Lemont Furnace, PA 15456
Biography
Dr. Robinson is an Assistant Professor of Corporate Communication. She researches in the areas of health and mass communication, publishing in flagship journals, including Communication Research and Human Communication Research.
Research Interests
Health communication, media effects, narrative persuasion, selective exposure, social cognitive theory, sleep, body image.
Publications
Social Comparison in Narrative Persuasion: When Struggling Characters Serve as Motivation , Communication Reports [Impact Factor: 1.2] - March 1, 2024
How Activated Self-Concepts Influence Selection and Processing of Body-Positive Narratives, Media Psychology [Impact Factor: 2.6] - November 6, 2023
Collaborator: Megan Vendemia, Co-Author
Instilling belief in the ability to change for the better: Narrative persuasion for sleep hygiene self-efficacy, Health Communication [Impact Factor: 3.198] - 2022
Collaborator: Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick, Co-Author
Promoting Body Positivity Through Stories: How Protagonist Body Size And Esteem Influence Readers’ Self-Concepts, Body Image (Impact Factor: [5.4] - September, 2022
Collaborator: Megan Vendemia, Co-Author
The role of affect in selective exposure to media messages - January 1, 2022
Collaborator: Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick, Co-Author
“Affective News” & attitudes: A multi-topic study of attitude impacts from political news and fiction, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly [Impact Factor: 3.431] - December 1, 2021
Collaborators: Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick, Co-Author; Rebecca Frazer, Co-Author; Emily Schutz, Co-Author
Narratives’ impacts on political attitudes: Do signaling of persuasive intent and fictionality matter? , Communication Studies [2.0 CiteScore (Scopus)] - July 5, 2021
Collaborators: Rebecca Frazer, Co-Author; Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick, Co-Author
News as entertainment format: Applying affective disposition theory and the affective news extended model - March 1, 2021
Collaborator: Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick, Co-Author
Peers versus pros: Confirmation bias in selective exposure to user-generated versus mass media messages and its consequences, Mass Communication and Society [Impact Factor: 3.309] - 2020
Collaborators: Axel Westerwick, Co-Author; Daniel Sude, Co-Author; Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick, Co-Author
Seeking inspiration through health testimonials: Improving mother’s self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and behaviors in handling children’s sleep behavior, Health Communication [Impact Factor: 3.198] - September 16, 2020
Collaborator: Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick, Co-Author
Beauty or business queen--How young women select media messages to reinforce their possible future selves, Communication Research [Impact Factor: 3.64] - April, 2020
Collaborators: Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick, Co-Author; Laura Willis, Co-Author; Kate Luong, Co-Author
"Pick and choose” opinion climate: How browsing of political messages shapes public opinion perceptions and attitudes, Communication Monographs [Impact Factor: 2.695] - 2019
Collaborators: Daniel Sude, Co-Author; Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick, Co-Author; Axel Westerwick, Co-Author
Picture yourself healthy—How media users select images to shape health intentions and behaviors, Health Communication [Impact Factor: 3.198] - 2019
Collaborators: Brianna Wilson, Co-Author; Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick, Co-Author
The role of humor in messaging about the about the MMR vaccine, Journal of Health Communication [Impact Factor: 2.781] - 2018
Collaborators: Emily Moyer-Guse, Co-Author; Jessica McKnight, Co-Author
Bedtime stories that work: The effect of protagonist liking on narrative persuasion, Health Communication [Impact Factor: 3.198] - 2017
Collaborator: Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick, Co-Author
Mood’s role in selective exposure to health and risk information - March, 2017
Collaborator: Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick, Co-Author
Mood management through selective media use for health and well-being - 2016
Collaborator: Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick, Co-Author
The allure of Aphrodite: How gender-congruent media portrayals impact adult women’s possible future selves, Human Communication Research [Impact Factor: 3.000] - April, 2016
Collaborators: Ashley Kennard, Co-Author; Laura Willis, Co-Author; Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick, Co-Author
Does this book make me look fat? The effect of protagonist body weight and body esteem on female readers’ body esteem, Body Image: An International Journal of Research [Impact Factor: 6.406] - March, 2013
Collaborator: Robert Magee, Co-Author
Education
Ph D, Health Communication, The Ohio State University
MA, Mass Media and Communication, Virginia Tech
BA, Communication, Saint Vincent College
Papers and Presentations
April 17, 2026
Papers and Oral Presentations
Guided by Routine and Nurturance: How Parent Characteristics Shape Online Infant Health Information Seeking
Eastern Communication Association 117th Annual Convention
Pittsburgh, PA
Increasingly, parents are turning to digital and social media for infant health information. Studies have called for more research investigating how parental characteristics influence digital media information seeking because these same characteristics impact approaches to infant caregiving and decision-making. Drawing on the selective exposure self- and affect- management model, the current study investigated how two common characteristics of infant parenting approaches (i.e., routine and nurturance) influenced digital and social media information-seeking behaviors in a cross-sectional survey (N = 124) with mothers of infants 12 months or younger. Key findings revealed that routine orientation positively predicted searching for topics related to naps, sleep training, developmental milestones, and nurturance negatively predicted seeking topics of sleep training, crying, and infant bonding. Further, nuanced differences in how routine orientation and nurturance influence social media behaviors may exist. Being routine-oriented predicted asking questions in chats, posts, and forums on social media. Being high in nurturance predicted reading about other parents’ personal experiences and using social media to exchange opinions and experiences with other parents. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
March 28, 2026
Panels
Thinking Critically With (and About) AI: Reflection and Metacognition in the Flipped Classroom
Eastern Communication Association 116th Annual Convention
Buffalo, New York
This presentation explores how a flipped classroom approach in a social media course can foster critical thinking and metacognitive awareness using generative AI. Students engage with AI tools to develop social media campaign goals and SMART objectives, while also reflecting on the ethical, strategic, and communicative implications of AI-generated content. Attendees will gain practical strategies for designing assignments and discussions that help students think with AI to enhance learning—and about AI to question its assumptions and influence on communication practice.
March 27, 2025
Papers and Oral Presentations
Navigating Narratives: Impacts of Social Comparison Orientation on Narrative Selection and Processing
Eastern Communication Association 116th Annual Convention
Buffalo, New York
Narrative persuasion research has rarely addressed how recipients select which narratives they consume out of the abundance of available options. While narratives may reduce reactance and avoidance regarding health messages, it remains unclear what draws a person into a story. The current study investigated how trait social comparison orientation (SCO) influenced college students’ selections and processing of mystery narratives featuring two behaviors—sleep hygiene and alcohol. Narratives featured protagonists with low or high health-related self-efficacy. Results demonstrated that high SCO made participants more likely to pick a high self-efficacy narrative in their first selection. A three-way interaction between number of high self-efficacy narratives selected, SCO, and self-improvement social comparison (SISC) materialized: Among participants high in SCO, those who selected two low self-efficacy narratives and engaged in more SISC with the protagonists reported greater health-related self-efficacy impacts than individuals who selected two high-self efficacy narratives and engaged in more SISC.
March 21, 2025
Roundtable Discussion
Friday Southwest Roundtable on Teaching Shared Courses
Southwest Roundtable on Teaching Shared Courses
Virtual
Jennifer Breese, Alina Bodea Crisan, and I shared experiences and suggestions teaching shared hybrid courses.