Saymin Lee
Education
Ph.D., Communication, University of Maryland, College Park
Research Expertise
Crisis & Risk Communication
Digital Media
Science Communication
Dr. Saymin Lee is an instructor in the Department of Communication at the University of Maryland. She received her Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Maryland and both her B.A. and M.A. from Ewha Womans University. Her research explores the intersection of public relations and science communication, specifically focusing on public engagement in emerging scientific issues. Dr. Lee currently teaches courses in public relations and crisis communication.
Publications
All joking aside? Comparing the effects of a humorous vs. a non-humorous message strategy in building organization–public relationships and community resilience
An online experiment in the context of weather messages
Contributor(s): Jiyoun Kim, Brooke Fisher Liu, Anita Atwell Seate, Saymin LeeNon-ARHU Contributor(s): Daniel Hawblitzel
Funding Agency:
We thank the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for funding this research through the VORTEX-SE Program (Award NA20OAR4590454). The views and conclusions contained in this paper are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of NOAA.
Communication scholars have studied the persuasive power of humor messages, but research provides mixed results. Also, the literature has been slow in demonstrating the practical effects of humorous messages on desired outcomes (e.g., organization–public relationships). Through an online experiment in the context of weather messages with samples of U.S. adults residing in the Southeastern U.S. (N = 209), we compared a humorous social media message designed to build relationships with the public to a non-humorous message in predicting OPRs and perceived community resilience when there is no high-impact weather on the horizon. Compared to a humorous message, a non-humorous message appeared to be more effective in increasing perceived community resilience and three dimensions of positive OPRs – trust, control mutuality, and commitment. The effects were more robust for community members with low to moderate levels of weather salience (i.e., the psychological value and importance that people have for the weather).