Abstract Elements of on-screen motion hold specific meanings and contexts depending on their usag... more Abstract Elements of on-screen motion hold specific meanings and contexts depending on their usage. This study focuses on how a film viewer interprets lateral motion from left-to-right and from right-to-left. A posttest only experimental design used previously existing footage from a short film to test movement in one of these two directions. Participants answered a short questionnaire after watching the sequence and answered items concerning affective and perceptual evaluations of the sequence.
This study investigates the relative influence of two formal features of video games-image qualit... more This study investigates the relative influence of two formal features of video games-image quality and sound quality-on presence and enjoyment. A 2 x 2 between subjects experiment was conducted manipulating image quality (high definition vs. standard definition) and sound quality (Dolby 5.1 surround sound vs. Dolby stereo). Results indicated that, while image quality had no effect on outcomes, sound quality almost universally impacted outcomes of interest, including several dimensions of presence and enjoyment. Implications of these findings are discussed.
This investigation examines the extent to which interactive social agent technology can influence... more This investigation examines the extent to which interactive social agent technology can influence social presence, information processing, and persuasion. Specifically, it looks at how interactive media using virtual agents can increase the sensation of social presence, or the extent to which a person feels ''with'' a mediated being. Using logic based on the Heuristic Systematic Model (HSM), social presence is posited to impact indicators of heuristic and systematic processing, leading to changes in attitude and intention toward a health issue. A 2 2 between subjects experiment was conducted (N D 125) with manipulations of interactivity (interactive or not) and source attractiveness (attractive or unattractive). Results of causal model tests suggest that interactive agents facilitate social presence leading to increased message processing, which in turn affects both attitude and behavioral intentions toward the issue of healthy blood pressure. Contrary to expectations, however, social presence with an unattractive source did not impede attitude and intentions. These findings are interpreted in light of presence, new media, and HSM scholarship.
This study extends work on player types as motivations for video game play in two primary ways. F... more This study extends work on player types as motivations for video game play in two primary ways. First, it draws from the presence literature and considers how a person's "need for presence" relates to established player types. Second, it expands the predictive utility of player type research and explores how motivations for play relate to game use across multiple genres and platforms, including MMOs and other popular forms of gaming. It accomplishes these goals by reporting the results of an online survey of gamers (N = 253). Results suggest that player motivations do relate to specific game use and are discussed in light of the video game and presence literatures..
Although the deadline for mandated digital transmission for broadcast television (DTV) is fast ap... more Although the deadline for mandated digital transmission for broadcast television (DTV) is fast approaching, we still know relatively little about viewer knowledge about and interest in adopting the new, higher resolution television receivers. This study profiles likely DTV adopters in terms of social locators, media adoption, orientation toward adopting new media, and affective measures. The relative success of the latter in distinguishing between likely DTV adopters and nonadopters underscores the utility of a new set of attitudinal variables to supplement demographics and technology adoption measures. These elements were less successful in explaining DTV awareness levels, which were relatively low.
In the 1982 movie Tron, a computer-game designer named Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) is literally za... more In the 1982 movie Tron, a computer-game designer named Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) is literally zapped into the electronic game world he created. In this environment, he gets to play his imaginative computer games as if they were real. To many viewers at the time, the scenario envisioned by Tron might have been nothing more than an outlandish fantasy (which could explain the film's lack of box office success), but Tron has become a cult classic to many gaming enthusiasts, who applaud the film for realizing their dream of becoming ...
Prior research has suggested that a message delivered through a leaner text channel will be more ... more Prior research has suggested that a message delivered through a leaner text channel will be more likely to elicit greater presence experiences than the same message delivered though a richer video channel. We further this research by introducing a unique channel manipulation that incorporates video and moving images, and compares its effects on presence experiences to traditional video and text. Results indicated that text elicited greater spatial presence, naturalness, and higher cognitive involvement than traditional video; video with images elicited greater engagement, naturalness, and higher cognitive involvement; and there were no significant differences between text and video with images for spatial presence, engagement, naturalness, and higher cognitive involvement.
This paper is Part II of an attempt to validate a multi-factor scale for senses of humor. Part I ... more This paper is Part II of an attempt to validate a multi-factor scale for senses of humor. Part I was presented at the 2004 International Communication Association's Conference and dealt with the development, testing, and validation of a humor appreciation scale. The data from three surveys suggest that one's sense of humor may appropriately be thought of as multidimensional, and emergent humor dimensions-derived from a factor analysis of the data-may be validated with preferences for particular media content. In Part I, the emergent dimensions were validated with preferences for popular motion pictures. In the continued validation of a multi-factor scale, we examine the humor dimensions with preferences for popular TV shows. The results, again, suggest that the emergent dimensions of humor can in fact be validated by preferences for particular types of television content.
Central Processing, a theoretical concept of persuasion from the Elaboration Likelihood Model, co... more Central Processing, a theoretical concept of persuasion from the Elaboration Likelihood Model, concerns analytical processing of new information and examines attitude change though logical consideration and evaluation of arguments. Transportation, applied to persuasion, postulates influence occurs through reduced negative cognitive responding, realism of experience, and strong affective responses. This study investigates whether Central Processing or Transportation better predicts both current and future beneficial organizational behaviors. Results show: (a) participants who centrally processed the message were more likely to engage in both current and future behaviors, (b) participants transported into the narrative of the message were more likely to engage in both current and future behaviors, and (c) Central Processing has a greater influence on future behaviors than Transportation.
Most experiments investigating presence effects have manipulated exhibition formal features such ... more Most experiments investigating presence effects have manipulated exhibition formal features such as screen size or resolution. Fewer studies have examined how post-production factors influence presence. This research investigates the effects of three post-production decisions-editing, music choice, and color-on presence. It reports the results of experiments manipulating these under-studied characteristics of popular media, in an effort to gain a more thorough understanding of variables influencing presence.
This study extends research on humor reception by exploring how values, political orientation, an... more This study extends research on humor reception by exploring how values, political orientation, and media use predict various senses of humor. Four distinct humor types are considered in this investigation-superiority/disparagement, incongruity, arousal/dark humor, and social currency. An online survey (n = 288) assessed preferences for these senses of humor based on human values (from Schwartz, 1992), political orientation (ranging from strongly conservative to strongly liberal), and media use (including traditional, interactive, and news media). Results of stepwise multiple regression analyses are discussed with attention toward the development of a multiple senses of humor scale for use in communication research spanning the levels of the discipline.
A vioient virtuai-reaiity (VR) video game's short-term impact on telepresence and hostility was s... more A vioient virtuai-reaiity (VR) video game's short-term impact on telepresence and hostility was studied. Five weeks before a lab experiment, participants completed a questionnaire measuring prior vioient video game use and trait aggression. Participants were randomly assigned to play a VR vioient video game, play a standard vioient video game, observe a vioient video game, or observe a non-vioient video game. Following exposure, measures of telepresence experienced, hostile thoughts, and aggressive acts were obtained. Findings are consistent with predictions that personal variables (prior video game use) and situational variables (violent media exposure) influence telepresence experienced in media environments and promote hostile thoughts. No findings substantiate predictions that telepresence mediates personal or situational variables' influence on aggression.
Abstract Elements of on-screen motion hold specific meanings and contexts depending on their usag... more Abstract Elements of on-screen motion hold specific meanings and contexts depending on their usage. This study focuses on how a film viewer interprets lateral motion from left-to-right and from right-to-left. A posttest only experimental design used previously existing footage from a short film to test movement in one of these two directions. Participants answered a short questionnaire after watching the sequence and answered items concerning affective and perceptual evaluations of the sequence.
This study investigates the relative influence of two formal features of video games-image qualit... more This study investigates the relative influence of two formal features of video games-image quality and sound quality-on presence and enjoyment. A 2 x 2 between subjects experiment was conducted manipulating image quality (high definition vs. standard definition) and sound quality (Dolby 5.1 surround sound vs. Dolby stereo). Results indicated that, while image quality had no effect on outcomes, sound quality almost universally impacted outcomes of interest, including several dimensions of presence and enjoyment. Implications of these findings are discussed.
This investigation examines the extent to which interactive social agent technology can influence... more This investigation examines the extent to which interactive social agent technology can influence social presence, information processing, and persuasion. Specifically, it looks at how interactive media using virtual agents can increase the sensation of social presence, or the extent to which a person feels ''with'' a mediated being. Using logic based on the Heuristic Systematic Model (HSM), social presence is posited to impact indicators of heuristic and systematic processing, leading to changes in attitude and intention toward a health issue. A 2 2 between subjects experiment was conducted (N D 125) with manipulations of interactivity (interactive or not) and source attractiveness (attractive or unattractive). Results of causal model tests suggest that interactive agents facilitate social presence leading to increased message processing, which in turn affects both attitude and behavioral intentions toward the issue of healthy blood pressure. Contrary to expectations, however, social presence with an unattractive source did not impede attitude and intentions. These findings are interpreted in light of presence, new media, and HSM scholarship.
This study extends work on player types as motivations for video game play in two primary ways. F... more This study extends work on player types as motivations for video game play in two primary ways. First, it draws from the presence literature and considers how a person's "need for presence" relates to established player types. Second, it expands the predictive utility of player type research and explores how motivations for play relate to game use across multiple genres and platforms, including MMOs and other popular forms of gaming. It accomplishes these goals by reporting the results of an online survey of gamers (N = 253). Results suggest that player motivations do relate to specific game use and are discussed in light of the video game and presence literatures..
Although the deadline for mandated digital transmission for broadcast television (DTV) is fast ap... more Although the deadline for mandated digital transmission for broadcast television (DTV) is fast approaching, we still know relatively little about viewer knowledge about and interest in adopting the new, higher resolution television receivers. This study profiles likely DTV adopters in terms of social locators, media adoption, orientation toward adopting new media, and affective measures. The relative success of the latter in distinguishing between likely DTV adopters and nonadopters underscores the utility of a new set of attitudinal variables to supplement demographics and technology adoption measures. These elements were less successful in explaining DTV awareness levels, which were relatively low.
In the 1982 movie Tron, a computer-game designer named Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) is literally za... more In the 1982 movie Tron, a computer-game designer named Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) is literally zapped into the electronic game world he created. In this environment, he gets to play his imaginative computer games as if they were real. To many viewers at the time, the scenario envisioned by Tron might have been nothing more than an outlandish fantasy (which could explain the film's lack of box office success), but Tron has become a cult classic to many gaming enthusiasts, who applaud the film for realizing their dream of becoming ...
Prior research has suggested that a message delivered through a leaner text channel will be more ... more Prior research has suggested that a message delivered through a leaner text channel will be more likely to elicit greater presence experiences than the same message delivered though a richer video channel. We further this research by introducing a unique channel manipulation that incorporates video and moving images, and compares its effects on presence experiences to traditional video and text. Results indicated that text elicited greater spatial presence, naturalness, and higher cognitive involvement than traditional video; video with images elicited greater engagement, naturalness, and higher cognitive involvement; and there were no significant differences between text and video with images for spatial presence, engagement, naturalness, and higher cognitive involvement.
This paper is Part II of an attempt to validate a multi-factor scale for senses of humor. Part I ... more This paper is Part II of an attempt to validate a multi-factor scale for senses of humor. Part I was presented at the 2004 International Communication Association's Conference and dealt with the development, testing, and validation of a humor appreciation scale. The data from three surveys suggest that one's sense of humor may appropriately be thought of as multidimensional, and emergent humor dimensions-derived from a factor analysis of the data-may be validated with preferences for particular media content. In Part I, the emergent dimensions were validated with preferences for popular motion pictures. In the continued validation of a multi-factor scale, we examine the humor dimensions with preferences for popular TV shows. The results, again, suggest that the emergent dimensions of humor can in fact be validated by preferences for particular types of television content.
Central Processing, a theoretical concept of persuasion from the Elaboration Likelihood Model, co... more Central Processing, a theoretical concept of persuasion from the Elaboration Likelihood Model, concerns analytical processing of new information and examines attitude change though logical consideration and evaluation of arguments. Transportation, applied to persuasion, postulates influence occurs through reduced negative cognitive responding, realism of experience, and strong affective responses. This study investigates whether Central Processing or Transportation better predicts both current and future beneficial organizational behaviors. Results show: (a) participants who centrally processed the message were more likely to engage in both current and future behaviors, (b) participants transported into the narrative of the message were more likely to engage in both current and future behaviors, and (c) Central Processing has a greater influence on future behaviors than Transportation.
Most experiments investigating presence effects have manipulated exhibition formal features such ... more Most experiments investigating presence effects have manipulated exhibition formal features such as screen size or resolution. Fewer studies have examined how post-production factors influence presence. This research investigates the effects of three post-production decisions-editing, music choice, and color-on presence. It reports the results of experiments manipulating these under-studied characteristics of popular media, in an effort to gain a more thorough understanding of variables influencing presence.
This study extends research on humor reception by exploring how values, political orientation, an... more This study extends research on humor reception by exploring how values, political orientation, and media use predict various senses of humor. Four distinct humor types are considered in this investigation-superiority/disparagement, incongruity, arousal/dark humor, and social currency. An online survey (n = 288) assessed preferences for these senses of humor based on human values (from Schwartz, 1992), political orientation (ranging from strongly conservative to strongly liberal), and media use (including traditional, interactive, and news media). Results of stepwise multiple regression analyses are discussed with attention toward the development of a multiple senses of humor scale for use in communication research spanning the levels of the discipline.
A vioient virtuai-reaiity (VR) video game's short-term impact on telepresence and hostility was s... more A vioient virtuai-reaiity (VR) video game's short-term impact on telepresence and hostility was studied. Five weeks before a lab experiment, participants completed a questionnaire measuring prior vioient video game use and trait aggression. Participants were randomly assigned to play a VR vioient video game, play a standard vioient video game, observe a vioient video game, or observe a non-vioient video game. Following exposure, measures of telepresence experienced, hostile thoughts, and aggressive acts were obtained. Findings are consistent with predictions that personal variables (prior video game use) and situational variables (violent media exposure) influence telepresence experienced in media environments and promote hostile thoughts. No findings substantiate predictions that telepresence mediates personal or situational variables' influence on aggression.
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