Exemplification, or the use of highly emotional and arousing messages to elicit responses based on impression formation, has been shown to influence perceptions of events, individuals, and organizations. News coverage concerning the use of lean finely textured beef (LFTB) is one such example, and anecdotal evidence suggests that this coverage may have had a negative impact on public perception of the manufacturers producing LFTB. The current study examined the use of social media (specifically videosharing sites) as a means of combating the negative effects of exemplars concerning LFTB. Respondents reported their perceptions of threat severity, susceptibility, behavioral intentions to avoid LFTB, and perceptions of organizational trust and reputation associated with the manufacturer. The findings are consistent with exemplification theory and indicate that message ordering can influence exemplification effects. Results are discussed in terms of implications for public relations and risk communication.

A news report on the use of Lean Finley Textured Beef (LFTB) was created in order to examine the effects of exemplars. Respondents read a news story with exemplars about Lean Finely Textured Beef, a story with exemplars about LFTB followed by a factual government blog, or a factual government blog and then the story with exemplars. Respondents reported their perceptions of severity, susceptibility, and behavioral intentions. Outcomes were found to be highest for the exemplar-only condition and lowest for the blog followed by the story with exemplar. Results are discussed in terms of implications for public relations and risk communication.Audiences rely on varying heuristics and different types of information to make judgments concerning the environment around them. Exemplification theory (Zillmann, 2006) suggests that simple, iconic, visually striking, and emotionally arousing images may be especially effective in persuading members of the public, because they may be more easily stored in memory and retrieved for later reference.

Exemplification theory asserts that message components that are iconic and emotionally arousing are easily accessed, and are therefore relied upon when making subsequent behavioral decisions. A reanalysis of data from three studies collected at different times, unrelated experimental stimuli (terrorism, food ingredients, and bed bugs), different media (visual and print), varying geographic locations, different experimental conditions (laboratory and online), and diverse participants suggests that these processes work differently for men and women. Results suggest that the medium through which an exemplar is presented and/or experienced may be fairly inconsequential, but there are underlying processes which may determine the extent to which individuals will modify behavioral intentions related to risks. After witnessing exemplified portrayals, women were more likely than men to express a desire to modify behavior, perceive themselves as more susceptible to the risk, and perceive the risk as being more severe across the studies. The findings are discussed in terms of directions for future research and implications for risk communication practitioners.

The Ebola outbreak and its rapid spread throughout West Africa and other countries was a megacrisis that imposed numerous challenges to those communicating to nonscientific publics about the epidemic. This article examines the instructional risk messages offered in the days that followed the 2014 infection and death of Liberian national Thomas Eric Duncan in Dallas, Texas. More specifically, we apply the IDEA model for effective instructional risk and crisis communication embellished by exemplification theory to conduct a thematic analysis of messages offered locally (Dallas news stories and press releases), nationally (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Live Chat Twitter posts), and internationally (website content from the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, and Doctors Without Borders). Our conclusions reveal that the majority of messages offered from each organization privileged the element of explanation over internalization and action as well as negative over positive exemplification. On the basis of these conclusions, and informed by previous research, we propose a number of potential implications and recommendations for offering a balanced representation among internalization, explanation, and action as proposed in the IDEA model. We also suggest that positive exemplification could be used strategically to motivate receivers to attend to these messages (internalization), reduce potential misunderstandings (explanation), and take appropriate self-protective actions (action). Agency spokespersons and media reporters may find the conclusions and recommendations drawn from this analysis to be useful when crafting similar instructional risk preparedness and crisis response messages.

Although a good deal of research has been published that compares the effectiveness of communication courses delivered in face-toface and online formats, much less is known about the comparative effectiveness of fully online versus hybrid (a.k.a. blended, mixed mode) courses. Thus, this research project examined student perceptions of teaching effectiveness and learning achievement efficacy in online and hybrid basic communication courses. This two-part study assessed student perceptions (N = 136) about halfway through the semester and again after finishing the course (N = 156). The examination revealed several key conclusions. First, technology constraints must be overcome pedagogically for students to feel prepared in terms of course content comprehension, as well as formal speech construction and delivery. Second, when students enroll in hybrid courses unaware of the technology-enhanced delivery format, they may perceive an expectancy violation that reduces their motivation to attend to the material. Finally, although students value the opportunity to take fully online and hybrid courses, they desire more interaction with both peers and instructor in courses conducted fully online.