campus TV dramas more effective than news in promoting safer sex, study shows JEFF GRABMEIER OSU Research Communications grabmeier@osu.edu A ÿctional television drama may be more effective in persuading young women to use birth control than a news-format program on the same issue, according to a new study. Researchers found that college-age women who viewed a televised drama about a teen pregnancy felt more vulnerable two weeks after watching the show, and this led to more support for using birth control. However, those who watched a news program detailing the difÿculties caused by teen pregnancies were unmoved, and had no change in their intentions to use birth control. The results show the power that narratives like TV shows can have in in° uencing people, said Emily Moyer-Gusé, co-author of the study and assistant professor of communication at Ohio State University. “A message that is hidden inside of a story may overcome some of the resistance people have to being told how to behave,” Moyer-Gusé said. “The impact that dramatized stories have on people’s beliefs and intentions depends a lot on the individual viewers, and not just the message — but our results suggest the effect can be there.” Moyer-Gusé conducted the study with Robin Nabi of the University of California, Santa Barbara. Their research appears in the current issue of the journal Human Communication Research. The study involved 353 undergraduate students between the ages of 18 and 25. All of them watched one of two programs that focused on the difÿculties associated with unplanned teen pregnancies. Half of the participants watched a program developed by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy to be broadcast on Channel One — a news program that airs in many U.S. high schools. This program used a news format, and proÿled male and female teen parents. The overall message was that teen pregnancy makes life as a young adult more difÿ cult. The remaining participants watched an episode of the U.S. teen drama, The OC. In this episode, high-school students Ryan and Theresa faced the
difÿcult consequences of an unintended pregnancy. The programs were pre-tested with other students, who agreed that they both had the same main message concerning the difÿculties of teen pregnancy. Before watching the programs, participants completed questionnaires EMILY MOYER-GUSE concerning how often they used some form of birth control if they were sexually active, and their intentions to use birth control over the next year. Immediately after viewing the programs, participants ÿlled out questionnaires concerning how much they were emotionally involved in the program, how much they identiÿed with the characters, and other issues concerning their response to the programs they viewed. Two weeks later, they were contacted again and asked about their intentions to use birth control. The researchers found that male and females had different responses to the programs. Watching the news-format program had no effect on men’s safe-sex intentions two weeks later. But two weeks after watching The OC, men said they were actually less likely to follow birth control practices than they did before they viewed the program. That was probably because men reported they didn’t like the program as much as women did, and didn’t identify with the characters, Moyer-Gusé said. Women had a different reaction to the programs. The news-format program had no effect on their intentions to use birth control. But those who watched The OC episode were more likely to report in two weeks that they planned on taking steps to prevent pregnancy. The ÿndings revealed some of the underlying mechanisms that made the TV drama persuasive to many women viewers. Findings showed that viewers who said they identiÿed with the two main characters in The OC episode also felt, when contacted two weeks later, that they were more vulnerable to an unplanned
pregnancy. That, in turn, led to greater intentions to use birth control. “Many of the women participants were able to put themselves in the place of the characters and sense they could end up in a similar situation if they weren’t careful,” Moyer-Gusé said. Feeling vulnerable was the key to accepting birth control practices for the women in the study. “One of the reasons why some people avoid safer sex behaviors is because they feel invulnerable – they have this optimistic bias that nothing bad will ever happen to them,” she said. “But if you vicariously experience a bad result happening to you by watching a narrative program, that may change behavior in a way that is difÿcult to achieve through a direct message.” Participants, particularly women, were more likely to be persuaded to use birth control if they felt the program they watched didn’t have an overt safe-sex message. Most people didn’t think The OC episode was preaching the use of birth control, but those who did were much less likely to increase their intentions to use birth control, the ÿndings showed. In addition, those who reported that they reacted to the characters in The OC as if they were friends were also less likely to see an overt message in the show, and were more likely to accept birth control practices. Moyer-Gusé emphasized that the results don’t mean that men aren’t persuaded by narratives such as TV dramas. “The show we chose happened to connect less with the men. But if we picked another topic or another show, I believe a narrative program could also be persuasive to male viewers.” While these results suggest persuasive messages might be better received by people if they are wrapped up in a story, Moyer-Gusé cautions that it isn’t always that simple. As the different reactions of men and women in this study showed, a lot depends on the individual viewers and not just the message. “The problem with using stories to persuade people is that people can interpret them in different ways. You don’t always get the results you expect,” she said.
Students can rate professors using iPhone RICK SCHANZ Lantern reporter schanz.5@osu.edu Students can now write and read reviews of professors on their iPhones. MTV Networks and MtvU executives announced the popular Web site RateMyProfessors.com is now available as an iPhone application. “I use the site all the time,” said iPhone user David Norgard, a fourth-year in economics. “I would download it if it was free.” The app costs 99 cents, a price tag that is supposed to distinguish the app from not-as-useful free applications, said Carlo DiMarco, vice president of university relations for MtvU. Although the app has only been available in the iTunes Store since Jan. 6, the app is in the top 10 of the “paid education category,” DiMarco said. The RateMyProfessor.com app has a two-and-a-half star costumer rating in the iTunes App Store. “We’ve received a lot of feedback on the functionality,” DiMarco said. While the Web site is similar to the app, “there is some confusion because the app navigates differently than the Web site,” he said. One snag with the app is that the companion site of RateMyProfessors.com, ProfessorsStrikeBack.com, which relies on ° ash video, cannot be displayed on iPhones. DiMarco stressed that within the next 30 days, MtvU will release a statement to address the perceived problems of the app.
Toyota continues self-promotion despite recent recall SHARON BERNSTEIN Los Angeles Times (MCT) LOS ANGELES — Toyota has begun the painful and difÿcult task of trying to convince consumers that they should buy the beleaguered company’s cars — even as worries mount that more bad news may be ahead. Capping a week of by-the-book crisis management, including television appearances by top executives, the world’s largest automobile maker has begun to air a commercial aimed at restoring conÿdence in its vehicles. Opening with a 1960s-era photograph of a Toyota dealership, the ad is airing frequently on network and cable television stations, along with YouTube and the company’s Web site. “In recent days our company hasn’t been living up to the standards that you expect from us, or that we expect from ourselves,” the narrator says. “We’re working around the clock to make sure we build vehicles of the highest quality — to restore your faith in our company.” The spot is just one of Toyota’s efforts to reach consumers. The company has purchased banner ads on 400 Web sites, and is running radio commercials in the style of public service announcements to direct people to its Web site for information on the recalls. The moves come amid indications that some customers may be steering clear of Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles. New-car sales were down in January, and the automotive Web site Kelley Blue Book reports that the number of people seeking to buy Toyotas has dropped by a third since the most recent recall was announced last month. Kelley Blue Book allows people looking for a new car to search the site and contact dealers to request a quote. But since Jan. 20, the day before Toyota announced its latest recall, such requests have dropped signiÿcantly, analyst James Bell said.
Before the recall, about 18 percent of Kelley Blue Book users requested quotes for new cars from Toyota dealers, Bell said. Since then just 11 percent to 12 percent did so, he said. Kelley Blue Book says that values of used Toyotas — already down 3 percent — will decline further this week by about 1.5 percent. The Prius hybrid, which typically sells for close to its entry-level sticker price of about $23,000, is likely to see its retail value drop by $1,000 to $1,500, Bell said. The company said it has not tracked values for Toyota’s upscale Lexus line, which has had to recall fewer vehicles. Toyota reported a drop in new-car sales last month, but it is not clear whether that was because of lessened demand because dealers had been ordered not to sell several models for part of the month. Most experts believe Toyota eventually will win customers back. But they say that to do that, the company will need to reach out — with direct marketing, more TV commercials and a message that it has solved its safety problems and made its vehicles better than ever. At Toyota right now, that means embracing a marketing strategy that is evolving rapidly — a departure for a company that is careful to chart most of its major moves well in advance. As of Tuesday, ofÿcials were still reviewing whether the television portion of a campaign for the Sienna minivan would begin as scheduled Friday. “We are analyzing our options on a day-to-day basis,” said spokeswoman Celeste Migliore. “We’re talking consistently with our customers and measuring their response to us.” In addition to television, radio and newspaper outreach, Toyota is buying advertising on Internet search engines in hopes that its message will pop up at the top of the list of sponsored links when people look for auto-related information online, Migliore said. On Monday, Jim Lentz, chief executive of Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc., answered questions from Internet users on the popular site DIGG.com. The company has also hired additional lobbyists and public relations specialists in its Washington, D.C., ofÿces, said public affairs manager
Cindy Knight. Toyota is not releasing information on how much it is spending on its stepped up advertising, public relations and lobbying campaigns. Since last fall, Toyota has recalled about 8 million vehicles for problems related to unintended acceleration. The company has temporarily halted production of the eight models affected, and halted sales for several days in late January and early February. Late Monday, the company recalled 437,000 more vehicles, including 133,000 Prius and 14,500 Lexus models in the U.S. Rebuilding customer loyalty will be key for a company that for decades has traded on an almost religious adherence on the part of Toyota owners to the idea that the company’s vehicles were reliable and safe, said Jim Stengel, a former marketing chief for Procter & Gamble who teaches at the University of California, Los Angeles’ Anderson School of Business. “They need a massive one-on-one campaign,” Stengel said, in which the company digs into its gigantic customer database and contacts Toyota owners by mail and through electronic means such as e-mail. The company also must continue to advertise, said Chris Gidez, senior vice president of the strategic marketing ÿrm Hill & Knowlton. But to work, the ads must convince consumers that the company knows what went wrong and is ÿxing its problems. “It’s not enough to do the best advertising and the most creative marketing and really smart social media engagement,” Gidez said. “They ÿrst need the compelling story which is that they’ve got the ÿx, they have the means to maintain or rebuild that bond of trust.” After that, experts said, the company can start to rebuild its brand, perhaps embarking on a campaign to highlight new products or technical innovations.
Thompson Library • 1858 Neil Ave. Reception: 6:30 p.m. Program: 7 p.m. Sweet Thunder is the third biography in a trilogy of books by author Wil Haygood about pivotal African-American figures that includes Sugar Ray Robinson, Adam Clayton Powell Jr. and Sammy Davis Jr. In each he delivers a comprehensive biography and compelling case for their cultural importance. Haygood will discuss his books and the art of writing the biography in this free program. Call 292-3387 for details.
UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES
library.osu.edu
292-OSUL
Sponsored by the Friends of the OSU Libraries and the Lecture Committee of the OSU Libraries.
2A
Wednesday February 10, 2010