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Helping behaviors during disaster reporting stages: a measure of innate and conditioned differences in empathy and compassion generation

dc.contributor.authorThompson, Jena J., author
dc.contributor.authorAnderson, Ashley, advisor
dc.contributor.authorTrumbo, Craig, committee member
dc.contributor.authorHenry, Kimberly, committee member
dc.date.accessioned2016-01-11T15:14:06Z
dc.date.available2016-01-11T15:14:06Z
dc.date.issued2015
dc.description.abstractThe frequency of significant disasters has increased, worldwide; yet, donations have not steadily increased to provide sufficient disaster relief for those affected by the events. This study investigates how two disaster news reporting stages (Stage 1 and 2) with different newswriting formats (hard and soft news stories) can affect millennials' generation of empathy, compassion, and helping behaviors. Innate tendencies (in the form of emotional contagion and gender differences) and conditioned responses (through internalization of the principle of care) were also considered as moderating variables for helping behaviors. The study incorporated an experimental design with random assignment to a Stage 1, hard news story or Stage 2, soft news story condition. While no significant relationships were found among generated empathy, compassion, or helping behavior intent in either news story condition; significant results were found for emotional contagion and gender differences' moderating role in helping behavior intent, as well as the principle of care's effect on donation decisions. Best practices for improving disaster relief communication campaigns include 1) heightened fundraising campaigns during Stage 1 and 2 reporting, 2) strategic content organization to increase helping behavior likelihood, 3) utilizing media platforms catered more toward females, 4) more emphasis on volunteering opportunities for millennials rather than financial investments, 5) greater diversity in terms of who millennials can partner with to aid in disaster relief, and 6) continued improvement of communication campaigns directed toward millennials and commitment to include this generation in disaster recovery efforts.
dc.format.mediumborn digital
dc.format.mediummasters theses
dc.identifierThompson_colostate_0053N_13403.pdf
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10217/170426
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherColorado State University. Libraries
dc.relation.ispartof2000-2019
dc.rightsCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.
dc.titleHelping behaviors during disaster reporting stages: a measure of innate and conditioned differences in empathy and compassion generation
dc.typeText
dcterms.rights.dplaThis Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights (https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/). You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
thesis.degree.disciplineJournalism and Media Communication
thesis.degree.grantorColorado State University
thesis.degree.levelMasters
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Science (M.S.)

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