The effects of interactivity on learning: implications for stereotype change

With explosive growth of computers and communication technologies, so called new media or interactive media have become ubiquitous in consumers’ daily lives. As the use of interactive media is frequently found to be linked with favorable outcomes of interest in many fields, including Advertising, Marketing, Education, and Public Health, interactivity, the theoretical construct that accounts for the effectiveness of interactive media, has stimulated a great deal of discussions among researchers and resulted in a voluminous body of the literature on interactivity. However, the complexity of interactivity has led to a number of different theoretical and operational definitions of the construct, while the findings of research were often inconsistent or sometime conflicting, and applicable in a relatively narrow context. Responding to these issues, this dissertation sought to provide a comprehensive view of interactivity with a review of interdisciplinary literature and to find theoretical links in research on interactivity between disciplines. The dissertation was particularly interested in the relationships between interactivity and learning. By revealing similarities between a communication perspective on interactivity and a constructivist model of leaning, it developed a theoretical model that hypothesized positive effects of interactivity on a deep level of learning. The theoretical model was then applied on the topic of stereotyped social groups, namely, people with schizophrenia and homeless people, while the effects of interactivity on attitudes and behavior intentions related to these groups were examined. The tests of hypotheses and research questions showed that interactivity did not have significant effects on deep learning, whereas it played a significant moderating role in influencing attitudes and behavior intentions related to the stereotyped groups. The dissertation provided explanations for the observed findings and suggested areas for future research. It concluded with theoretical, methodological, and practical implications of the findings.