Preparing for Influenza at Penn
Joseph N. Cappella, Ph.D.
Voice: 215-898-7059
jcappella@asc.upenn.edu


Social cognition, communication theory, health communication, persuasion and politics, nonverbal behavior, and statistical and mathematical methods. Studies on cognitive processing of verbal and visual materials, organization of social interaction, and message effects.

Biography | Current Projects | Research Interests | Teaching | Publications | Research Grants |

Biography

Joseph N. Cappella (Ph.D., 1974, Michigan State University) is Professor of Communication and holds the Gerald R. Miller Chair at the Annenberg School for Communication at The University of Pennsylvania.  He has been a visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania and Northwestern University and a visiting scholar at Stanford.  His research has resulted in more than 100 articles and book chapters and three co-authored books in areas of health and political communication, social interaction, nonverbal behavior, media effects, and statistical methods.  The articles have appeared in journals in psychology, communication, health, and politics. His research has been supported by grants from NIMH, NIDA, NSF, NCI, NHGRI, The Twentieth Century Fund, and from the Markle, Ford, Carnegie, Pew, and Robert Wood Johnson foundations.  He has served on the editorial boards of 15 different journals.  He is a Fellow of the International Communication Association and its past president, a distinguished scholar of the National Communication Association, and recipient of the B. Aubrey Fisher Mentorship Award.

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Current Projects

1. Communicating genetic risk information to minimize fatalistic response and enhance efficacy; smoking, genetic risk, efficacious interventions.

2. Public opinion and deliberation about ethical issues in genetic and genomic research.
 
3.  Designing effective Public Service announcements:  (a) anti-drug messages to adolescents; (b) anti-smoking messages directed at adults to enhance treatment-seeking; (c) smoking cues in anti-smoking messages.
 
 

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Research Interests

 

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Teaching

Communication and Persuasion (Comm 275) Nonverbal Communication (Comm 350) Social Psychology and Communication (Comm 575) Message Effects (Comm 675)

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Publications

Jamieson, K.H. & Cappella, J.N. (in press).  Echo Chamber: Rush Limbaugh and the conservative media establishment.  New York: Oxford University Press.

Andrew Strasser, Cappella, J.N., et al (accepted for publication). PREP advertisement features affect smokers’ beliefs regarding potential harm.  Tobacco Control. 

Kang, Y. Cappella, J.N., & Fishbein, M. (accepted for publication). The Effect of Marijuana Scenes in Anti-marijuana Public Service Announcements on Adolescents' Evaluation of Ad Effectiveness. Health Communication.

 
Kreuter, M. W., Green, M.C., Cappella, J.N., Slater, M.D., Wise, M. E., Storey, D., Clark, E.M., O’Keefe, D. J., Erwin, D.O., Holmes, K., Hinyard, L.J., Houston, T., & Wooley, S., (2007).  Narrative communication in cancer prevention and control: A framework to guide research and application. Annals of behavioral medicine, 33(3), 221-235.
 
Cappella, J. N. .  (2006). Integrating Message Effects and Behavior Change Theories: Organizing Comments and Unanswered Questions.  Journal of Communication, 56, S265-S279.
 
Kang, Y., Cappella, J.N., & Fishbein, M. (2006). The Attentional Mechanism of Message Sensation Value: Interaction between Message Sensation Value and Argument Quality on Message Effectiveness. Communication Monographs,
 
Zhao, X., Sayeed, S., Cappella, J.N., Fishbein, M., Hornik, R., & Ahern, R.K.. (2006). Targeting Norm-Related Beliefs about Marijuana Use in an Adolescent Population. Health Communication19(3), 187-196.
 
Zhao, X., Sayeed, S., Cappella, J.N., Fishbein, M., Hornik, R., & Ahern, R.K. (2006).  Targeting norm-related beliefs about marijuana use in ana adolescent population. Health Communication 19(3), 187-196. 
 
Clarissa David, Joseph N. Cappella, and Martin Fishbein (2006). The social diffusion of influence among adolescents: Group interaction in a chat room environment about anti-drug advertisements.  Communication Theory, 16, 118-141.
 
Vincent Price, Lilach Nir, and Joseph N. Cappella. (2006) Normative and Informational Influences in Online Political Discussions.  Communication Theory, 16, 47-74.
 
Shadel, W.G., Lerman, C., Cappella, J.N., Strasser, A., Pinto, A., & Hornik, R. (2006).  Evaluating Smokers Reactions to Advertising for New Lower Nicotine Quest Cigarettes, Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 20(1), 80-84.
 
Cappella, J.N., Lerman, C., Romantan, A., & Baruh, L. (2005). News about Genetics and Smoking: Priming, Family Smoking History, and News Story Credibility Inferring Genetic Susceptibility to Tobacco Addiction. Communication Research, 32, 478-502.
 
Cappella, Joseph N. (2005). The Creation and Dissolution of Public Trust in the New Media Environment. In Patrick Roessler & Friedrich Krotz (Eds.), The Media Society and its Myths (pp. 385-414). Konstanz, Germany: UVK Verlagagesellschaft
 
Price, V., Nir, L., and Cappella, J.N. (2005). Framing Public Discussion of Gay Civil Unions. Public Opinion Quarterly, 69, 179-212.
 
Yariv Tsfati & Joseph N. Cappella. (2005) Why do people watch news they do not trust? The need for cognition as a moderator in the association between news media skepticism and exposure. Media Psychology, 7, 251-271.
 
Yzer, M., Cappella, J.N., Fishbein, M., Hornik, R., Sayeed, S. & Ahern, R.K. (2004). The role of external variables in an integrative model of behavior change: The effects of adolescents’ risk for regular marijuana use on intention to use marijuana. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 34(6), 1229-1250.
 
Tsfati, Y. & Cappella, J.N. (2003). Do people watch what they do not rust? Exploring the association between news media skepticism and exposure. Communication Research, 30, 1-26.
 
Cappella, J. N. (2002). Cynicism and social trust in the new media environment. Journal of Communication, 52(1), 229-241.
 
Cappella, J.N., Price, V., & Nir, L. (2002). Argument repertoire as a reliable and valid measure of opinion quality: Electronic dialogue during campaign 2000. Political Communication, 19, 73-93.
 
Cappella J. N. & Pelachaud, C. (2002). Rules for responsive robots: Using human interactions to build virtual interactions. Vangelisti, A.L., Reis, H.T., & Fitzpatrick, M. (Eds.), Stability and Change in Relationships (pp. 325-354). Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.

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Research Grants

National Cancer Institute: Hornik, R.(PI for the Center of Excellence in Cancer Communication, "Effects of Public Information in Cancer." J.N. Cappella directs R01 within the Center, entitled “Framing Genetic Risk for Nicotine Addiction”, 2003-08.

 
The National Human Genome Research Institute:  Joseph N. Cappella and Vincent R. Price (co-PIs)  “Public Opinion Deliberation and Decision-making about Genetics Research” (R01HG004318-01), 2007-2010.

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