Based on the psychological reactance theory, this study examined the effect of incorporating sympathy via social media on countering reactance in crisis communication. The study employed a 2 (expressing sympathy: yes vs. no) × 2 (medium: Twitter vs. news release) between-subject experimental design. Two hundred and fifty-three (N = 253) American consumers recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk participated in this online experiment. Results indicated that using Twitter and expressing sympathy significantly lowered reactance. There was no interaction effect between the two factors, such that their influence on reactance was not contingent on one another. There was a partial yet significant mediation effect of reactance between medium and two outcomes (perceived crisis responsibility and organizational reputation). There was no mediation effect of reactance between sympathy expressed and two outcomes. The theoretical and managerial implications were discussed, as well as limitations and suggestions for future research.
AnS.-K.ChengI. (2010). Crisis communication research in public relations journals: Tracking research trends over thirty years. In CoombsW. T.HolladayS. J. (Eds.), The handbook of crisis communication (pp. 65-90). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
2.
AustinL.LiuB. F.JinY. (2012). How audiences seek out crisis information: Exploring the social-mediated crisis communication model. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 40, 188-207. doi:10.1080/00909882.2012.654498
3.
BatesL.CallisonC. (2008, August). Effect of company affiliation on credibility in the blogosphere. Paper presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Conference, Chicago, IL.
4.
BrehmJ. W.BrehmS. S. (1981). Psychological reactance: A theory of freedom and control. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
5.
BuhrmesterM.KwangT.GoslingS. D. (2011). Amazon Mechanical Turk: A new source of inexpensive, yet high-quality, data?Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6, 3-5. doi:10.1177/1745691610393980
6.
ChangC. (2004). Country of origin as a heuristic cue: The effects of message ambiguity and product involvement. Media Psychology, 6, 169-192. doi:10.1207/s1532785xmep0602_3
7.
ChoiY.LinY.-H. (2009). Consumer responses to Mattel product recalls posted on online bulletin boards: Exploring two types of emotion. Journal of Public Relations Research, 21, 198-207. doi:10.1080/10627260802557506
8.
CoombsW. T. (2006). The protective powers of crisis response strategies: Managing reputational assets during a crisis. Journal of Promotion Management, 12, 241-259. doi:10.1300/J057v12n03_13
9.
CoombsW. T. (2007). Protecting organization reputations during a crisis: The development and application of situational crisis communication theory. Corporate Reputation Review, 10, 163-176. doi:10.1057/palgrave.crr.1550049
10.
CoombsW. T.HolladayS. J. (2005). An exploratory study of stakeholder emotions: Affect and crises. Research on Emotion in Organizations, 1, 263-280.
11.
CoombsW. T.HolladayS. J. (2006). Unpacking the halo effect: Reputation and crisis management. Journal of Communication Management, 10, 123-137. doi:10.1108/13632540610664698
12.
CoombsW. T.HolladayS. J. (2007). The negative communication dynamic: Exploring the impact of stakeholder affect on behavioral intentions. Journal of Communication Management, 11, 300-312. doi:10.1108/13632540710843913
13.
CoombsW. T.HolladayS. J. (2009). Further exploration of post-crisis communication: Effects of media and response strategies on perceptions and intentions. Public Relations Review, 35, 1-6. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2008.09.011
14.
CowdenK.SellnowT. L. (2002). Issues advertising as crisis communication: Northwest Airlines’ use of image restoration strategies during the 1998 pilots’ strike. Journal of Business Communication, 39, 193-219. doi:10.1177/002194360203900203
15.
DillardJ. P.ShenL. (2005). On the nature of reactance and its role in persuasive health communication. Communication Monographs, 72, 144-168. doi:10.1080/03637750500111815
16.
EdwardsS. M.LiH.LeeJ. (2002). Forced exposure and psychological reactance: Antecedents and consequences of the perceived intrusiveness of popup ads. Journal of Advertising, 31(3), 83-95. doi:10.1080/00913367.2002.10673678
17.
FombrunC. J.CardbergN. A.SeverJ. M. (2000). The reputation quotient scale: An multi-stakeholder measure of corporate reputation. Journal of Brand Management, 7, 241-255. doi:10.1057/bm.2000.10
18.
FrandsenF.JohansenW. (2010). Crisis communication, complexity, and the cartoon affair: A case study. In CoombsW. T.HolladayS. J. (Eds.), The handbook of crisis communication (pp. 425-448). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
19.
GilpinD. (2010). Organizational image construction in a fragmented online media environment. Journal of Public Relations Research, 22, 265-287. doi:10.1080/10627261003614393
20.
HayesA. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
21.
HirschmanE. C.ThompsonC. J. (1997). Why media matter: Toward a richer understanding of consumers’ relationships with advertising and mass media. Journal of Advertising, 26(1), 43-60. doi:10.1080/00913367.1997.10673517
22.
HoppT. (2015). The effect of numeracy on the relationship between state reactance and message evaluations. Communication Research Reports, 32, 314-321. doi:10.1080/08824096.2015.1089855
23.
HortonJ. J.RandD. G.ZeckhauserR. J. (2011). The online laboratory: Conducting experiments in a real labor market. Experimental Economics, 14, 399-425. doi:10.1007/s10683-011-9273-9
24.
JinY. (2009). The effects of public’s cognitive appraisal of emotions in crises on crisis coping and strategy assessment. Public Relations Review, 35, 310-313. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2009.02.003
25.
JinY. (2010). Making sense sensibly in crisis communication: How publics’ crisis appraisals influence their negative emotions, coping strategy preferences, and crisis response acceptance. Communication Research, 37, 522-552. doi:10.1177/0093650210368256
26.
JinY.LiuB. F. (2010). The blog-mediated crisis communication model: Recommendations for responding to influential external blogs. Journal of Public Relations Research, 22, 429-455. doi:10.1080/10627261003801420
27.
JinY.LiuB. F.AnagondahalliD.AustinL. (2014). Scale development for measuring publics’ emotions in organizational crises. Public Relations Review, 40, 509-518. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2014.04.007
28.
JinY.LiuB. F.AustinL. (2014). Examining the role of social media in effective crisis management: The effects of crisis origin, information form, and source on publics’ crisis responses. Communication Research, 41, 74-94. doi:10.1177/0093650211423918
29.
JinY.PangA.CameronG. T. (2010). The role of emotions in crisis responses: Inaugural test of the integrated crisis mapping (ICM) model. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 15, 428-452. doi:10.1108/13563281011085529
30.
JinY.PangA.CameronG. T. (2012). Toward a publics-driven, emotion-based conceptualization in crisis communication: Unearthing dominant emotions in multi-staged testing of the Integrated Crisis Mapping (ICM) model. Journal of Public Relations Research, 24, 266-298. doi:10.1080/1062726X.2012.676747
31.
Karl GrebeS. (2013). Things can get worse: How mismanagement of a crisis response strategy can cause a secondary or double crisis: The example of the AWB corporate scandal. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 18, 70-86.
32.
KimS. (2013). Does corporate advertising work in a crisis? An examination of inoculation theory. Journal of Marketing Communications, 19, 293-305. doi:10.1080/13527266.2011.634430
33.
KimS.LiuB. F. (2012). Are all crises opportunities? A comparison of how corporate and government organizations responded to 2009 flu pandemic. Journal of Public Relations Research, 24, 69-85. doi:10.1080/1062726X.2012.626136
34.
KlineS. L.SimunichB.WeberH. (2009). The use of equivocal messages in responding to corporate challenges. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 37, 40-58. doi:10.1080/00909880802592623
35.
KnightM.CarpenterS. (2012). Optimal matching model of social support: An examination of how national product and service companies use Twitter to respond to consumers. Southwestern Mass Communication Journal, 28, 21-35.
36.
LiuB. F.AustinL.JinY. (2011). How publics respond to crisis communication strategies: The interplay of information form and source. Public Relations Review, 37, 345-353. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2011.08.004
37.
LiuB. F.KimS. (2011). How organization framed the 2009 H1N1 pandemic via social and traditional media: Implications for U.S. health communication. Public Relations Review, 37, 233-244. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2011.03.005
38.
LovejoyK.WatersR. D.SaxtonG. D. (2012). Engaging stakeholders through Twitter: How nonprofit organizations are getting more out of 140 characters or less. Public Relations Review, 38, 313-318. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2012.01.005
39.
McAuleyE.DuncanT. E.RussellD. W. (1992). Measuring causal attribution: The revised Causal Dimension Scale (CDSII). Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 18, 566-573. doi:10.1177/0146167292185006
40.
MillerC. H.LaneL. T.DeatrickL. M.YoungA. M.PottsK. A. (2007). Psychological reactance and promotional health messages: The effects of controlling language, lexical concreteness, and the restoration of freedom. Human Communication Research, 33, 219-240. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2958.2007.00297.x
41.
Moyer-GuséE.JainP.ChungA. (2012). Reinforcement or reactance? Examining the effect of an explicit persuasive appeal following an entertainment-education narrative. Journal of Communication, 62, 1010-1027. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2012.01680.x
42.
PaulM. J. (2001). Interactive disaster communication on the Internet: A content analysis to sixty-four disaster relief home pages. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 78, 739-753. doi:10.1177/107769900107800408
43.
PhillipsD. (2000). Online public relations. London, UK: Kogan Page Business Books.
44.
QuickB. L.BatesB. R. (2010). The use of gain- or loss-frame messages and efficacy appeals to dissuade excessive alcohol consumption among college students: A test of psychological reactance theory. Journal of Health Communication, 15, 603-628. doi:10.1080/10810730.2010.499593
45.
QuickB. L.ConsidineJ. R. (2008). Examining the use of forceful language when designing exercise advertisements for adults: A test of conceptualizing reactance arousal as a two-step process. Health Communication, 23, 483-491. doi:10.1080/10410230802342150
46.
QuickB. L.KimD. K. (2009). Examining reactance and reactance restoration with Korean adolescents: A test of psychological reactance within a collectivist culture. Communication Research, 36, 765-782. doi:10.1177/0093650290346797
47.
QuickB. L.ScottA. M.LedbetterA. M. (2011). A close examination of trait reactance and issue involvement as moderators of psychological reactance theory. Journal of Health Communication, 16, 660-679. doi:10.1080/10810730.2011.551989
48.
QuickB. L.StephensonM. T. (2008). Examining the role of trait reactance and sensation seeking on reactance-inducing messages, reactance, and reactance restoration. Human Communication Research, 34, 448-476. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2958.2008.00328.x
49.
RainsS. A.TurnerM. M. (2007). Psychological reactance and persuasive health communication: A test and extension of the intertwined model. Human Communication Research, 33, 241-269. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2958.2007.00298.x
50.
SchultzF.UltzS.GoritzA. (2011). Is the medium the message? Perceptions of and reactions to crisis communication via Twitter, blogs and traditional media. Public Relations Review, 37, 20-27. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2010.12.001
51.
SeltzerT.MitrookM. A. (2007). The dialogic potential of weblogs in relationship building. Public Relations Review, 33, 227-229. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2007.02.011
52.
ShenL. (2010). The effect of message frame in anti-smoking public service accouchements on cognitive responses and attitude toward smoking. Health Communication, 25, 11-21. doi:10.1080/10410230903473490
53.
SilviaP. J. (2006). A skeptical look at dispositional reactance. Personality and Individual Differences, 40, 1291-1297. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2005.11.013
54.
VeerE.PervanS. (2008). How the tone and wording of advertisements interact. International Journal of Advertising, 27, 191-207. doi:10.1080/02650487.2008.11073051
55.
WittP. L.Kerssen-GriepJ. (2011). Instructional feedback I: The interaction of facework and immediacy on students’ perceptions of instructor credibility. Communication Education, 60, 75-94. doi:10.1080/03634523.2010.507820
56.
XifraJ.GraubF. (2010). Nanoblogging PR: The discourse on public relations in Twitter. Public Relations Review, 36, 171-174. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2010.02.005
57.
YeL.KiE-J. (2012). The status of online public relations research: An analysis of published articles in 1992–2009. Journal of Public Relations Research, 24, 409-434. doi:10.1080/1062726X.2012.723277
58.
ZhangQ.SappD. A. (2013). Psychological reactance and resistance intention in the classroom: Effects of perceived request politeness and legitimacy, relationship distance, and teacher credibility. Communication Education, 62, 1-25. doi:10.1080/03634523.2012.727008
