Exploring the Role of Emotion in Media Effects: An Introduction to the Special Issue
The role of emotion in media processes and effects is without question a very broad and exciting line of inquiry within the domain of media psychology, holding promise for a vast array of communicative contexts, such as health, politics, advertising, entertainment, educational programming, online communication, etc. Thus, it should not be too surprising that the study of emotion and media dates back to some of the earliest research on media effects. Münsterberg’s (1916) film research, which distinguished among empathic sympathy for protagonists, audience projection of feelings onto film characters, and audience reactions to the protagonists’ emotions, is seminal to research on media and empathy. Cantril and Allport’s (1935) consideration of the psychology of radio and the emotional aspects of reception, emotional gratifications, and impacts of radio usage denotes some of the earliest inquiry into media selection and enjoyment research. Further, Hovland, Janis, and Kelley’s (1953) seminal fear appeal research is at the foundation of the more current programs of media-based emotion and persuasion research. Despite the cognitive shift in the discipline of psychology during the 1960s and 1970s, investigation into emotion-related constructs in media research continued to develop, largely through the impressive efforts of Dolf Zillmann. Based on his three-factor theory of emotion, Zillmann laid out the foundation for several models of effects that continue to inspire research endeavors today (e.g., excitation transfer theory, Zillmann, 1983; and mood management theory, Zillmann, 1988), and his contributions in this domain cannot be understated (see Bryant, Roskos-Ewoldsen, & Cantor, 2003, for a festschrift in his honor). Through the 1980s and 1990s, as emotion became an increasingly ‘‘hot topic’’ in psychology, media researchers seemed to take greater interest in emotion-related constructs and effects. The extensive