Presenter: Jesse Summers
Faculty Mentor: Kim Sheehan, Heather Shoenberger
Presentation Type: Poster 40
Primary Research Area: Social Science
Major: Journalism: Advertising, Journalism
Sexual assault has become a prevalent issue in recent years. From university campuses to the White House, the issue is being discussed and addressed in many different ways. This thesis specifically discusses the It’s On Us and No More campaigns as well as two pieces of popular media used to spread awareness of the issue of sexual assault. The Transtheoretical Model of Change, a social health model for understanding an individual’s willingness to change their behavior, is used as a basis for analyzing the videos produced for these campaigns and categorizing them based on their potential to influence a viewer’s behavior. Semiotic analysis is used to analyze specific content in each video and associate the videos with stages of the Transtheoretical Model of Change. Initial results show that many of the current videos focus on creating awareness and are associated with the pre-contemplation or contemplation stages. However, analyzing specific links between these videos and other content such as websites creates the potential for viewers to move beyond these stages with the inclusion of additional information and action steps. This research and the areas outlined for further research are critical for expanding communication literature applying theory to media content and expanding research done in the intersection of social health and mass communication.