Research Portfolio
Here you will find a selection of my academic and professional work, highlighting key projects from my studies in Communication Science and Business Administration. The main themes include media influence, consumer behavior, sustainability, and framing — always with a focus on how people interact with different types of media and messages.
Research #1
Framing Sustainable Behavior
An experimental study examining how different message framings and behavioral costs influence pro-environmental behavior, with a focus on the moderating role of techno-optimism.
Research Question
n what way do framing techniques that emphasize the impact of sustainable technologiesinfluence their usage intention, and how do financial obstacles of the behavior and the level of techno
optimism of the customer moderate this relationship?In what way do framing techniques that emphasize the impact of sustainable technologies influence their usage intention, and how do financial obstacles of the behavior and the level of techno-optimism of the customer moderate this relationship?
Methodology
An online experiment with 243 participants was conducted to measure to what extend the financial cost of sustainable behavior and the trust people have in modern technology influence the real behavioral intentions, using a randomized between-subjects design.
Variables & Manipulations
Impact framing (independent variable): manipulated as either high or low environmental impact.
Behavioral cost (moderator): manipulated as either high or low effort/cost behavior.
Techno-optimism (moderator): measured using 5 items on a 5-point Likert scale.
Climate change concern (control variable): measured with a single-item question.
Behavioral intention (dependent variable): measured with three items on a 5-point Likert scale.
Key Finding
The most striking result shows that participants in the control group reported significantly higher pro-environmental behavioral intentions than those in any of the experimental conditions, suggesting that exposure to persuasive framing (regardless of content) may have unintentionally reduced participants’ willingness to adopt the promoted sustainable technology.
Implications
When people are given the freedom to choose their actions without being told what to do, they are more likely to show stronger intentions to engage in pro-environmental behavior, highlighting the importance of perceived autonomy in shaping behavior.
Research #2
Psychology of Gaming Addiction
To gain more insights in the psychological process of younger generations while developing a game addiction, this study provides insights in how self-confidence, sexism and social anxiety may effect obsessive game use. These effects are studied in the context of the newly released FIFA 24 game, due to its high number of addictive players and the recent inclusion of female football players — a feature that has sparked notable controversy among more masculine gamers.
Research Question
To what extent do the personality traits of self-confidence, sexism and social anxiety explain why the age difference of FC24 players can lead to the display of different degrees of gaming addiction?
Scientific Relevance
By exploring how self-confidence, sexism, and social anxiety influence gaming addiction across age groups within the context of FC24, this study offers new insights into how age-related changes in personal characteristics contribute to addiction vulnerability.
Methodology
A cross-sectional survey design was used to collect data at a single point in time from FC24 players aged 16 and older, recruited via convenience and purposive sampling on Discord, Reddit, and Facebook, resulting in a cleaned dataset of 1,315 valid responses.
Variables & Manipulations
Gaming addiction (dependent variable): Measured using 6 items on a 5-point Likert scale.
Self-confidence (mediator): Measured using 4 items on a 5-point Likert scale.
Sexism (mediator): Measured using 5 items on a 5-point Likert scale.
Social anxiety (mediator): Measured using 3 items on a 5-point Likert scale.
Key Finding
Of the three mediators, only sexism and social anxiety significantly mediate the relationship between age and gaming addiction, stating that when people become older, they will show less traits of both characteristics. In the meantime, self-confidence appears to not be a significant mediator.
Impilications
This study emphasizes the need for targeted interventions that focus on reducing sexism and social anxiety among gamers, such as creating educational campaigns within gaming communities that promote gender equality and mental well-being, while also designing more inclusive gaming environments that challenge harmful stereotypes and offer supportive spaces for social interaction.
Research #3
Cyberbullying Prevention Methods
This study investigates how different types of campaign framing (episodic versus thematic) influence young people’s attitudes toward cyberbullying. It was conducted to support Netwerk Mediawijsheid in understanding which messaging strategies are most effective in raising awareness and reducing tolerance for online bullying among 18- to 24-year-olds. The findings help guide future campaign design by identifying both effective content styles and the social media platforms where such messages may have the greatest impact.
Research Question
To what extent does an episodically framed campaign by Netwerk Mediawijsheid lead to a more negative attitude among young people between the ages of 18 and 24 towards online bullying than a thematically framed campaign?
Key Finding
The results showed that while young people exposed to either a thematically or episodically framed anti-cyberbullying campaign reported slightly more negative attitudes towards cyberbullying than those in the control group, the differences were not statistically significant, and no significant relationship was found between the use of specific social media platforms and attitudes towards cyberbullying, leading to the rejection of both hypotheses.
Methodology
To investigate the effect of thematic versus episodic social media campaigns on young people’s attitudes towards cyberbullying, an online post-test-only experiment was conducted among 80 participants aged 18–24, who were randomly assigned to one of three conditions (thematic, episodic, or control), exposed to a fictional campaign post, and then completed a validated attitude scale, with a manipulation check confirming successful framing differentiation.
Implications
Although the results were not statistically significant, the findings suggest that Netwerk Mediawijsheid may increase the effectiveness of their anti-cyberbullying campaigns by using episodically framed content—preferably through longer, personal stories—and targeting platforms like Twitter and Facebook, where users appear to have the least negative attitudes towards cyberbullying.