Persuasion in Farm Bill messages: A language expectancy theory examination of gender and language intensity
Open Access
- Author:
- Worthington, Amber Kelly
- Graduate Program:
- Communication Arts and Sciences
- Degree:
- Master of Arts
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- July 10, 2013
- Committee Members:
- Roxanne Louise Parrott, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Jon F Nussbaum, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor - Keywords:
- Farm Bill
Language Expectancy Theory - Abstract:
- Numerous health campaigns designed to educate and motivate individuals towards positive nutritional behavior change to mitigate the obesity epidemic in the United States may prove ineffective since national health policy does not contribute to a healthy nutritional environment. National agricultural policies in particular have led to an environment in which unhealthy food items such as grain are overproduced, and fruits and vegetables are under- produced, thereby influencing consumer purchasing behaviors and the obesity epidemic. Many organizations interested in public health have thus disseminated promotional messages designed to persuade readers that agricultural policies negatively impact food related topics, including the obesity epidemic, the local food movement, and food aid in order to decrease voter support for renewal of these policies. While these messages may intend to persuade readers, little evidence exists suggesting the use of persuasion theories in their design. Language Expectancy Theory (LET) provides a useful framework to do so. Formative research was used to identify pre-existing 2012 Farm Bill promotional messages, to analyze them based on theoretical components derived from LET, and to construct theoretical variations of the stimulus messages. A pilot study was conducted with undergraduate students to further derive the messages. A 4 x 4 x 2 between-subjects posttest design was used to empirically test the persuasive outcomes of theoretically derived versions of messages related to the Farm Bill and food topics. Preliminary data analysis found that the manipulations of the theoretical message components based on LET were successful. Results revealed marginal support for the expectations of language use posited by LET, and data on perceptions of actual language used suggested that participants perceived that females were using more intense language whether the language they actually used was more intense or not. Some support was obtained for LET derived hypotheses. There were no significant findings suggesting LET components play a role in messages with more than one author; however, some support was found for the role of organizational credibility. These results suggest marginal support for the enduring expectations of language use posited by LET, yet many of the LET derived hypotheses were unsupported. The lack of support for the sociological expectations and violations in the theory may stem from the fact that this study provides one of the first examinations of LET in the textual setting or that expectations of language use have change since the theory’s inception. This study did not find support for results on LET and messages with multiple authors; however, initial results suggest that LET may be expanded to include propositions based on organizational credibility. Implications of these findings for communication theory and for strategic message design in the health policy context are discussed, as well as limitations of the study and directions for future research.