Abstract

Media priming is one of the most deeply-rooted and wide span theories in media studies. Previous research deploying this theory usually compared the effects of pro-social and anti-social media priming, while this study opted to compare the effects of pro-social fictional and non-fictional media content. Furthermore, the researcher attempts to examine the effects of media priming on situational altruism, as well as, measure the difference between exposure to fictional and non-fictional videos of heroic acts, when it comes to priming an actual helping behavior. An experiment was conducted using a staged manipulation of a sexual harassment situation, as a high cost help situation. The results were statistically insignificant possibly due to the relatively small sample, the one time exposure, or cultural aspects. Nonetheless, the study’s frequencies show that those exposed to non-fictional videos have a higher likelihood of acting altruistically when they encounter a run-in with a naturalistic sexual harassment situation on college campus, than those exposed to fictional videos. Additionally, fiction has been found more likely to prime pleasure-based motivations and non-fiction primes pressure-based motivations. As for the bystander barriers, the findings show that those exposed to non-fiction experience them more than those exposed to fiction.

Department

Journalism & Mass Communication Department

Degree Name

MA in Journalism & Mass Communication

Graduation Date

6-1-2016

Submission Date

May 2016

First Advisor

Abdulla, Rasha

Committee Member 1

Abou Youssef, Inas

Committee Member 2

Hamdy, Naila

Extent

154 p.

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Rights

The author retains all rights with regard to copyright. The author certifies that written permission from the owner(s) of third-party copyrighted matter included in the thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study has been obtained. The author further certifies that IRB approval has been obtained for this thesis, or that IRB approval is not necessary for this thesis. Insofar as this thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study is an educational record as defined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 USC 1232g), the author has granted consent to disclosure of it to anyone who requests a copy.

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval

Approval has been obtained for this item

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