Mere Exposure Research Articles

Exposure to serial audiovisual narratives increases empathy via vicarious interactions

ABSTRACT This study examines how exposure to serial audiovisual narratives is associated with media users’ empathy. While mounting evidence suggests enhanced empathy following exposure to written, fictional narratives, the present study expands this line of research to the context of fictional serial audiovisual narratives. Considering that social interactions are instrumental for empathic development, vicarious interactions are proposed as a key mechanism in the relationship between exposure to fictional audiovisual narratives and empathy. Furthermore, the empathy-enhancing role of exposure to eudaimonic entertainment in particular is assessed. Additionally, possible boundary conditions are explored with respect to personality traits linked to reduced empathy. The conducted analyses combine logged data from participants’ Netflix viewing histories with self-report data from an online survey (N = 262). Results suggest that exposure to fictional serial audiovisual narratives predicts empathy via vicarious interactions. Moreover, eudaimonic experiences positively predict vicarious interactions and empathy. The role of specific media content, instead of mere exposure time, is therefore discussed with respect to the facilitation of media enhanced empathy.

NLRP3 ablation enhances tolerance in heat stroke pathology by inhibiting IL-1\u03b2-mediated neuroinflammation

BackgroundPatients with prior illness are more vulnerable to heat stroke-induced injury, but the underlying mechanism is unknown. Recent studies suggested that NLRP3 inflammasome played an important role in the pathophysiology of heat stroke.MethodsIn this study, we used a classic animal heat stroke model. Prior infection was mimicked by using lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or lipoteichoic acid (LTA) injection before heat stroke (LPS/LTA 1 mg/kg). Mice survival analysis curve and core temperature (TC) elevation curve were produced. NLRP3 inflammasome activation was measured by using real-time PCR and Western blot. Mice hypothalamus was dissected and neuroinflammation level was measured. To further demonstrate the role of NLRP3 inflammasome, Nlrp3 knockout mice were used. In addition, IL-1β neutralizing antibody was injected to test potential therapeutic effect on heat stroke.ResultsPrior infection simulated by LPS/LTA injection resulted in latent inflammation status presented by high levels of cytokines in peripheral serum. However, LPS/LTA failed to cause any change in animal survival rate or body temperature. In the absence of LPS/LTA, heat treatment induced heat stroke and animal death without significant systemic or neuroinflammation. Despite a decreased level of IL-1β in hypothalamus, Nlrp3 knockout mice demonstrated no survival advantage under mere heat exposure. In animals with prior infection, their heat tolerance was severely impaired and NLRP3 inflammasome induced neuroinflammation was detected. The use of Nlrp3 knockout mice enhanced heat tolerance and alleviated heat stroke-induced death by reducing mice hypothalamus IL-1β production with prior infection condition. Furthermore, IL-1β neutralizing antibody injection significantly extended endotoxemic mice survival under heat stroke.ConclusionsBased on the above results, NLRP3/IL-1β induced neuroinflammation might be an important mechanistic factor in heat stroke pathology, especially with prior infection. IL-1β may serve as a biomarker for heat stroke severity and potential therapeutic method.

Exploring how perceived tourism impacts evolve over time (2009–2019) in an era of uncertainty: economic crisis, host-guest interactions, and Airbnb

Cross sectional studies focusing on a single setting are typically not sufficient in explaining how/why residents arrive at certain perceptions of impacts and attitudes towards tourism. This study aims to explore how the impacts of tourism are perceived by local residents over time (2009–2019), potentially shaped by the transient global and local contexts (economic crisis, Airbnb expansion); and frequency of exposure to tourists, explained via the Mere Exposure Theory (MET). MET suggests that repeated exposure to a stimulus or people, is a condition for the enhancement of the attitude towards it. Targeting Kavala residents in Greece, survey data were collected in three different points in time (2009, 2011, 2019), coupled with 21 in-depth interviews with local residents conducted in 2019. Results revealed that residents’ perceptions of tourism impacts are dynamic and fluid, greatly affected by the macro and micro economic environment; the rapid expansion of Airbnb in residents’ living areas; and the subsequent increasing interaction with tourists. Implications for theory and practice along with limitations and future research directions are also discussed.

Do cognitive biases condition environmental concern? The case of Italy and Spain

This paper tackles whether it is possible to identify cognitive biases that foster environmental concern among public opinion. In particular, the study focuses on the mere exposure effect. Regression analysis was conducted on data concerning Spain and Italy to test the hypotheses that (1) exposing individuals to proenvironmental stimuli in the form of physical natural environments or recycling policies and (2) belonging to younger generations today is associated with a greater extent of environmental concern. The results confirmed both the hypotheses, suggesting environmental policies that affect individuals in their everyday lives, besides being beneficial for the environment, make the public opinion more conscious about the issue

Contact versus Exposure: Refugee Presence and Voting for the Far Right

AbstractThis paper investigates how different forms of exposure to refugees affect voting for Far Right parties. I study the state of Upper Austria where many municipalities hosted asylum seekers and also experienced a massive flow of refugees crossing into Germany in 2015. Exposure to refugees passing through border municipalities increased Far Right votes by about 1.5 percentage points, which suggests that mere exposure can increase Far Right support. Conversely, contact and sustained interactions between natives and asylum seekers in hosting municipalities decreased Far Right votes by about 4 percentage points, which is in line with the intergroup contact theory.

Evaluative conditioning of responses to unfamiliar chords by exposure to valenced images

The extent to which emotional responses to musical elements are influenced by their past associations with specific emotional responses is largely unknown. To assess this possibility, the present study tested whether pairing positive, negative, or neutral chords from an unfamiliar musical system (a microtonal Bohlen–Pierce tuning) with positively or negatively valenced pictures would have an effect on subsequent liking ratings. The microtonal chords used in this experiment had been previously rated, independent of any other affective input, in an earlier experiment; this allows us to class each chord as intrinsically positive, negative, or neutral. It was found that exposure with an image increases liking ratings independent of the valence of the images, compared with no exposure which supports a mere exposure effect; but, interestingly, we did not find substantial evidence for evaluative conditioning. Results are discussed in light of theoretical accounts of evaluative conditioning and musical implications.

Optimising Repeated Exposure: Determining Optimal Stimulus Shape for Introducing a Novel Vegetable among Children.

Although it is well evident that a healthy diet rich in fruit and vegetables could prevent a number of major chronic diseases, national and international guidelines concerning their intake are not being reached by a large percentage of the population, including children. Thus, it is of interest to investigate how the consumption of this food group by children could be increased. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of serving style on the consumption of a raw snack vegetable (daikon) and the influence of its exposure on liking and intake of the vegetable. A group of 185 children 3–5 years old participated in the study. Two kindergartens served as intervention groups, while the third was assigned to be the control group of the study (n = 50). The intervention groups were repeatedly exposed to one of three different serving styles of daikon: sticks (n = 42), triangles (n = 46) or grated (n = 47), and they were all visited 7 times during the exposure period, on the same frequency (twice per week). Familiarity and liking of the target vegetable, daikon, and six other vegetables (cucumber, celery, celeriac, broccoli, cauliflower and beetroot) were measured at baseline, post-intervention and two follow up sessions (3- and 6-month) to investigate the likelihood of generalisation effects. Intake of daikon was measured at all control sessions and exposures. Moreover, children were asked to rank their favourite serving style of daikon and beetroot, among triangle, stick and grated, towards understanding the influence of shape on the efficacy of the exposure. The results revealed significant changes between liking and intake of daikon for the groups of triangles and sticks and the control group (p < 0.05). The group that received grated daikon did not show significant differences in liking and at intake levels during the exposures but performed well in the long-term. Throughout the exposure period, intake levels followed an overall increasing pattern, with all the groups to demonstrate a decrease of their intake at the last session, which was not found significant for the triangle group. Mere exposure was efficient towards increasing liking and intake of the novel vegetable with all the shapes to deliver positive results, but based on this study no particular serving style can be recommended.

Promoting intercultural competence in study abroad students

Universities have been promoting study abroad programmes for a long time to improve intercultural competence. However, the mere exposure to cultural differences while studying abroad does not ensure intercultural competence, unless study abroad students’ reflective processes are explicitly targeted. The article presents the results of a short intervention grounded in the problem-based approach aimed at improving intercultural competence in study abroad students. Students were assigned to three conditions: a video-log condition (in which they have to narrate a critical incident occurred to them), a reflection-induced video-logs (in which they were prompted to reflect on the video-logs produced), and an active control condition. The reflection-induced video-log intervention improved students’ perceived proficiency in Italian and perceived opportunities for cultural reflection, but it did not contribute to improve students’ applicable and conceptual knowledge of intercultural competence.

Multiple inter-university online lesson programs in conflict areas-evaluation for improvement

Peacebuilding and conflict prevention studies play a crucial role in promoting peace on earth. Such studies must be evaluated in order to ensure they are as effective as possible. At the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS), Japan, Associate Professor Mitsuru Ikeda, Professor Toru Miyagi and Dr Aya Fukuda are part of a team that have developed an educational programme on peacebuilding and conflict prevention that connects several universities in Asia via an online conference system. The Global Campus Program (GCP) is novel for many reasons, particularly because of its psychological angle. Ikeda is a psychologist who is a proponent of the importance of the involvement of psychology in conflict prevention education. This is because armed conflicts are caused by the human mind and psychology is also closely linked to programme evaluation research. Through the GCP, Ikeda, Miyagi and Fukuda are performing a programme evaluation of peacebuilding and conflict prevention education. This involves inviting students from different parts of the world, including conflict-affected countries and enhancing students' learning through interaction and dialogue. The researchers use two major psychological theoretical models in their work: mere exposure effect and the idea that co-action based on common goals deepens mutual understanding.

Citizen (dis)engagement on social media: How the Catalan referendum crisis fostered a teflonic social media behaviour

ABSTRACT This study examines citizen’s use of social media during the political crisis triggered by the Catalan Referendum. More specifically, we seek to shed more light on Catalan citizens’ (dis)engagement on social media, examining what citizens did and did not do on social media, who they avoided and/or unfriended, and the implications of such behaviours for democratic citizenship in Spain. Our findings, based on 50 interviews with Catalan citizens, show that despite strong political partisanship, Catalans show little inclination to discuss political issues online and consequently develop what we term a teflonic social media behaviour (TSMB). By implementing these avoidance tactics, they refrain from commenting and sharing political information about the Catalan conflict on social media. Furthermore, when they happen, political discussions are mainly triggered by blatant lies or fabricated content that citizens from both sides of the political spectrum want to confront based on their own real-world experiences. We find that despite the fact that the independence movement has undeniably fuelled social and political conflict, the unfriend button on social media was only used when specific norms of uncivility were breached rather than as a reaction to the mere exposure to dissonant views and opinions.

The Influence of Presentation Format on Responses of Male Sex Offenders to Digital Paintings that illustrate the Consequences Sexual Crimes

Although art viewing experiences occur in varied contexts, responses of audience may be profoundly affected by the presentation format. In this paper, focus is drawn upon participation in a digital paintings exhibition and visual representation in assessing the responses of male sex offenders to digital paintings that illustrate the consequences of sexual crimes. The relationship between arts and technology is an emerging area of interest in modern research. In addition to the traditional gallery displays, digital technologies have provided new ways of audience participation in arts, enabling more involvement in the way art is consumed. The authors sought to determine the effect of viewing screen projected images in Rapid Serial Visual Presentation and in a gallery display. The study applied brief repeated exposures as described in Mere Exposure research. The study utilized temporary exhibition displays and projection by Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) where the respondents were passive participants, simply viewing the artwork. The participants were drawn from male sexual offenders aged 18-45 years at Nairobi West Prison, a male offenders’ facility in Nairobi City County. Stratified random sampling was used to select 61 male offenders convicted for defilement and rape. Respondents were randomly assigned to two experimental conditions involving viewing in projection by RSVP and gallery display. A five-point Likert scale was used to measure the participants’ responses to digital paintings illustrating consequences of sexual crimes. A Multivariate Analysis was used to assess ratings of the digital paintings against the various components of art. Findings show that painting style, colour schemes, themes and exposure frequency significantly influenced the participants’ responses to the digital paintings. The study recommends use of comparative analysis to determine how exposure to digital paintings impacts differently on other types of audiences.

Identifying effective cognitive biases in information retrieval

The purpose of this study is to identify the types of cognitive biases in the process of information retrieval. This research used a mixed-method approach for data collection. The research population consisted of 25 information retrieval specialists and 30 post-graduate students. We employed three tools for collecting data, including a checklist, log files and semi-structured interviews. The findings showed that from the perspective of information retrieval specialists, the cognitive biases such as ‘Familiarity’, ‘Anchoring’, ‘Rush to solve’ and ‘Curse of knowledge’ could be of the greatest importance in the field of information retrieval. Also, in terms of users’ searching, the ‘Rush to solve problems’ and ‘Mere exposure effects’ biases have the highest frequency, and the ‘Outcome’ and ‘Curse of knowledge’ biases have the lowest frequency in the process of user retrieval information. It can be concluded that, because cognitive biases occurring in information retrieval, designers of information retrieval systems and librarians should pay attention to this issue in designing and evaluating information systems.

Knowledge mitigates misinformation

With increasing global communications, we have experienced increasing misinformation. New research shows that mere exposure to misinformation about smart meters is related to perceptions of related risks. Increased knowledge about smart meters can reduce the impact of some misinformation but it does not work for all types.

Mere Exposure Effect Is Sometimes Insensitive to Mood Inductions

The mere exposure effect (MEE) is defined as repeated exposures to a stimulus enhancing affective evaluations of that stimulus (Zajonc, 1968). The three prominent explanations of the MEE are Zajonc's "neophobia" account, the uncertainty reduction account, and the perceptual fluency approach. Zajonc's "neophobia" account posits that people have an inherent low level of fear of novel objects and exposure to the objects partially extinguishes this novelty-based fear. The uncertainty reduction account asserts that people find uncertainty aversive and habituation reduces uncertainty. The fluency account postulates that people "like" representations of things with which they are fluent. In four experiments, we induced positive and negative moods before or after target exposures. In addition to assessing the MEE in each condition, we assessed the mood induction. The central hypothesis assessed in this series was that there would be an interaction between mood and the MEE. Although the three accounts of the MEE generated divergent predictions, none of the accounts were well supported by the data. Tests for mood induction demonstrated the efficacy of the induction procedures and the MEE was consistently observed, but Bayesian analysis indicated that at least in the present preparation mood had no effect on the MEE.

When twice is better than once: increased liking of repeated items influences memory in younger and older adults

BackgroundNumerous studies have reported that the repeated presentation of a stimulus leads to an increase in positive affect towards the stimulus itself (the so-called mere exposure effect). Here, we evaluate whether changes in liking due to repetition may have a differential impact on subsequent memories in younger and older adults.MethodIn two experiments, younger and older adults were asked to rate a series of nonwords (Experiment 1) or unfamiliar neutral faces (Experiment 2) in terms of how much they like them and then presented with a surprise yes–no recognition memory task. At study, items were repeated either consecutively (massed presentation) or with a lag of 6 intervening items (spaced presentation).ResultsIn both experiments, participants rated spaced repeated items more positively than massed items, i.e. they liked them most. Moreover, older adults remembered spaced stimuli that they liked most better than younger adults.ConclusionsThe findings are discussed in accordance with the mechanisms underlying positivity effects in memory and the effect of repetition on memory encoding.

The Efficiency–Exposure Paradox: Reconciling the Conflicting Effects of Measured Website Browsing Behaviors for Non-Transactional Outcomes

Organizations invest heavily to develop and maintain websites to meet a variety of organizational goals, some transactional (e.g. online purchases) and others non-transactional (e.g. influencing brand attitude and disseminating product information). Although factors related to designing websites to promote transactional outcomes have been widely studied in the information systems (IS) literature, those related to non-transactional outcomes have not. In considering these non-transactional outcomes — specifically brand attitude formation and information dissemination — two streams of literature emerge, although they present conflicting recommendations. First, ‘cognitive attitude formation’ research recommends designing interfaces to promote an efficient experience that takes less time and requires less movement among pages. By contrast, the ‘mere exposure’ literature recommends that longer durations and more exposure to related ideas should improve non-transactional outcomes. To disentangle these two conflicting perspectives, we tested related hypotheses in a within-subjects experiment with a ten-day follow-up survey. Building on theory regarding task characteristics, we also included task type, whether a task was more or less goal-directed, as a hypothesized moderating variable. We found that more time spent on a website improves brand attitude and product knowledge retention, but that more page views reduced product knowledge. In addition, the task type influenced the relationships between pages viewed and brand attitude and between time spent and product knowledge retention. These results offer designers and website owners meaningful guidance on how to manage their websites to elevate brand attitudes and increase retention of product knowledge.

Mere exposure effect and nostalgia

Mere exposure effect and nostalgia

Влияние эффекта детского лица и эффекта знакомства с объектом на имплицитный и эксплицитный аспекты переработки информации о воспринимаемых лицах: дополнительное исследование

Faces are pivotal social stimuli that convey a tremendous amount of information and trigger numerous cognitive processes and consequent behaviors. Among the numerous factors that mediate face perception, we focused our attention on two particular phenomena and their interaction: the Baby Schema effect (BSE) and the Mere Exposure effect (MEE). Accordingly to the BSE, babies’ features are considered “cuter” than adults’ features and motivate people towards protection and caregiving, while the MEE states that familiarity can increase the like- ability of various stimuli, including faces. To investigate how those two factors interact, we carried out a follow- up study of the work of Venturoso et al. (2019) on a Singaporean sample. Singapore is a multicultural city-state where different ethnicities live alongside each other. Participants (ethnic Chinese and Indian) were shown faces of female adults and babies of different ethnic groups (Caucasian, Indian, Chinese and Arabic). Implicit responses were recorded using pupillometry measures, while explicit attitudes were assessed using a questionnaire. Our results confirm the presence of the BSE in both the explicit and implicit measures; specifically, baby faces elicited greater pupillary variations and were rated as more attractive than adult faces. An interaction effect between age and ethnicity was also observed. On the other hand, differences in pupil diameters and pleasantness scores were found between the ethnic groups on adult faces. The above-mentioned differences did not depend on whether stimuli belonged to the ethnic in-group or out-group of the participants, suggesting that exposure to individuals of different ethnicities reduces in-group favoritism. Further investigation is needed to better understand the complex interaction between BSE and MEE in our increasingly multifaceted reality.

Assessing entrepreneurial competences: insights from a business model challenge

PurposeWhile the number of entrepreneurship education programmes offered around the world is on the rise, research into the assessment of entrepreneurship education programmes is still lacking. The purpose of this paper is to take the stance that entrepreneurship education has to focus on a set of transversal competences aimed at teaching individuals to become more enterprising, and develop a framework and practical proposal for the teaching and assessment of entrepreneurial competences.Design/methodology/approachThe authors followed a three-pronged research design. First, the authors reviewed the literature and practices on the definition of entrepreneurial competences and measures for their assessment and identified a rubric of competences and a set of assessment tools. Second, the authors tested the identified tools to assess entrepreneurial competences through the development of an intensive extra-curricular initiative on entrepreneurship based on a business model challenge. Third, the authors evaluated the outcomes of this experience based on 72 student pre-test and post-test survey responses.FindingsThe authors assessed the impact of participation in a business model challenge with regard to five competence areas: positive attitude and initiative; communication and interaction; team-work and collaboration; critical and analytical thinking or problem solving, including risk assessment; creativity and innovation. The authors found no relevant changes across these dimensions, concluding that the mere exposure to the business challenge was not a sufficient condition for stimulating the development of entrepreneurial competences in our sample.Originality/valueThis work provides a relevant contribution to researchers, educators and policymakers by taking an interdisciplinary approach to reviewing previous literature and proposing ways of assessing transversal competences in the context of entrepreneurship education.

Exploring Resident–Tourist Interaction and its Impact on Tourists’ Destination Image

Although previous research has widely acknowledged the critical role residents play in tourism, limited evidence exists on the impact their interactions with tourists have on tourists’ own image formulation and intention to return/recommend the destination to others. Grounded in the mere exposure and contact theories, this research offers insights into tourists’ destination image formation in light of their interactions with local residents and tourism employees at a destination. Two independent studies were conducted in 2019 to establish the soundness of the model; a preliminary one in the city of Kavala (n = 353) and a follow-up study on the island of Thasos (n = 397), both located in Greece. Findings suggest that interaction between the two parties positively affect cognitive, affective, and conative image, predicting 64% (study 1) and 54% (study 2) of the latter’s variance. Implications to theory and practice along with recommendations for future research are provided.