Degree

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Communication

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

Scams have existed for a long time and are still prevalent today, with little indication of decline. Understanding how media exposure influences scam perceptions and motivates protective behavior among young adults has become pertinent in communication research. Drawing on Cultivation Theory and Protection Motivation Theory, this thesis examines how self-reported exposure to scam-related media content influences threat perceptions, efficacy beliefs and the adoption of preventive safety measures among young adult social media users. A quantitative online survey was used to collect data from undergraduate students of the CMCN 100 Spring 2026 class at a U.S. university. Seven hypotheses and two research questions were tested using simple linear regression, Pearson correlation, and an independent sample t-test. The findings indicated that media exposure was a weak predictor of threat perceptions, explaining minimal variance in perceived severity and showing no significant relationship with perceived vulnerability. This suggests that cultivation processes operate differently in algorithmically curated social media environments than in traditional television contexts, especially in the context of scam-related content. In contrast, efficacy beliefs emerged as the strongest predictors of protective behavior adoption against scams, providing strong support for the coping appraisal pathway of Protection Motivation Theory. These findings highlight important implications for the future of media effects and risk communication research, along with limitations and directions for future research.

Date

2-6-2026

DOI

https://proquest.com/docview/3347858033

First Committee Chair

Philip Auter

First Committee Member

Lauren van Gerwen

Second Committee Member

Lucian Dinu

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