Media-Generated Expectancy Violations: A Study of Political Humor, Race, and Source Perceptions

Abstract

Expectancy Violation Theory (EVT) (Burgoon & Jones, 1976), a theory that until now has been exclusively used in intrapersonal communication, is used to explore the influence of humorous mass media messages in a political context. An experiment (N = 85) demonstrated that a mass media message can trigger an expectancy violation. It was found that expectancy violations influence (1) participants’ perceived humor of the message and (2) participants’ evaluations of the source. Results confirm hypotheses that participants in the expectancy violation condition found the message more humorous, and rated the source of the message more favorably than those in the control condition. However, political ideology was found to moderate these effects.

Keywords:

• African American Voting
• Expectancy Violation Theory
• Political Humor

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Whitney Walther-Martin

Whitney Walther-Martin is a PhD candidate in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.