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Kirkpatrick_2022_COMMUNICATING PROXIMITY_THE EFFECTS OF TECHNOLOGY MEDIA ON AI INFO SHARING884.09 kB
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Dissertation
Communicating Proximity: The Effects of Technology Media on Information Sharing about Artificial Intelligence
Washington State University
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
01/2022
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000004361
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/123292
Abstract
Construal-level theory suggests that people could view novel issues and phenomena like artificial intelligence (AI) as being psychologically distant, irrelevant to people like themselves and even less believable relative to more familiar or salient issues. Synchronously, empirical construal-level theory studies suggest that information related to novel issues like AI is more likely to be shared online when people perceive the topic as being psychologically proximal, relevant to people like themselves and believable. Therefore, understanding how media might encourage information sharing about novel technologies by communicating psychological proximity (e.g., a sense of nearness and personal relevance) is key to understanding how people form perceptions of new innovations and share these perceptions with others. I conducted two studies examining the influence of technology media-system dependency (study 1) and online technology media content (study 2) on AI information sharing online, through psychological proximity to the impacts of AI. In study 1, I surveyed a sample of US citizens 18 years and older about their media habits in relation to AI, and tested a process model predicting AI information sharing from technology media-system dependency. Results suggest an indirect positive association between reliance on media resources to meet goals related to AI and online AI information sharing, through priming psychological proximity. Perceived rate of technological change was found to moderate this model, enhancing the association between dependency and proximity, and the indirect association between dependency and information sharing, through proximity. In study 2, I exposed a sample of US citizens 18 years and older to manipulated media content reporting on the potential economic threats posed by AI. Results suggest that thematically framing the threat of AI primed psychological proximity over episodically framing similar information, contrary to the predictions of construal-level theory. Furthermore, thematically framed content was more shareable through its positive effects on psychological proximity to the impacts of AI and perceived AI threat in serial mediation. Discussions of implications, trajectory of future research and limitations are discussed through the lens of construal-level theory and individual-level media-systems dependency.
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Details
- Title
- Communicating Proximity
- Creators
- Alex Williams Kirkpatrick
- Contributors
- Amanda Boyd (Advisor)Jay Hmielowski (Committee Member)Alexis Tan (Committee Member)Traci Gillig (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Edward R. Murrow College of Communication
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 98
- Identifiers
- OCLC#: 1365112274; 99900883036201842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation