@article{ref1,
title="Conceptualizing Media Stimuli in Experimental Research: Psychological Versus Attribute‐Based Definitions",
journal="Human communication research",
year="2007",
author="Tao, Chen‐Chao and Bucy, Erik P.",
volume="33",
number="4",
pages="397-426",
abstract="This paper argues for a clearer conceptualization of media stimuli in experimental research and identifies 3 issues impeding our understanding of message processing: (a) assumptions bolstered by manipulation checks about homogeneity of response to media stimuli, (b) conflation of 2 different classes of variables—media attributes and psychological states, and (c) discrepancies between the conceptual model and operational-level hypotheses used to test research questions. To provide a more comprehensive framework for investigating media effects in experimental research, we argue for a clearer conceptual separation between message attributes and user perceptions and apply a mediation model of information processing to overcome the limitations of conventional approaches. Subjected to 2 empirical tests involving the assessment of Web-based media, the model finds an increase in explained variance in each instance.<p />",
language="",
issn="0360-3989",
doi="10.1111/j.1468-2958.2007.00305.x",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2958.2007.00305.x"
}