Dr. David Clementson
About: Dr. Clementson teaches undergraduate- and graduate-level public relations. His research examines the effects of public figures and politicians dodging questions. When he isn’t on campus teaching, running experiments, and cheering for the Bulldawgs, he loves watching the Atlanta Braves and the Oakland Athletics, and he plays the drums. He and his wife Laura have two sons, who are bilingual in English and Brazilian Portuguese.
Education
Ph.D., Communication, The Ohio State University
M.A., Communication Studies, University of Miami
B.A., Political Science, James Madison University
Research Interests and Activities
Dr. Clementson runs experiments testing how politicians and business spokespersons dodge reporters’ questions and whether audiences notice. He builds theoretical models that explore how the public will cognitively process deception in media interviews. His latest studies assess whether the public can detect when a company spokesperson is dodging questions amidst a company crisis, and the different ways a public figure might deceive audiences. His work has been published in Journal of Communication, Public Relations Review, Political Psychology, Communication Studies, Journal of Language and Social Psychology, Presidential Studies Quarterly, Discourse & Communication, Mass Communication and Society, International Journal of Sport Communication and Journal of Political Marketing. His research has also appeared in Politico, NPR, NBC News, the Boston Globe, the Daily Mail, Scientific American, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Houston Chronicle, the Huffington Post, the New York Post, the Washington Examiner, New York magazine, Psychology Today and Newsweek.
David Clementson was identified as one of the Top 25 most prolific researchers published in communication journals in the five-year period from 2017 to 2021. The finding appeared in the […]
Read MoreDavid E. Clementson & Beatty, M. J. (in press). “Society frowns upon spinning and so do the alleged spin doctors: Tests of present and future crisis communicators responding to spin […]
Read MoreDavid E. Clementson & Xie, T. (Grady ADPR Ph.D. grad). (2022). “Are presidential candidates impervious to deception detection? A test of voters’ truth-default.” Presidential Studies Quarterly, 52(4), 728–747. http://doi.org/10.1111/psq.12809 Abstract: […]
Read MoreDavid E. Clementson, COVID Impact Research Recovery Funding grant from the UGA Office of Research/Academic Affairs/Provost, for a proposal to experimentally test “Impact of (In)Civility in Messaging Through Political Debates.” […]
Read MoreDavid Clementson gave a talk entitled “The Science of Winning Media Interviews” as part of a June 7, 2022, training session held by Maven Strategies, a Democratic political consulting firm […]
Read MoreDavid E. Clementson, (in press). “Approaching the public relations profession with ease and ethical expertise: A class project to encourage, equip, and empower students entering the internship market.” Communication Teacher. […]
Read MoreAbstract: Public relations and strategic communication are offered in communication departments with a field of study largely geared toward professional communicators. The majors place a heavy emphasis on internships which […]
Read MoreMasterclass virtual – Escuela de Comunicación, Universidad Panamericana, Campus Guadalajara (Zapopan, Jalisco), México – Sept. 20, 2021
Read MoreAbstract: This paper combines theories of identification and image repair to explain why an organization in crisis should avoid designing messages that engage in “spin.” An experiment is reported (N = […]
Read MoreAbstract: Perceptions of a crisis communicator’s sincerity drive reactions to an organization’s response amidst a scandal. However, a spokesperson can nonverbally appear sincere while deceptively evading questions and can appear […]
Read MoreAbstract: U.S. presidential candidates aspire to have a “presidential image.” Political communication researchers, media pundits, political scientists, pollsters, campaign consultants, and other political marketers speculate about who is “presidential” and […]
Read MoreAbstract: Crisis communication scholars have suggested that sincerity is critical to an effective crisis response, and a robust body of research suggests that certain mannerisms and communication styles can make […]
Read MoreAbstract: Mass communication research has long indicated that during a scandal an organization’s spokesperson should exude sincerity. However, no research has examined the deceptive and misleading nature of sincerity. In […]
Read MoreAbstract: U.S. presidential candidates aspire to be perceived as “presidential.” Political communication researchers, political scientists, pollsters, campaign consultants, and media pundits speculate about who is “presidential” and “unpresidential.” No prior […]
Read MoreAbstract: Journalists serve as deception detectors for voters. Sometimes politicians refute journalists’ assertions. How do voters discern whom to believe? Based on cognitive sequences posited by truth-default theory (TDT), experiments […]
Read MoreDavid Clementson has won the Reviewer of the Year award for the journal Mass Communication and Society. The editor said, “This year we worked hard to identify one winner on […]
Read MoreClementson, D. E., & Xie, T. (2021, May 27-31). The power of political journalists as deception detectors and how politicians reactivate voters’ truth-default [Paper presentation]. International Communication Association 71st Annual […]
Read MoreAbstract: The public considers politicians to be deceptive. Empirical research, however, indicates voters fail to notice deception from politicians in practice. An experiment was run in which U.S. voters (n […]
Read MoreAbstract: Truth-default theory (TDT) holds that people tend to passively believe others without consciously considering whether they are being told the truth. But do voters have a truth-default toward politicians? […]
Read MoreAbstract: Journalists serve as deception detectors for voters. Sometimes politicians refute journalists’ assertions. How do voters discern whom to believe? Based on cognitive sequences posited by truth-default theory (TDT), experiments […]
Read MoreAbstract: This article expands situational crisis communication theory (SCCT) to narrative persuasion. In a randomized experiment featuring a news interview of a scandalized company, an organization’s spokesperson responds to a […]
Read MoreAbstract: This paper reports a test and extension of the model posited by the theory of crisis response narratives, in which the public manifests identification with a spokesperson who tells […]
Read MoreAbstract: This article applies interpersonal deception theory (IDT) to crisis communication. As strategic communicators, spokespeople representing organizations in crisis often evade questions in media interviews. Upper management and legal counsel […]
Read MoreEvery two years the International Association of Language and Social Psychology selects a Top Paper Award. This year the award was given to David Clementson for “Truth Bias and Partisan […]
Read MoreClementson, D. E., & Xie, T. (Grady PhD student) (2020, Nov.). Effects of partisan bias on perceptions of evasion in a political news interview. Paper to be presented at the 106th […]
Read MoreClementson, D. E., & Xie, T. (Grady PhD student) (2020, Nov.). Narrative storytelling and anger in crisis communication. Paper to be presented at the 106th National Communication Association conference, Public […]
Read MoreClementson, D. E. (2020, Nov.). Narrative persuasion, identification, attitudes, and trustworthiness in crisis communication. Paper to be presented at the 106th National Communication Association conference, Public Relations division, Indianapolis, IN. […]
Read MoreDavid Clementson was awarded a $9,800 grant from UGA Office of Research’s “Faculty Seed Grants in the Sciences” for my proposal entitled “Deceptive Evasion in Politics: Addressing a Divide in […]
Read MoreAbstract: The purpose of this study is to test the effects of narratives in crisis communication. This research assesses how organizations benefit from using stories in their media responses, relative […]
Read MoreDavid Clementson received a Top Paper Award for “Let Me Tell You Our Side of the Story: Narrative Immersion in a Crisis Communication Media Interview.” Paper to be presented at […]
Read MoreDavid Clementson was one of three people nationally to receive a seed grant from the Glen M. Broom Center at San Diego State for his study investigating the effectiveness of […]
Read MoreDavid Clementson received a $500 grant from the Glen M. Broom Center for Professional Development in Public Relations, at San Diego State University to test narrative persuasion strategies and crisis […]
Read MoreAbstract: Journalists often accuse politicians of dodging questions. Truth-default theory (TDT) predicts that when journalists serve as de facto deception detectors, the audience will process the messaging through a cognitive […]
Read MoreAbstract: People are often exposed to polarized viewpoints in web comment sections. Inspired by attribution theory and framing theory, this article tests the effects of comments that frame a politician […]
Read MoreAbstract: Upwards of 200 studies over the past hundred years have reported on the relationship between public relations practitioners and journalists. However, no experiment has compared the group members’ perceptions […]
Read MoreTeaching Specialties
Dr. Clementson’s teaching specialties include: introduction to public relations (graduate-level), public relations (honors undergraduate-level), public relations campaigns (undergraduate- and graduate-level) and quantitative research methods.
Experience
Dr. Clementson’s public relations and political communication research is inspired by his professional background. He worked in journalism, politics and public relations for about a decade. He was a journalist for newspapers and magazines, primarily covering politics and government. He ran successful political campaigns for Democrats and Republicans in several states along the U.S. East Coast. He also served as a communication director for a public relations, marketing and advertising firm, a professional opposition researcher for politicians, and the director of communication and press secretary for Attorney Generals. Before coming to UGA, Dr. Clementson was an assistant professor of public relations at California State University, Sacramento, where he was a co-advisor to PRSSA.
