was mediated by dieting.

An experiment with two computer-based sessions (complete data for 156 participants) examined selective exposure to attitude-consistent and counterattitudinal media messages. In the first session, participants indicated interest in politics and news, political attitudes, with four target issues embedded, along with attitude certainty and importance. Attitude accessibility data were derived from response latencies. In the second session, participants browsed an online opinion forum with eight texts about four issues, each with a pair of articles presenting opposing views. Selective exposure was unobtrusively recorded by software and coded as attitude-consistent and counterattitudinal based on individual participants' attitudes. Results show that attitude-consistent exposure dominated regardless of particular issue, with 36% more reading time. Higher habitual news use and attitude certainty both fostered attitude-consistent exposure. Selection of counterattitudinal articles was more likely among participants with greater interest in politics, conservative party preference, stronger party preference, more accessible attitudes, and higher attitude importance.

Previous research has studied minority representation in advertising in mainstream media but has not looked at media popular with minority consumers. This content analysis compares advertisements in magazines with the highest concentration of readers from the three largest minority groups with ads in the highest-selling consumer magazines targeting the population as a whole. Each ethnic group had its highest representation in ads in magazines popular with the group. However, levels of this representation differed significantly by targeted group, being highest for African Americans and lowest for Asian Americans.

Abstract: Narrative messages have demonstrated consistent effects on attitude change, with transportation as one of the most prominent explanations for their effects. However, the transportation process has yet to be fully understood. The present study investigated how attentional changes during audio narrative exposure, operationalized as secondary task reaction times, related to postexposure self-reports of transportation. Results demonstrated, unexpectedly, that faster reaction times were associated with increased transportation. Additionally, the study investigated multitasking propensity as a moderator, finding that low multitaskers exhibited slower reaction times during narrative compared to nonnarrative exposure whereas high multitaskers showed no differences in reaction time for narratives compared to nonnarratives. There were no differences in self-reported transportation for high and low multitaskers. The findings revealed limitations of the transportation self-report measure to capture attention, while highlighting the nuanced relationship between attention and transportation.

Changing structures to online news have instigated concerns that the electorate may predominantly consume soft news for entertainment purposes while neglecting public affairs information. The Internet in particular brought an increase in outlets, including unconventional low-credibility sources. A 2 × 2 × 2 within-subjects experiment ( n = 197) investigated whether delivery format (print vs online) and source type (high vs low credibility) shape the extent to which recipients select different types of news (public affairs news vs soft news). Participants browsed 32 news items, half of them hard news and the other half soft news, either associated with high- or low-credibility sources, and did so online or via print magazine. Results show that greater preference for online news fostered selective exposure to hard news. Greater habitual news use via social media reduced selective exposure to news from high-credibility sources.

Based on gender schema theory, social role theory, and social-cognitive theory, this study investigated whether biological sex and gender conformity (femininity and masculinity) predict selective exposure to gender-typed magazines and whether this exposure, in turn, reinforces gender conformity. Participants browsed full issues—three women's magazines, three associated with male readers, and three news magazines—while being taped. Before and after browsing, participants indicated their femininity and masculinity. Results show a strong impact of biological sex on selective magazine reading, resulting in gender-typed media use. However, gender conformity also influenced exposure. Moreover, mediation analyses showed that selective exposure to gender-typed magazines had a reinforcing effect on the gendered self-concept.

Using role congruity theory as the basis for the study, an analysis of 1,020 articles published 1991-2005 in Communication Research and Journal of Communication, as well as the ISI citations these articles received and the citations these articles included, was conducted. In line with a hypothesized "Matilda effect" (underrecognition of female scientists), articles authored by female communication scientists received fewer citations than articles authored by males. Hypotheses on moderating impacts of research topic, author productivity, and citing author's sex, as well as on change in the effect's extent across time were derived from the theoretical framework. Networking conceptualizations led to an additional hypothesis. Five of six hypotheses were supported.

The glut of media coverage prior to a presidential election requires individuals to selectively expose themselves to some messages and not others. The study involves a two-session online quasi-experiment with 205 participants that was conducted before the 2008 presidential election. Hypotheses on confirmation bias and information utility driving selective exposure prior to an election are tested. Results confirm that information utility can override a confirmation bias and motivate exposure if a government change is likely and the favored party is likely to lose the election. Moreover, participants with frequent habitual online news use do not exhibit a confirmation bias. However, participants whose favored party was likely to win the election and participants with infrequent online news consumption show a significant confirmation bias.