Nancy Rhodes

Michigan State University, Advertising + Public Relations, Faculty Member

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Nancy Rhodes is a social scientist specializing in Media Psychology and Health Communication. She studies the processes of persuasion and social influence, with applications to substance use in emerging adults and risky driving among teens.
Address: East Lansing, Michigan, United States

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Papers by Nancy Rhodes

The dynamic theory of reasoned action: evidence for a reverse causal process in the context of WHO handwashing guidelines

Psychology & Health, Nov 8, 2021

OBJECTIVE This study provided a first empirical test of the Reverse Dynamic Theory of Reasoned Ac... more OBJECTIVE This study provided a first empirical test of the Reverse Dynamic Theory of Reasoned Action (RDTRA) developed by Boster et al. DESIGN In a longitudinal experiment, 169 participants were exposed to a WHO handwashing-guidelines behavioural induction, followed by an immediate posttest and a follow-up one week later. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The study measured attitudes and norms about WHO handwashing guidelines, as well as self-reported handwashing behaviour. RESULTS The experimental induction produced variance in self-reported handwashing behaviour, allowing a test of the RDTRA using path analysis and structural equation modelling (SEM). Results were consistent with the RDTRA, with a positive effect of behaviour on both the attitude and norm coupled with excellent model fit. Results were inconsistent with behaviour as an outcome of attitudes and norms in this context. CONCLUSION For health behaviours, such as the WHO handwashing technique, initial behavioural adoption may promote subsequent shaping of attitudes and perceived norms. Boundary conditions for this effect may include the degree of spontaneity and consent involved in behaviour adoption.

Norms

The International Encyclopedia of Media Psychology, Sep 9, 2020

Relation of Attitude and Norm Accessibility to Adolescent Deliquent Behaviors

Morality in social media: A scoping review

New Media & Society, May 8, 2023

Social media platforms have been adopted rapidly into our current culture and affect nearly all a... more Social media platforms have been adopted rapidly into our current culture and affect nearly all areas of our everyday lives. Their prevalence has raised questions about the influence of new communication technologies on moral reasoning, judgments, and behaviors. The present scoping review identified 80 articles providing an overview of scholarly work conducted on morality in social media. Screening for research that explicitly addressed moral questions, the authors found that research in this area tends to be atheoretical, US-based, quantitative, cross-sectional survey research in business, psychology, and communication journals. Findings suggested a need for increased theoretical contributions. The authors identified new developments in research analysis, including text scraping and machine coding, which may contribute to theory development. In addition, diversity across disciplines allows for a broad picture in this research domain, but more interdisciplinarity might be needed to foster creative approaches to this study area.

Sex role stereotypes in everyday life

PsycEXTRA Dataset, 1985

Attitude-Behavior Consistency

The International Encyclopedia of Communication, Mar 11, 2014

Self Categorization Theory: Predicting Risky Adolescent Behavior

Priming

The International Encyclopedia of Health Communication, Sep 29, 2022

Terror Management Theory: Mortality Salience

The International Encyclopedia of Media Psychology, Sep 9, 2020

Media Priming and Accessibility

Routledge eBooks, Jun 26, 2019

Protecting a Positive View of the Self: Female Gamers’ Strategic Self-Attribution of Stereotypes

Sex Roles, Dec 28, 2022

MTV Reality Shows and Adolescents’ Intentions towards Smoking and Alcohol Use: BIS/BAS and Social Norms

Dispositional Fear of Missing Out Susceptibility: Development of a Trait-Scale

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Norm Accessibility Reduces Reactance and Drinking and Driving Intentions

Social determinants of flu vaccine uptake among racial/ethnic minorities in the United States

Preventive medicine reports, Dec 1, 2021

Research on the social determinants of vaccine uptake often occur between racial/ethnic groups an... more Research on the social determinants of vaccine uptake often occur between racial/ethnic groups and not within groups. Though minoritized individuals face inequalities across the board, these are also not evenly distributed amongst minoritized individuals within groups. Using the National Health Interview Survey data, we examined disparities in flu vaccine uptake across racial/ethnic groups in the United States (US). We examined (a) NH (non-Hispanic) White (n = 32,655), (b) NH Asian (n = 2335), (c) NH African American (n = 5137), and (d) Hispanic (n = 5718) respondents who lived in the United States using the combined 2017 and 2018. We used multivariable logistic regression to predict flu vaccination (yes/no) both in models comparing racial/ethnic groups and within groups. Less than 50% of any of the four major racial/ethnic groups in the US received a flu vaccination in 2017–18. Flu vaccine uptake varied within racial and ethnic groups. These results suggest that increasing vaccination may require a complex, multi-faceted perspective that considers subgroups more directly.

Exploring direct and indirect predictors of heart disease information seeking

Journal of Communication in Healthcare

Supporting School Readiness by Bolstering Parents’ Perceived Social Norms

Journal of Child and Family Studies

Trust and Coping Beliefs Contribute to Racial Disparities in COVID-19 Vaccination Intention

Health Communication, 2022

Racial disparities in intention to obtain the COVID-19 vaccination have been noted in academic an... more Racial disparities in intention to obtain the COVID-19 vaccination have been noted in academic and popular press reports. The present study sought to identify cognitive and affective factors that contribute to the observed lack of acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination, even before a vaccine was made publicly available, among Black and White Americans through a national survey (N = 487; 50.6% female, 24.8% Black). Our findings are consistent with previous studies that Black respondents had lower intention to obtain the eventual COVID-19 vaccine than White respondents. Protection motivation theory's construct of coping efficacy and an additional COVID-19-relevant variable, trust in vaccination, mediated the effect of race on behavioral intention. Lastly, beliefs were elicited from Black and White Americans to identify communication strategies regarding the issue.