News reports of scientific research are rarely hedged; in other words, the reports do not contain caveats, limitations, or other indicators of scientific uncertainty. Some have suggested that hedging may influence news consumers' perceptions of scientists' and journalists' credibility (perceptions that may be related to support for scientific…

Despite considerable research on teaching and learning in higher education, the relationship between university teachers' and students' understandings of the same teaching-learning events has not been a focus. This exploratory qualitative study used individual interviews to investigate the role of conceptions of teaching, learning and knowledge in…

Tests a complex model of how audience members assess source credibility. Hypothesizes that (1) message quality has direct effects and mediates partially the effects of initial credibility assessments on subsequent source credibility assessments and on belief change; and (2) subsequent credibility assessments mediate effects of initial credibility…

Reviews the development of research on the persuasive effects of evidence, focusing on research dealing with the impact of evidence on persuasive communication. Concludes that evidence makes a difference in persuasive argument, and that the difference is affected by evidence type, along with relevant source, message, and receiver elements (191…

Replies to responses (same issue) to the author's "Relocating the Site of the Audience." (MS)

Responses from 81 alumni of Michigan State University's agricultural college revealed overall satisfaction with the alumni magazine. Most thought advertising would be acceptable to defray costs. Lack of time or interest were reasons for not reading articles. One in three copies was read by someone other than the alumnus. (SK)

Examines a campaign's effectiveness in reaching various audience segments with information on heart disease risk reduction. Shows that both ability to process health information and motivation to learn about health are significant predictors of learning in both the education and reference communities. (MM)

Examines audience reactions to informative public speakers' use of self-disparaging humor. Concludes that speakers using such humor may be perceived as more humorous, but also run the risk of reducing their perceived competence, having the audience associate with them less, and producing speeches that are rated as less interesting. (MM)

Analyzes the status of the audience as a theoretical construct. Argues against the usefulness of a unified conception of audience effects. Develops an epistemological framework for reconstructive theorizations of the concrete structures and practices studied as audience issues. (MS)

Explores the effects on other group members of positive and negative responses directed by one member of a discussion group to another. Finds significant differences between treatments for members' attitudes toward their group, but mixed support for the predicted sequence of treatment effects. Notes that the results differ notably from those…

Suggests that Michael McGee and Michael Leff share similarities of approach that help them to avoid the form/content split. Argues that their recent essays, in which they both move to opposite extremes on the "audience" issue, threaten to reintroduce the form/content split. (KEH)

Advertisers have leaned heavily upon researchers to answer the question of what the advertisers get for the money they spend. Researchers have used a wide variety of methods, including a split cable simulated test market. Wilder Penfield's 1950s research may help other researchers better understand what goes on in the mind of consumers as a result…

Discusses the results of a study addressing the issue of whether writers are aware of the distinction between real and implied readers. Presents several questions for investigation, including (1) "Does a writer's way of perceiving a reader affect contextual development?" and (2) "Do shifts occur in writers' conceptions of…

Examines television rerun viewing motives and sociodemographic characteristics to predict frequent, occasional, and infrequent rerun viewing habits. Indicates that demographic and social variables are not major determinants, while motives are reliable predictors. (SR)

Examines the roles of convention, conflict, and conversation in the formation of audience constructs. Finds that writers' textual choices to address or invoke audiences are based more on institutional conventions than on either disciplinary conventions or on situational conditions and constraints. (SR)