Dr. Bartosz Wojdynski

Abstract: One of the understudied areas in health communication research is hope. This study examines the effect of efficacy-inducing information on hope and subsequent attitudinal health behaviors. A total of five hundred fifty-three adults in the United States read health promotion social media posts designed to induce perceived self-efficacy (vs. non-efficacy-inducing health information) in fear-appeal […]

Abstract: This study examined the effects of directional cues in immersive journalism by conducting a randomized between-subjects three-condition lab experiment (N=131) with community participants using three versions of originally produced 360̊ video news story. The study found that the presence of any directional cues in 360̊ news story significantly improved participants’ recall of statistics from […]

Abstract: In a 3 (secondary task: none, related, unrelated) x 2 (ad-video congruence: high/low) between-subjects eye-tracking experiment, participants (N = 153) watched a 9-minute video documentary segment containing one mid-roll video ad while their visual attention to the screen was recorded. Participants in two-thirds of the conditions also read two online articles on a mobile device during […]

Abstract: A growing body of research suggests that differences between smartphones and desktop computers influence information processing outcomes. A within-subjects (N = 64) smartphone eye-tracking experiment replicates a 2018 desktop-based study of users’ visual attention to and engagement with social media news posts. The results show that users spend less time viewing social media news posts on […]

Abstract: Social media political advertising has, in recent years, been the target of a lot of interest and scrutiny from the public, scholars, and even the social media platforms themselves. While there is still some debate as to the overall effectiveness of social media political advertising there is compelling evidence to show that a number […]

Abstract: In a 3 (secondary task: none, related, unrelated) x 2 (ad-video congruence: high/low) between-subjects eye-tracking experiment, participants (N = 151) watched a 9-minute video documentary segment containing one mid-roll video ad while their visual attention to the screen was recorded. Participants in two-thirds of the conditions also read two online articles on a mobile […]

Abstract: In an effort to improve transparency, Facebook changed its disclosures on in-feed native political advertisements in 2018 to include language that identifies who paid for the ad to appear. The present study (N = 120) utilized a between-participants eye-tracking experiment to assess the impact of three different disclosure conditions on Facebook users’ visual attention […]

Glen Nowak, Michael Cacciatore, Bart Wojdynski, Glenna Read, and Itai Himelboim are part of a University of Georgia proposal submitted in response to a National Institutes of Health call for proposals to establish Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Response (CIERR). As part of UGA’s proposal to establish a UGA Center for Influenza Disease […]

Abstract: Only one-third of adults 18 to 49 years old in the United States receive a recommended annual influenza vaccination. This study examined whether supplementing vaccine information statements (VIS) with an immersive virtual reality (VR), short video or electronic pamphlet story designed to convey the community immunity benefits of influenza vaccination would improve influenza vaccine […]

Abstract: In recent years, online misinformation designed to resemble news by adopting news design conventions has proven to be a powerful vehicle for deception and persuasion. In a 2 (prior warning: present/absent) x 2 (article type: false/true) eye-tracking experiment, news consumers (N=49) viewed four science news articles from unfamiliar sources, then rated each article for […]

Abstract: Covert advertisements, or those that utilize the guise and delivery mechanisms of familiar non-advertising formats, differ from other more direct forms of advertising in several ways that are important for understanding users’ psychological responses. Research across various covert advertising formats including various forms of sponsored editorial content, other native advertising formats, and product placement […]

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of advertising format and cognitive load in shaping the effect of covert advertisements on participants advertising recognition and outcomes. In a 2 (advertisement format: advergame vs. video commercial) x 2 (brand prominence: low (Asus) vs. high (KFC)) between-subjects factorial experiment (N = 82), participants […]

Abstract: The present study sought to define and test the effects of “mistargeting” – that is, the phenomenon in which consumers are delivered online behavioral advertising (OBA) that has served them an irrelevant ad based on misinterpreted characteristics. Results of a 2 (ad mechanism disclosure: present/absent) x 2 (targeted ad accuracy: high/low) between-subjects experiment (N […]

Abstract: This content analysis evaluated tweets about the opioid epidemic published in 2018 by U.S. federal and state health organizations to find out what components of both textual and visual of tweets can achieve the most effective communication for opioid epidemic including text characteristics, perceived discrete emotion and visual components of images. This study found […]

Abstract: As content referral widgets and other forms of native advertising continue to be lucrative means of subsidizing journalism, critics and industry observers have derided these “chumboxes” as damaging to the user experience and the journalism they’re adjacent to. This study theorizes mechanisms behind this proposition and tests it in two controlled experiments. Results suggest […]

Abstract: In a between-subjects eye-tracking experiment, adult readers of a large metropolitan daily newspaper (N=70) viewed and evaluated one of two versions of the same online news feature: one with an embedded 360-degree video alongside text and images, and the other using exclusively text and static images. Findings show that the presence of 360-degree video […]

Abstract: Recently, Facebook has changed the way they display the disclosure language regarding political advertisements in an attempt to increase transparency. The goal of this study was to use eyetracking to determine the effectiveness of the new disclosure language and to assess other important factors dealing with how users look at political ads. Findings suggest […]

Abstract: In public health, politics, and advertising, interactive content spurred increased elaboration from audiences that were otherwise least likely to engage with a message. This study sought to examine interactivity as an agricultural communication strategy through the lens of the Elaboration Likelihood Model. Respondents were randomly assigned a static or interactive data visualization concerning the […]

Abstract: This content analysis evaluated tweets about the opioid epidemic published in 2018 by U.S. federal and state health organizations to find out what components of both textual and visual of tweets can achieve the most effective communication for opioid epidemic including text characteristics, perceived discrete emotion and visual components of images. This study found […]

ABSTRACT: The present study (N=82) employed a 2 (advertisement format: advergame vs. video commercial) x 2 (brand prominence: low (Asus) vs. high (KFC)) between-subjects factorial experiment to investigate the effect of advertising format on advertising recognition and cognitive load. Findings show that advergames, in comparison to online video commercials, are more difficult for consumers to […]

ABSTRACT: Misinformation that borrows from the design conventions of online news, often called simply “fake news,” is intentionally misleading and deceptive information packaged and disseminated in such a way that it mimics legitimate news (Tandoc, Lim, & Ling, 2018). The spread of misinformation styled as news is not only troublesome in the context journalism, but […]

ABSTRACT: Social media and other online platforms are increasingly the way consumers access news articles, which increases the likelihood of users visiting articles from sources they may not have visited on their own. Users of these platforms experience a tension between their tendency to focus resources on processing information rather than credibility assessment. In a […]

Abstract: This study first investigated the effect of advertising format (advergames vs online video commercials) on consumers’ ability to recognize advertising. Second, we tested how advertising format differentially impacted consumers’ self-reported cognitive load. Third, we examined how cognitive load impacted consumers’ ability to recognize advertising. Finally, we investigated the moderating effect of brand prominence on […]

ABSTRACT: This study examined the effects of two different levels of personalization strategies (individual-level vs. group-level) on consumers’ visual and attitudinal responses to personalized advertising. The study further investigated the moderating role of recipients’ narcissism in the effect of personalization. Results showed that individuals higher in narcissism pay greater and more frequent attention to advertisements […]

ABSTRACT: Building on the persuasion knowledge model, this study examines how audience characteristics and native advertising recognition influence the covert persuasion process. Among a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults (N = 738), we examined digital news readers’ recognition of a sponsored news article as advertising. Although fewer than 1 in 10 readers recognized the […]

Abstract: This study examined the effects of the use of directional cues in immersive journalism on information recall, attitudes towards a news story, narrative transportation, presence, and message credibility by conducting a randomized between-subjects three-condition lab experiment (N=90) with community participants using three versions of originally produced 360̊ video news story. The study found that […]

Abstract: A between-subjects experiment tested the effects of medium (location-based) and high (individually tailored) personalized advertising on online news readers, half of whom also paid attention to a podcast while reading. Results showed that the main effect of multitasking was not significant, suggesting that no significant difference in attitude toward the ad emerged between the […]