The TV Made Me Do It: The Impact of Exemplars and Base-Rates on Behavioral Intentions

• In Event: Experimental Investigations of Media Effects

Abstract

This study extends exemplification theory to examine base-rates and exemplars in anti-smoking messages. The role that issue importance, information utility, and exemplar discrepancy play in affecting individual’s behavioral intentions is examined. The study found that individuals with high issue importance were more likely to believe their own smoking behaviors would be affected by news stories, more likely to lead others to quit and more likely to seek out information than those with low issue importance.

Authors

• Tracy Worrell, Rochester Institute of Technology

• Ron Tamborini, Michigan State University