Tag Archives: kevin wise

Facebook Profile Pictures Influence Perceived Attractiveness, MU Study Finds

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Pictures with positive social cues help attract potential employers, friends

COLUMBIA, Mo. ­— Around the world, more than 850 million people use Facebook regularly to communicate. More and more employers also are using Facebook as a way to examine potential employees before making hires. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have found that comments left by users on Facebook profile pictures strongly affect the level of perceived attractiveness of the profile owner physically, socially, and professionally.

Facebook profile photos are the first photos visible on a user’s profile. Other Facebook users are able to post comments about each profile photo, which are visible to anyone who views the photo. MU researchers found that Facebook users whose profile photos include social cues, additional information about the user, and many positive comments on their profile photos are viewed much more socially and physically attractive than users who have fewer social cues and negative comments on their profile photos. Seoyeon Hong, a doctoral student, conducted the research along with Kevin Wise, an associate professor at the University of Missouri School of Journalism and other doctoral students. (more…)

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‚Extreme Negative Anti-Smoking Ads Can Backfire’

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*MU researchers say disgusting and threatening ads can cause strong defense responses from viewers*

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Health communicators have long searched for the most effective ways to convince smokers to quit. Now, University of Missouri researchers have found that using a combination of disturbing images and threatening messages to prevent smoking is not effective and could potentially cause an unexpected reaction.

In a study recently published in the Journal of Media Psychology, Glenn Leshner, Paul Bolls and Kevin Wise, co-directors of the Psychological Research on Information and Media Effects (PRIME) Lab at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, found that showing viewers a combination of threatening and disgusting television public service announcements (PSAs) caused viewers to experience the beginnings of strong defensive reactions. The researchers found that when viewers saw the PSAs with both threatening and disgusting material, they tended to withdraw mental resources from processing the messages while simultaneously reducing the intensity of their emotional responses. Leshner says that these types of images could possibly have a “boomerang effect,” meaning the defensive reactions could be so strong that they cause viewers to stop processing the messages in the PSAs. (more…)

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