Situational Theory Of Problem Solving Research Articles

The Power of Internal Communication for Environmental Sustainability in Promoting Employee’s Pro-Environmental Behaviors

ABSTRACT Using the situational theory of problem solving (STOPS) as a theoretical framework, this study examines how internal communication regarding environmental initiatives can promote pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) of employees at work, thereby helping achieve corporations’ sustainability goals. Results of an online survey of 443 employees in the U.S. suggested that internal communication helps to increase employees’ problem and involvement recognition of their employer’s sustainability initiatives, while decreasing their constraint recognition. When employees are situationally motivated by their organizations’ communication efforts, they actively engage in communicative behaviors and PEBs at work. Theoretical and practical implications for internal public relations are discussed.

Driving Climate Action via Government Public Relations: The Role of Government-Citizen Relationships and Situational Perceptions

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to predict the active communication behaviors and their Behavioral Intentions to Support Federal Climate Policies from the view of government public relations. Using data from an online survey of 548 adults living in the United States, this study investigated the roles of Government-Citizen Relationships (GCR) and situational perceptions (i.e. Problem Recognition, Constraint Recognition, and Involvement Recognition) in predicting active communication behaviors (i.e. information seeking, forefending, and forwarding) and federal climate policies in the framework of situational theory of problem solving (STOPS). The results of this study indicate that GCR is critical in predicting active communication behaviors and public support. While Involvement Recognition among situational perceptions is significant to predict active communication behaviors and public support, program recognition and Constraint Recognition are partially significant. The results highlight the pivotal mediating roles of situational perceptions – Problem Recognition, Constraint Recognition, and Involvement Recognition – in the link between GCR and public support for federal climate policies.

Building bridges for anti-racism activism: Testing situational theory of problem solving and problem chain recognition effect

This study investigates how people participate in activism against Asian hate crimes (i.e., Asian Lives Matter (ALM)). In contrast to numerous studies that use Situational Theory of Problem Solving (STOPS) to predict information behaviors, this study introduced and examined a streamlined model focused on predicting activism behaviors. Moreover, this study tests the Problem Chain Recognition (PCR) effect by exploring how situational motivation in problem solving related to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement affects individuals’ perceptions and communicative acquisition about the issue of anti-Asian hate crimes. Further, this study examines the differences among three American socialized racial groups in terms of problem recognition, constraint recognition, involvement recognition of activism against Asian hate crimes, and activism behaviors. The results of this study revealed that situational motivation in problem solving and referent criterion lead to activism against anti-Asian hate crime. In addition, this study found positive PCR effects between BLM and ALM. This represents a pioneering utilization of the PCR effect to the field of racial activism. Importantly, there were significant differences to perceive activism for anti-Asian hate crimes among three racial group (Blacks, Whites, and Asians). Therefore, the results of this study contribute to the theoretical building of STOPS and practical implications for understanding the complexity of the American socialized racial discourse and predicting racial activism in relation to BLM and ALM.

The Relationship Between Communicative Actions, Behavioral Intentions, and Corporate Reputation in the Framework of Situational Theory of Problem Solving in a Public Health Crisis.

Objectives: This study aims to determine the individuals' communicative actions based on the basic assumptions of the situational theory of problem solving (STOPS) and the effect of these actions on people's willingness to follow WHO's instructions in the event of an epidemic. It also seeks to determine the impact of corporate reputation on people's communicative actions and intention to follow instructions. Methods: Data were collected digitally from 261 graduate students enrolled at a state university in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. A structural equation model (SEM) was employed for data analysis. Results: Perceptual antecedents affected situational motivation, and situational motivation affected communicative actions. Communicative actions were a determining factor in individuals' willingness to follow instructions. The perception of corporate reputation influenced both communicative actions and people's willingness to follow instructions. Conclusion: The study revealed that STOPS can provide an important theoretical framework for more effective risk communication practices in public health crises such as epidemics. It also displayed the relationship between the individuals' communicative actions and their willingness to follow instructions and the determining effect of corporate reputation on both of these factors.

The Underlying Mechanisms of Active and Passive Cancer Information Behaviors: A Comparative Study Between Hong Kong and the United States

ABSTRACT Although increasingly popular, theoretical frameworks describing complex and multidimensional cancer information behaviors remain limited. In response, this study developed a context-specific model by integrating cancer worry into the situational theory of problem solving (STOPS) to explain individuals’ active and passive information behaviors. An online survey conducted in Hong Kong (N = 593) and the United States (N = 625) revealed that STOPS factors play different roles in explaining active and passive information behaviors, with the referent criterion and situation motivation being the dominant factors of active and passive information behaviors, respectively. Cancer worry partly mediated the relationship between such behaviors and situational motivation. While the effect of STOPS factors can be generally replicated across Hong Kong and U.S. contexts, the effects of cancer worry cannot. Altogether, our study has answered the call for research on the boundary conditions of STOPS and a more systematic understanding of cancer information behaviors.

The situational self-orientation model of digital publics

Abstract This article proposes the conceptual model called the Situational Self-Orientation Model of Digital Publics (SOMP) as an extension of the Situational Theory of Problem Solving (STOPS). The model aims to explain the digital publics’ communicative behaviors. It suggests five propositions by introducing three different working self-concepts (individual, relational, and collective self) on the issue. The different self-concepts affect involvement recognition and induce different self-oriented motivations (self-interest, interpersonal, and intragroup motivations) and self-oriented communication (I-oriented, You-oriented, and Us/Them-oriented communicative actions). The model is expected to provide theoretical and practical contributions to understanding the digital publics’ communication behaviors better.

Can Risk Communication Surveillance Prompt COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance among Internet users? Applying the Situational Theory of Problem Solving: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The World Health Organization has recently raised concerns about the low number of fully vaccinated people against COVID-19 among developing countries. The low ratio of fully vaccinated people and the emergence of renewed infectious variants correspond to worsening public health. Global health managers have highlighted COVID-19 vaccine-related infodemics as the significant risk perception factor that hinders mass vaccination campaigns. Given the ambiguous digital communication environment which has fostered infodemics, developing nations struggle to boost public willingness to get people fully vaccinated. Authorities have launched some risk communication-laden digital interventions in response to infodemics. However, the value of these risk communication strategies employed to tackle infodemics needs to be evaluated. The current research using the tenets of the situational theory of problem-solving is novel, as it explores the impending effects of risk communication strategies. The relationship between infodemic-induced risk perception about COVID-19 vaccine safety and risk communication actions to intensify willingness to get fully vaccinated was examined. This research used a cross-sectional research design vis-à-vis nationally representative online survey. We collected data from 1946 internet users across Pakistan. Participants voluntarily participated in this research after filling consent form and reading the ethical permissions. Responses were received over three months, from May 2022 to July 2022. The results delineated that infodemics positively affect risk perception. This realization pushed the public to engage in risky communicative actions through reliance on and search for accurate information. Therefore, the prospect of managing infodemics through risk information exposure (e.g., digital interventions) using the situational context could predict robust willingness to get fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The pioneering results offer strategic considerations for health authorities to effectively man-age the descending spiral of optimal protection against COVID-19. This research concludes that the likelihood of managing infodemics using the situational context through exposure to relevant information could improve one's knowledge of forfending and selection, which can lead to robust protection against COVID-19. Hence, more situation-specific information about the underpinning problem (i.e., selection of appropriate vaccine) can be made accessible through several official digital sources to achieve a more active public health response.

Selective Forfending on Controversial Issues Related to Large Corporations: An Exploration into the Public’s Acquisition and Transmission Characteristics by Conspiracy Orientation and Problem-Solving Situational Factors

Using the situational theory of problem solving (STOPS), this study examines the impact of closed-minded communication in the secondary digital information market in crisis situations where controversial issues about large corporations can unduly deteriorate the relationship between the business and publics. A combination model was constructed to examine the influence of the situational antecedents of STOPS and the conspiracy orientation on selective forfending. An analysis of online survey data ( N = 700) revealed the influences of conspiracy orientation and factors other than problem recognition were significant among the factors for problem situations. Publics was subdivided into “non-conspiracy theorists,” “conspiracy theorists,” and “situational problem solvers” groups with the “conspiracy theorist” group performing selective forfending of business ethics issue information, engaging in the most prominent degree of acquisition and transmission of the information among the groups.

Holistic understanding of individuals’ prosocial behaviors: A configurational approach

This study examined individuals’ prosocial behaviors by integrating two theories (STOPS: situational theory of problem solving and AAM: anger activism model). To explicate the causal relationship between individuals’ perceptual, cognitive, and emotional factors and prosocial behaviors adoption, this study used a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). With a survey (N = 312) of individuals who participated in certain types of prosocial behaviors between 2020 and 2021, this study found configurations of core antecedent factors leading to different types of prosocial behaviors. The findings from this study complement the limitations of each theory on its own and contribute to strategic communication practice for nonprofit organizations or other entities involved in encouraging prosocial behaviors.

Exploring the impact of motivations on individual online and offline preventive actions against COVID-19.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-023-04283-z.

Situational Perception Correlation Study, Situational Motivation, and Communication Actions in Malang Brawijaya University Students on the Issue of Sexual Harassment in Indonesian Higher Education Environment in 2022

This study tests the theoretical model of Kim and Grunig's situational theory of problem solving (STOPS) (2011), in explaining how the correlation of situational perceptions, situational motivation, and communication actions in students of Brawijaya University Malang in 2022 from the issue of sexual harassment in Indonesian tertiary institutions. Survey of 425 students in August-September 2022 in 15 faculties. Based on the results of path analysis from the SmartPLS 3.0 structural equation modeling procedure, this study confirms the correlation of the main propositions of the STOPS theory, namely situational perceptions, situational motivations, and communication actions on the issue of sexual harassment in Indonesian tertiary institutions.

Examining Factors of Health Information Communicant Activeness of Chinese Residents in Outdoor Activities during Public Health Emergencies

This study explores the influencing factors of residents' outdoor health information communicant activeness under public health emergencies and analyzes the relationship between cognition, motivation, and dissemination behavior. Based on the theory of perceived risk and the Situational Theory of Problem-Solving (STOPS), this study builds a model demonstrating the factors that affect the health information communicant activeness of residents' outdoor activities under public health emergencies and conducts empirical analysis through questionnaires and a structural equation model. Results showed that (1) perceived risk, problem recognition, and involvement recognition positively affected health information communicant activeness through situational motivation; (2) constraint recognition negatively affects health information communicant activeness through situational motivation; and (3) the referent criterion has a direct effect on communicant activeness. This study has great significance for understanding residents' health information communicant activeness in outdoor activities and providing them with high-quality health information services.

From Mind to Mouth: Understanding Active Publics in China and Their Communicative Behaviors on GM Foods.

Using an online survey conducted in China (N = 1089), this study aims to understand the characteristics of active publics on the issue of genetically modified (GM) foods and provide effective communication strategies with active publics in China. In doing so, this study segments active publics regarding GM foods and predicts their communicative behaviors on GM foods by using the theoretical framework of situational theory of problem solving (STOPS). The results of the study revealed the demographic characteristics of active publics, situational, and media factors to predict information seeking, forefending, and forwarding about GM foods. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Understanding Active Communicators on the Food Safety Issue: Conspiratorial Thinking, Organizational Trust, and Communicative Actions of Publics in China

As misinformation is common in the digital media environment, it has become more important to understand risk communication in the context of communicative behaviors of publics that affect public opinion and policymaking. Focusing on food safety issues such as genetically modified food and food additives in China, this study aims to understand the communicative action of publics and the role of organizational trust in the conspiratorial thinking of publics and their perceptions of food safety issues. Using a national sample of 1,089 citizens living in China, this study examines situational theory of problem solving (STOPS) to understand when and how publics become active in communicative actions to take, select, and transmit information regarding food safety issues. In addition, this study tests the role of organizational trust in the food industry between conspiratorial thinking of publics and their situational perceptions, which are antecedent variables to increase communicative action of publics in problem solving. The results demonstrate that STOPS can be applied to the food safety issue to predict communicative actions of publics, and organizational trust plays a vital role in reducing individuals’ concerns about the food safety issue.

Individual and collective coping with racial discrimination: What drives social media activism among Asian Americans during the COVID-19 outbreak

What drives racial minorities to partake in social media activism for racial justice? Answers to this question are vital and urgent, particularly in view of growing anti-Asian hate crimes amid the current pandemic. Motivated to address this question, we draw insights from the transactional model of stress and coping, the situational theory of problem solving (STOPS), and social media activism literature. We propose an integrative model that delineates the psychological antecedents and processes leading Asian Americans to cope with racial discrimination and engage in social media activism. Results of an online survey among 400 Asian Americans supported the proposed model, highlighting a perception-motivation-coping-activism effect chain. Our study advances the three bodies of literature—coping, STOPS, and social media activism—in the context of racial discrimination concerning an understudied minority group: Asian Americans. It also renders meaningful insights to organizations, groups, and governments that seek to support this community.

Appetite for Natech Risk Information in Japan: Understanding Citizens’ Communicative Behavior Towards Risk Information Disclosure Around Osaka Bay

Effective risk communication is essential for disaster risk management. Apart from empowering communities to make informed risk choices, risk information disclosure can also drastically enhance their disaster preparedness, especially concerning conjoint scenarios of technological and natural hazards (Natech). A fundamental precondition is the actual demand for such information. This study ventures to assess whether residents around Osaka Bay have this demand, or “appetite,” for risk information disclosure, as well as to understand their communicative behavior and perceived challenges in the Japanese context through the prism of the Situational Theory of Problem Solving. To test this framework under realistic conditions, data were collected through a household questionnaire survey from two urban areas near industrial complexes in Osaka Bay. The results show that identifying Natech risk information deficiency as a problem was not a statistically significant predictor for individuals’ motivation to communicate. However, their motivation increased as their perceived personal involvement with the situation rose, while the perceived obstacles in doing something about it exerted a negative influence on their motivation. Individuals’ motivation intensified their communicative actions to solve this problem. Public segmentation underscored the elevated public perceptions concerning the issue of risk information deficiency in nearly nine out of ten respondents. These findings indicate a strong community appetite for chemical and Natech risk information, which subsequently led to high situational motivation to engage in communicative action, particularly information acquisition. Risk management policy is suggested to focus on introducing chemical risk information disclosure regulatory initiatives to encourage citizen engagement.

Examining fake news comments on Facebook: an application of situational theory of problem solving in content analysis

Fake news is always diffused faster than true news, particularly on social media such as Facebook where everyone can freely share and comment on posts. This study aimed to identify fake news commenters’ belief and emotion towards fake news on Facebook, analyze their situational perceptions and communicative action towards fake news based on Situational Theory of Problem Solving (STOPS), and examine the association between the variables. A content analysis was conducted on 2189 comments derived from 45 fake news on Facebook between 2017 to 2019, Chi-Square Test was subsequently performed to analyze the association between the variables. The findings showed that there is an association between belief and emotion towards fake news - fake news non-believers tend to show negative emotion when they read fake news and commenters with negative emotion are more likely to claim that the news is fake compared to their counterpart. However, negative emotion is not significantly associated with proving the news is fake. Among the situational perceptions of STOPS that were significantly associated with communicative action, constraint recognition appeared to have the largest effect. The findings of this study provided recommendation to the collective efforts of multistakeholders in combating fake news.

Examining the Impact of Issue Salience, Issue Proximity, Situational Motivation, and Communicative Behaviors on Environmental CSR Outcomes

Climate change has become a life-threatening problem. Guided by the Situational Theory of Problem Solving (STOPS), the main goal of this experimental study is to understand the relationship between issue salience, issue proximity, communicative behavior for environmental issues, situation motivation for climate change, and environmental CSR (ECSR) supportive outcomes. This study used a U.S. sample (N = 440) recruited from a Qualtrics online panel and conducted a 2 (issue salience: salient vs. non-salient) × 2 (issue proximity: local vs. global) experimental design to examine the role of issue salience and issue proximity on individuals’ environmentally friendly CSR outcomes. The structural equation model indicated that issue proximity has no significant impact, but issue salience impacted communicative behavior for environmental issues, which then predicted ECSR-supportive behavioral intentions. Importantly, most STOPS research has employed situational motivation as a mediator, but this study took a novel approach by assessing the impact of situational motivation as an independent variable on CAPS as well as environmental CSR outcomes. The results suggest that individuals with a higher motivation to solve the problem of climate change are not only likely to communicate about environmental issues (e.g., air pollution) with others but are also likely to support ECSR programs through positive word-of-mouth and higher purchase intentions. This study provides some noteworthy theoretical and practical contributions in the realm of ECSR communication by elucidating the impact of issue types and individuals’ communicative behaviors in supporting a company’s ECSR programs.

Discriminated against but engaged: The role of communicative actions of racial minority employees

ABSTRACT Grounded in the situational theory of problem-solving (STOPS), two survey studies investigated how racial minority employees in the U.S. perceive and communicate about discriminatory situations within their organizations and how they are related to their engagement levels. Results of Study 1 suggested that experiences of discriminatory acts at work are negatively associated with racial minority employees’ engagement, whereas their situational perceptions are positively associated with their communicative behaviors toward direct supervisor and peers. Communicative behaviors with supervisors, not peers, in turn, fostered their engagement. Study 2 replicated and extended Study 1 in different contexts, revealing the moderating role of a diverse climate in affecting employees’ situational perceptions about workplace discrimination. Theoretical and practical implications for communication studies are discussed.

Predicting Communicative Behavior of Higher Institutions Employees during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Conceptual Assessment

Over the last three decades, a series of research has revealed how strategic communication may have a profound effect on how members of society behave. More precisely, communication theories have documented the media's ability to determine the agenda in society. The situational theory of problem-solving is particularly interesting because it explains why and how individual members of society communicate during a problematic situation. This hypothesis has been evaluated in a variety of contexts to determine its efficacy. However, few studies have been conducted to examine the influence of communication from corporations or governments to community members. The character of persons, particularly employees' information seeking and sharing behavior, has been significantly overlooked in the context of COVID-19. The purpose of this study is to investigate theoretically how employees to process, seek, forward, filter, choose, and exchange information regarding COVID 19.