Verbal Claims Research Articles

‘Do you want me to take over?’

This article is concerned with the in situ negotiation of epistemic primacy in the context of medical emergencies. It investigates the mobilisation of questions and positioning in the material space as mechanisms for claiming control and for co-constructing epistemic authority. We bring together two high-risk, high-pressure emergency contexts – obstetrics and major trauma – and show the patterns that emerged from a bottom-up interactional sociolinguistic analysis of the data. We draw on a corpus of approximately 400 questions from a sample of ten teams; we zoom in on the role of the institutionally defined team leader, while special attention is also paid to the ways in which institutional power asymmetries are negotiated across the team in leadership enactment. We discuss the typology of questions that emerged from our data on a spectrum from a not knowing (K?) to a knowing (K+) status. Our analysis demonstrates consistent patterns in displays of epistemic primacy, with team leaders raising most of the questions indicating a K+ status across contexts. Further, we show that verbal claims of epistemic primacy are conditioned upon team leaders’ positioning at specific material zones of the emergency room as an integral part of doing their role.

The Images of Climate Change over the Last 20 Years: What Has Changed in the Portuguese Press?

Over the past three decades, there has been a significant increase in political and media attention towards climate change. The media has been instrumental in shaping, reproducing, and influencing the political and cultural comprehension of this phenomenon. While previous research has concentrated primarily on the textual content of news articles, this study focuses on the use of images in climate communication. It is based on the belief that images can combine facts and emotions, engaging audiences and adding narrative complexity to verbal claims. With focus on climate imagery, a content analysis was conducted on 1010 images used by a Portuguese newspaper (Público) between January 2000 and May 2022 to visually cover climate change. The purpose of the analysis was to identify the visual frames used by the newspaper to frame the issue. The primary findings indicate that 35.5% of the images analyzed employ a frame that dramatizes the effects of climate change, evoking anxiety and vulnerability. However, there is evidence of a growing body of scientific literature that challenges and refutes the sensationalist and demoralizing narrative, resulting in the development of novel methods of communicating the phenomenon. Compared to the preceding period (2000–2005), the proportion of visual frames depicting potential solutions and adaptation strategies has increased substantially over the past three years (2020–2022) by 16.3%.

Verbal Claim vs. Actual Usage of Social Media: A Case Study of Indians Aged 50 Years and Above

Studies have revealed how millennials use social networking sites (SNS) but users aged 50 years and above have not been studied by SNS researchers in India. This paper attempts to study the verbal claim and actual content created by Indians’ aged 50 years and above on Facebook (Facebook, hereafter referred to as the “Social Media” or “SM”, is restricted by the Russian media regulator Roskomnadzor) using a comparative research design. The study was carried out by selecting one hundred profiles of Monthly Active Users (MAU) of Social Media (SM) qualifying the age criteria. Empirical evidence for comparison was drawn by conducting: a. guided telephonic interview to know MAU’s claimed SM usage and b. quantitative content analysis to identify MAU’s actual SM activity. The results show that the participant’s claims of their SM activity do not support their actual usage of the platform. The variables studied and compared include the ‘source’, ‘context’ and ‘features used’ to write the content. Conclusions reveal the dilemmas and SNS usage related preferences of older age groups in India. The study highlights the need and scope for training the older generation(s) about using SNS. Such vocational training would help them conveniently adopt and use networked technologies for communication and recreational purposes.

Bateman gradients from first principles

In 1948, Angus Bateman presented experiments and concepts that remain influential and debated in sexual selection. The Bateman gradient relates reproductive success to mate number, and Bateman presented this as the cause of intra-masculine selection. A deeper causal level was subsequently asserted: that the ultimate cause of sex differences in Bateman gradients is the sex difference in gamete numbers, an argument that remains controversial and without mathematical backup. Here I develop models showing how asymmetry in gamete numbers alone can generate steeper Bateman gradients in males. This conclusion remains when the further asymmetry of internal fertilisation is added to the model and fertilisation is efficient. Strong gamete limitation can push Bateman gradients towards equality under external fertilisation and reverse them under internal fertilisation. Thus, this study provides a mathematical formalisation of Bateman’s brief verbal claim, while demonstrating that the link between gamete number and Bateman gradients is not inevitable nor trivial.

Time Is of the Essence: Temporality and Competition as Drivers of Terrorist Credit-Taking

ABSTRACT Despite widespread focus on the communicative function of terrorism, terrorists frequently forgo claiming responsibility for their attacks. So why don’t terrorists claim their attacks? The scholars who have attempted to answer this question have primarily focused on group- and target-based differences. I propose an alternative theory, emphasizing the importance of temporality. Intuitively, the passing of time following group entry should change the utility of verbal claims of responsibility as an emerging group cannot rely on a previously established reputation. Levels of terrorist competition over time further influence verbal credit-taking-especially when competitors share attack styles-leading to decreased credit-taking over time in terrorist monopolies relative to competitive settings. I explore these dynamics through case-studies of Canada and Ireland during the 1960–1970s. Canada poses a monopoly case, whereas the Irish case experienced extensive intra- and inter-group competition. Coding newspaper articles, I appended the Canadian Incident Database with a measure of verbal credit-taking and juxtaposed it with Domestic Terrorist Victims data. Results show the expected newcomer dynamic, backing a temporal theory, yet neither intra- nor inter-group competition showed any effect despite the most-likely nature of the cases.

An exploratory study using graphic design to communicate consumer benefits on food packaging

Commercial food packages may contain multiple messages. Packaging designers try to integrate all messages into a coherent design. Designers may use text, images or stylistic features, but these mediums may differ in their suitability to communicate specific product benefits. To evaluate the usefulness and effectiveness of these three mediums, we not only obtained consumer evaluations of packaging designs, but we also monitored the designer’s experience during the design process.For three products (orange juice, muesli bar, plain yogurt) we created three consistent packaging designs communicating a single benefit through all three mediums, which was either a [1] health, [2] environmental, or [3] production, sensory or social claim. Subsequently, we developed inconsistent packages communicating three different messages through the three mediums. In an online survey, each of the 18 package variants was evaluated by 59–92 participants.Dummy regression analysis suggested that verbal claims had positive effects in communicating healthiness and environmental friendliness but elicited a negative tendency for sensory properties. The images we used indicated a positive effect for communicating worker conditions, but a negative effect for healthiness. Our stylistic elements suggested a positive effect for sensory appeal, but tended to have negative effects for environmental aspects. As regards designer dilemmas, we noticed that some images (e.g., in the medical domain) required specific graphic styles to make them acceptable for commercial use. Our findings suggest that consumers can handle multiple packaging messages, but finding an optimal configuration remains a design challenge.

Picture-based persuasion in advertising: the impact of attractive pictures on verbal ad’s content

PurposeThe present study aims to further examine the persuasive effect of pictures in a print ad according to the recipient’s ability to process the information and to observe to what extent the presence of a picture could negatively influence recipients’ attitude toward the ad’s verbal claim.Design/methodology/approachTwo studies were designed to manipulate the presence vs absence of an attractive/unattractive picture, the kind of verbal claims (affectively based vs rationally based) and the recipient’s ability to process the ad (cognitive load vs no cognitive load).FindingsMain findings showed that the presence of an attractive picture elicited an unfavorable attitude toward the functional verbal claim when recipients were not cognitively charged. Furthermore, it proved to be a mediator of the influence of pictures on attitude toward the ad. The positive influence of an attractive picture on product evaluation and purchase intention was greater under a cognitive load but showed contrasting results for price perceptions. For the unattractive picture, cognitive load was found to be a moderator only when recipients had to infer the product price.Research limitations/implicationsThe present research emphasized the negative influence of attractive pictures on functional verbal claims and the moderating role of cognitive load on pictorial stimuli either acting as peripheral or central cues in the persuasive process.Practical implicationsPractitioners may want to consider that an attractive picture in advertising is not always the best route for persuasion, especially when the verbal ad content emphasizes the product’s properties.Originality/valueThe present study provides new insights regarding the role of pictures in advertising persuasive effectiveness. Until now, no research had addressed the extent to which the presence of a picture could affect processing of an ad’s verbal claims. Additionally, the present study expands research on persuasive communication and affirms the necessity of more intensively investigating the role of pictures in advertising under the rubric of information processing level.

“See me, feel me”: Effects of 3D-printed surface patterns on beverage evaluation

Research shows that packaging appearance can have a strong impact on taste experience and product evaluation. However, so far research has mainly focused on how visual appearances may steer sensory impressions including smell and taste. Taking into account new (technological) developments which allow for consideration of a wide range of previously unexplored packaging factors, the research presented here investigates the impact of 3D-printed surface patterns on taste evaluations as a function of product type (a bitter tasting coffee versus a sweet tasting chocolate drink) and verbal product claims (either stressing taste strength or taste softness). To this end, 3D-printed cups with angular and rounded surface patterns were manufactured and handed to shoppers participating in a taste session for a fictitious coffee or chocolate brand. Results show that an angular surface pattern increased perceived bitterness and taste intensity ratings, whereas a rounded surface pattern induced a sweeter taste evaluation and a less intense taste experience. Congruent pairings of drinks and tactile patterns resulted in more favorable outcomes. Finally, congruence was also found to be important with respect to taste descriptions, with verbal claims in line with surface pattern associations further enhancing product experience.

Consumer reactions to sustainable packaging: The interplay of visual appearance, verbal claim and environmental concern

More and more companies are developing sustainable packaging. In two studies on detergent and mixed nuts packages, we manipulated their visual appearance and verbal sustainability claims that communicate eco-friendliness, and tested the influence of these elements on consumers' affective attitudes and purchase intention. Drawing on two non-student samples, the results show that consumers’ level of environmental concern influenced their responses to the visual appearance and verbal sustainability claims of packages. Low (high) environmental concern consumers were (not) sensitive to incongruence in visual appearance and verbal sustainability claim and showed negative (positive) responses. Next, we demonstrate that brand ethicality mediated the relationship between the interaction of the visual appearance, the verbal sustainability claim and environmental concern and purchase intention.

When face engulfs the field: differential effects of visual quality levels in print ads

Purpose – This study aims to examine the influence of a visual alteration in print advertising on viewers’ responses according to the different textual and pictorial information contained in the ad. Design/methodology/approach – Through an experimental design, the presence or not of a human face and the kind of verbal claims (self-centered vs product-centered) were manipulated, as well as visual fluency manipulated by varying the clarity of the ads. Findings – As expected, the presence of a human face, as opposed to just a product picture, has led to stronger negative effects on attitudes and purchase intention when the ad was visually altered. In addition, ad’s claim directed toward the self yielded lower purchase intentions compared to arguments directed toward product characteristics. Findings supported our main expectations, but also demonstrated contrasted effect, plausibly due to a bias correction. Research limitations/implications – To comfort these findings, further research should be realized on other advertising varying the kind of human face stimuli (e.g. woman/man; smiling/neutral; beautiful/average). Practical implications – In terms of practical implications, it highlights the significance of considering the medium of communication used for print ads with caution. The pictorial use of a human face can be particularly harmful in the persuasive process if there is a risk that the ad could be visually altered. Originality/value – Currently, little is known about how sub-optimal visual exposition changes attitudes and behaviors depending on the content of an ad. The present study expands research on processing fluency effects and the use of models in advertisements.

Ignorance is bliss. How parents of preschool children make sense of front-of-package visuals and claims on food

With growing scrutiny over how the food industry advertises products aimed toward children and fewer consumers using nutrition facts panels and ingredient lists, the fronts of food packages have become an increasingly important marketing tool to understand. Front-of-package (FOP) visual and verbal claims play a critical role in capturing consumers' attention and helping them choose foods that fit their goals. Due to only possessing emergent literacy skills, preschool children are attuned to FOP visuals while parents are able to use the visuals in combination with verbal claims to make food choices for their children. The purpose of this focus group study was to explore how parents of preschool children make sense of FOP visual and verbal claims on packaged food products that are intended for their children. Thematic analysis revealed that parents associated aspects that most appeal to their preschool children – the characters and other playful visuals – with higher sugar content and artificial ingredients. However, parents were also easily led to believe the product was healthier based on visuals of fruit, more realistic pictures, health claims, cross-branding with healthier foods, and visuals suggesting the product is more natural. While parents recognized that the health claims and some visuals may not truly mean the food is healthier, they agreed that they rarely think beyond their initial impression. The food industry needs better regulatory guidance on how to communicate flavors and ingredients on package fronts in a way that helps consumers – particularly parents wanting to encourage healthy eating habits for their young children – better match their nutrition goals.

Evaluation of Acute Dermal Irritation and Wound Contraction by Gymnema Sylvestre and Datura Metel Extracts in Rats

In this study, to comparatively evaluate whether aqueous extracts of G. sylvestre and D. metel induce acute dermal irritation and or contract wound tests were performed using experimental animals. The skin of the rats was treated with these extracts (0.5g/dose) and whether the animals sustained skin damage was determined by visual observation. The data demonstrated that the aqueous extracts of both plants did not induce acute skin irritation (toxicity) on the skin of the animals as assessed by pathological observations. Wound healing properties were evaluated using excision wound model. The groups of rats were experimentally wounded at the posterior neck area. An area of uniform wound of 7x7mm using millimetre rule was exercised from the dorsal back of the rats. The animal groups were topically treated with G. sylvestre and D. metel gels. Wound dressed with leaf, stem and flower of G. sylvestre and leaf, stem and fruit of D. metel gel significantly heal earlier than those treated with paraffin base, while the leaf and stem of G. sylvestre and leaf and fruit of D. metel healed wound better than povidone iodine. The results from the present study suggest that these aqueous extracts of G. sylvestre and D. metel have promising potential uses as cosmetic ingredients that do not induce significant levels of dermal irritation and exhibit wound healing properties. Wound contraction elicited by these plant parts in this investigation following topical administration strongly corroborates the verbal claims on their efficacy for these activities.

It Looks Green: Effects of Green Visuals in Advertising on Chinese Consumers’ Brand Perception

ABSTRACT This study examined the effects of green visuals in advertising on Chinese consumers’ green brand associations and advertising responses. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was run with verbal and visual environmental information as between-group variables and product involvement as a within-group variable. In general, the use of green visuals led to more positive advertising responses and more favorable perception of the brand's environmental effort. If no green visual was available, the use of verbal environmental claims could generate more positive green brand associations. In addition, the impact of green visuals was stronger for low-involvement products, compared to high-involvement products, in terms of green brand associations.

Assessment of Biological Activities: A Comparison of Pergularia daemia and Jatropha curcas Leaf Extracts

The present study was aimed to compare the wound healing, free radical scavenging and cytotoxicity potentials of Jatropha curcas and Pergularia daemia leaf extracts. Quantitative analysis for some phytochemicals; flavonoids, phenols, glycosides, tannins, saponins and alkaloids were carried out using standard methods. Herbal ointments containing 50% (w/w) methanol leaf extracts of Jatropha curcas and Pergularia daemia were formulated. Excision wound measuring 7x7 mm 2 was created and the ointment applied topically on the wounded area which was measured at intervals of 4 days. Blank ointment (paraffin base) served as the negative control while Povidone iodine ointment served as the standard treatment. On the 16 th day, rats treated with the standard drug (Povidone iodine) showed 82.1% wound closure; J. curcas -treated rats showed 91.3% wound healing while P. daemia treated rats exhibited 97.2% wound closure, indicating an efficacy of the formulations. The ointment formulated with P. daemia leaf extract had the best wound healing potential with very minimal scar formulation. The phytochemical screening revealed that the leaves of J. curcas and P. daemia contain tannins, alkaloids, phenols, flavonoids and glycosides. J. curcas had appreciable amount of saponins, however, saponins were not detected in P. daemia. The LC50 values for J. curcas and P. daemia were 586.79 µg/ml and 344.26 µg/ml, respectively while that of the standard (Potassium dichromate) was 62.52 µg/ml. The crude methanol extracts of J. curcas and P. daemia possessed free radical scavenging activities with IC50 of 90.83 and 214.16 µg/ml, respectively while that of the standard quercetin was 50.71 µg/ml. The results obtained in this study strongly support the verbal claims on the use of these plants for wound healing. It also indicates that J. curcas and P. daemia are potential sources of natural antioxidants and are relatively safe for the purposes utilized. Research Article

Reviving Campbell’s Paradigm for Attitude Research

Because people often say one thing and do another, social psychologists have abandoned the idea of a simple or axiomatic connection between attitude and behavior. Nearly 50 years ago, however, Donald Campbell proposed that the root of the seeming inconsistency between attitude and behavior lies in disregard of behavioral costs. According to Campbell, attitude— behavior gaps are empirical chimeras. Verbal claims and other overt behaviors regarding an attitude object all arise from one “behavioral disposition.” In this article, the authors present the constituents of and evidence for a paradigm for attitude research that describes individual behavior as a function of a person’s attitude level and the costs of the specific behavior involved. In the authors’ version of Campbell’s paradigm, they propose a formal and thus axiomatic rather than causal relationship between an attitude and its corresponding performances. The authors draw implications of their proposal for mainstream attitude theory, empirical research, and applications concerning attitudes.

Tailoring visual images to fit: Value creation in persuasive messages

AbstractThe present studies aimed to extend Regulatory Fit Theory in the domain of persuasive communication by (a) using printed advertisement images without any verbal claim, instead of purely or mostly verbal messages; (b) selecting the images to fit the distinct orientations of regulatory mode rather than regulatory focus; and (c) priming regulatory mode orientation instead of relying on chronic prevalence of either locomotion or assessment orientation. We found that recipients primed with a locomotion orientation experienced fit, and were more persuaded, when exposed to “dynamic” versus “static” visual images; conversely, recipients primed with an assessment orientation experienced fit and were more persuaded when exposed to “static” versus “dynamic” images. Our findings show that the experience of fit can be induced by visual messages, resulting in positive effects in terms of attitude toward product advertisement and estimated price of advertised products. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Understanding the Interactive Effects of Emotional Appeal and Claim Strength in Health Messages

This paper examines the interactive effects of the perceived strength of the verbal claims and the intensity and direction of the emotional appeal of public service announcements (PSAs) on audience perceptions of message effectiveness. The results show that PSAs containing strong verbal claims are rated as more effective than those with weak claims. Arousing messages with weak claims are perceived as least effective. Increasing claim strength increased memory for negative but not for positive messages. It is suggested that the combination of intense emotional appeal and weak claims may be partially responsible for the boomerang effects in antidrug campaigns.

Gestures of Despair and Hope: A View on Deliberate Self-harm From Economics and Evolutionary Biology

A long-standing theoretical tradition in clinical psychology and psychiatry sees deliberate self-harm (DSH), such as wrist-cutting, as “functional”—a means to avoid painful emotions, for example, or to elicit attention from others. There is substantial evidence that DSH serves these functions. Yet the specific links between self-harm and such functions remain obscure. Why don’t self-harmers use less destructive behaviors to blunt painful emotions or elicit attention? Economists and biologists have used game theory to show that, under certain circumstances, self-harmful behaviors by economic agents and animals serve important strategic goals. In particular, “costly signals” can credibly reveal a “private state” in situations where verbal claims and other “cheap” signals might be disbelieved. Here, DSH is scrutinized using signaling theory, and a variant, the theory of bargaining with private information. The social contexts and associated features of DSH suggest that it might be a costly, and therefore credible, signal of need that compels social partners to respond.

The Role of Spokescharacters as Advertisement and Package Cues in Integrated Marketing Communications

Marketers often use verbal claims to highlight brand benefits in marketing communication campaigns. However, spokescharacters may also be incorporated into campaigns and are often featured both in advertisements and on product packages. The authors use three studies to examine various integrated marketing communications (IMC) strategic combinations, including the effects related to the use of spokescharacters versus verbal attributes; advertisement–package coordination; character relevancy; and the presence of new, favorable brand information that may compete for cognitive resources on packages. Based on conceptual rationales drawn from encoding specificity, network associations, and the elaboration likelihood model, the findings offer empirical evidence that pertains to the potential benefits of including spokescharacters in IMC campaigns. Specifically, the use of spokescharacters results in more favorable brand attitudes, even when brand attribute recall is affected adversely by deviations from the primary message conveyed in the IMC campaigns. The authors offer some implications of these and other findings for marketers attempting to affect consumer evaluations favorably with spokescharacters in IMC campaigns.

Rituals of Solidarity and Security in the Wake of Terrorist Attack

Conflict produces group solidarity in four phases: (1) an initial few days of shock and idiosyncratic individual reactions to attack; (2) one to two weeks of establishing standardized displays of solidarity symbols; (3) two to three months of high solidarity plateau; and (4) gradual decline toward normalcy in six to nine months. Solidarity is not uniform but is clustered in local groups supporting each other's symbolic behavior. Actual solidarity behaviors are performed by minorities of the population, while vague verbal claims to performance are made by large majorities. Commemorative rituals intermittently revive high emotional peaks; participants become ranked according to their closeness to a center of ritual attention. Events, places, and organizations claim importance by associating themselves with national solidarity rituals and especially by surrounding themselves with pragmatically ineffective security ritual. Conflicts arise over access to centers of ritual attention; clashes occur between pragmatists deritualizing security and security zealots attempting to keep up the level of emotional intensity. The solidarity plateau is also a hysteria zone; as a center of emotional attention, it attracts ancillary attacks unrelated to the original terrorists as well as alarms and hoaxes. In particular historical circumstances, it becomes a period of atrocities.