Matthew Lapierre

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Scholarly Contributions

Chapters

• Lapierre, M., & Akers, C. (2018). Are Children Buying What Marketers Are Selling?. In 20 Questions about Youth and the Media. Peter Lang. doi:https://doi.org/10.3726/978-1-4331-3935-2

Journals/Publications

• Lapierre, M. A., & Choi, E. (2025). Theory of Mind, Empathy, and Eudaimonic Media Preferences. Media Psychology. doi:10.1080/15213269.2025.2515382
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  Understanding what drives people to prefer certain types of media content has been a consistent focus of media researchers since the field originated. In the last several years, attention has turned to understanding why people might generally prefer sad, uplifting, and/or meaningful media (i.e. eudaimonic media) to content that is primarily focused on increasing pleasure (i.e. hedonic media). In particular, researchers have tried to identify whether there are trait-like individual differences which helps to explain these preferences with previous theorizing suggesting that individuals with more advanced social cognition (e.g. empathy and theory of mind (ToM)) are more likely to prefer eudaimonic media. To that end, the current study tested whether this theorizing is supported among a population of 477 young adults. Results showed that trait empathy and affective/communicative ToM were positively associated with eudaimonic media preferences, while cognitive ToM was negatively linked. In addition, the results revealed that trait empathy, but not ToM, positively predicted hedonic media preferences. These results provide some clarity regarding how elements of social cognition potentially shape media preferences, particularly for engagement with eudaimonic media.
• Lapierre, M. A., & Sada Garibay, C. (2025). Shooting Movies: Effects of Gun and Firearm Exposure in Popular Films on Gun Use Self-Efficacy and Gun Attitudes/Beliefs. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly. doi:10.1177/10776990251331624
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  Gun violence in the United States is a public health crisis with debates raging about the role of guns in American society. The current study examined how exposure to guns in movies may shape attitudes/beliefs about guns and the mediating role of gun use self-efficacy as a potential mechanism for effects, using a retrospective survey with 612 undergraduates. Increased exposure to guns in movies was correlated with less support for gun control and stronger beliefs that guns make society safer. Importantly, gun use self-efficacy was a significant mediator between movie exposure and gun control.
• Lapierre, M., van Reijmersdal, E., & Boerman, S. (2025). Dude sponsored: how executive function and disclosures moderate the persuasive effects of sponsored online videos on young adults. Young Consumers, 26(7). doi:10.1108/YC-07-2024-2133
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  Purpose: This study aims to examine how individual differences and contextual factors affect audience responses to sponsored video content. Specifically, this study tests whether executive function (EF, both hot and cool) skills in young adults influence persuasion knowledge and advertising responses. The study further tests the moderating role of disclosure presence and country of participants (US vs The Netherlands). Design/methodology/approach: An online experiment (N = 368) with a 2 (disclosure: present versus absent) × 2 (country: US versus The Netherlands) between subjects design featuring young adults (M age = 21.06; SDage = 3.06) is conducted. Findings: Participants with more advanced cool EF showed a better understanding of the persuasive intent of the video, and hot EF was associated with higher brand recall. In addition, disclosures only enhance the understanding of persuasive intent of the video for people with less advanced levels of hot EF. Lastly, Dutch participants were more responsive toward the disclosure. Originality/value: This study provides key insights regarding how young adults process sponsored content and the role that cognition plays in shaping responses.
• Sada Garibay, C., & Lapierre, M. A. (2025). Grandparents and children’s media use in the USA: Screen time, mediation practices, and relationship outcomes. Journal of Children and Media, 19(Issue). doi:10.1080/17482798.2025.2480088
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  Grandparents are playing an increasingly important role as caregivers for their grandchildren, which includes managing their media use. However, research about grandparents and children’s media use is very limited, particularly in the U.S.A. and including grandfathers. To address this scarcity of research, the present study looked at children’s screen time under their grandparents’ watch; grandparental media mediation strategies and their predictors, and how grandparents’ beliefs about media relate to disagreement with their adult child and grandparent-parent relationship satisfaction. Through a survey among 350 American grandparents who regularly care for at least one grandchild aged between 2 and 10 years, results showed that grandchildren’s screen time represented 49% of the total time they spent under their grandparents’ care; that, to manage their grandchild’s media use, grandparents favor supervision, over instructive and restrictive mediation, with co-use/viewing the least used strategy, and that grandparents’ digital skills consistently predicted more media mediation. Additionally, it was found that grandparents’ negative attitudes toward media predicted media-related disagreements with their adult children and that these disagreements were related to lower grandparent-parent relationship satisfaction.
• Sada Garibay, C., Choi, E., & Lapierre, M. (2025). Parental mediation of mobile/digital devices and children’s consumer behavior: examining the role of parental understanding of mobile/digital advertising. Young Consumers, 26(1). doi:10.1108/YC-03-2024-2019
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  Purpose: This study aims to explore how American parents’ familiarity and knowledge of mobile advertising are linked to mediational tactics across three mobile media devices (laptops, tablets, smartphones). This study further tests whether advertising knowledge, familiarity and parental media mediation are associated with children’s consumer behavior. Design/methodology/approach: The approach adopted was a cross-sectional survey of 500 American parents with at least one child between the ages of 5 to 14 who were recruited via Qualtrics. Parents were asked about their familiarity with mobile/digital advertising and their knowledge of such material. They were also asked how they mediated their children’s media experience on the three mobile devices, how often their children asked for consumer goods and how often they argued with their children over the purchase of consumer goods. Findings: Results showed differences regarding how parents’ advertising knowledge and familiarity were linked to their mediational practices and their child’s consumer behavior. Specifically, advertising familiarity was associated with increased mediation across devices and increased purchase requests/conflict. Conversely, advertising knowledge was only associated with couse/viewing mediation, but this relationship was negative; moreover, knowledge was negatively associated with children’s consumer behavior. Originality/value: The results of this study offer insights into how knowledge and familiarity with mobile advertising shape parents’ mediational approaches to children. This study provides crucial data linking mediational approaches with children’s consumer behavior.
• Choi, E., & Lapierre, M. (2024). The role of theory of mind and edutainment messages in recognizing native advertising: a test of the CARE model. International Journal of Advertising, 44(Issue). doi:10.1080/02650487.2024.2422783
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  The use of native advertising (a.k.a. sponsored content) posing as journalistic content is a controversial practice. In particular, there are substantial concerns that ordinary news consumers are unable to recognize that such content is intended to be persuasive. Recent theorizing via the Covert Advertising Recognition and Effects (CARE) model suggests that news consumers need the motivation and/or ability to recognize these messages. This study tested these elements of the CARE model in an experiment with 567 college students. Specifically, this study examined whether increased ability to recognize advertising via theory of mind skills and updated format knowledge about native advertising affected participants ability to recognize native advertising as persuasive messaging. Results showed that participants were only successful in recognizing persuasive content when they had both higher theory of mind abilities and exposure to the edutainment message about native advertising. These findings provide key insights into how adults process native advertising.
• Choi, E., & Lapierre, M. (2023). Parents’ mental state communication and children’s consumer behavior in the USA. Young Consumers, 24(3). doi:10.1108/YC-05-2022-1521
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  Purpose: Previous research has shown that children’s ability to understand mental states is related to their consumer development, yet it is unknown how parents can aid in this process. One possible way that parents may help is using mental state communication (i.e. communication that focuses on beliefs/intention to explain behavior by others). This study aims to examine whether this kind of communication is linked to children’s purchase requests through two potential mediators – active mediation and child socio-cognitive skills (i.e. Theory of Mind). Design/methodology/approach: This study used a survey of 420 American mothers with children between the ages of 3 and 7. Respondents were given 12 scenarios describing typical parent–child interactions focused on discussing mental states and were asked how they would respond. Then, respondents were asked about demographic information, parenting style, mediation style, child socio-cognitive skills and child purchase requests. Findings: Results showed both a direct and indirect negative association between parents’ mental state communication and children’s purchase requests via active advertising mediation. Contrary to expectations, active mediation was negatively associated with mental state communication and positively linked to child purchase requests. Children’s socio-cognitive skills were not associated with either parents’ mental state communication or children’s purchase requests. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first known study that has examined mental state communication of parents as a potential predictor in shaping children’s purchase requests and found that it was negatively associated with it.
• Lapierre, M. A., Shortt, H. E., & Garibay, C. S. (2023). A Content Analysis Method for Coding Movie Content Using Movie Trailers. Psychology of Popular Media, 13(Issue 4). doi:10.1037/ppm0000514
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  The study of motion pictures and their influence on audiences has long been part of media research. Yet, content analyzing movies can be both cost- and time-prohibitive. The current study presents a method for using movie trailers as a proxy for movie content by focusing on firearm appearances and use. Results show that the coding scheme devised for gun appearances was highly reliable, and, more importantly, this approach showed considerable agreement between movies and trailers. This coding approach holds promise for other media researchers who would like to find time/cost-effective ways to content analyze movies.
• Sada Garibay, C., & Lapierre, M. A. (2023). From Risk Perception to the Use of Technical Restrictions of SVoD Services in Mexico, the Mediating Role of Parent Involvement and Knowledge. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 68(1), 21-42. doi:10.1080/08838151.2023.2278616
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  Using parental mediation and protection motivation theory, a serial moderated mediation model was developed to study what drives parents to employ technical restriction tools offered by Subscription Video on Demand (SVoD) services. Based on a survey of 1,022 parents of elementary school children (generally between the ages of 5–12) in Mexico, it was found that for Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, the use of technical restrictions appears to be triggered by parents’ perception of risk and that parental involvement in children’s media use and perceived knowledge of the available technical restrictions mediates the usage of the parental control tools.
• Lapierre, M. A., & Zhao, P. (2022). Problematic Smartphone Use Versus “Technoference”: Examining Their Unique Predictive Power on Relational and Life Satisfaction. Psychology of Popular Media, 13(Issue 1). doi:10.1037/ppm0000438
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  Several studies have explored the role that technoference/phubbing and problematic smartphone use (PSU) play in potentially influencing relational health and well-being with results showing a negative relationship for both technoference and PSU. However, there are very few studies that have tested these variables simultaneously to determine which has the most explanatory power when looking at such outcomes. Working with a sample of 530 Canadian adults in romantic relationships, the current study addresses this gap in the literature by examining a mediational pathway from PSU to technoference behaviors to relationship satisfaction and, finally, to life satisfaction. Moreover, half of all participants were randomly assigned to answer about their own smartphone use while the other half were tasked with reporting on the smartphone use of their romantic partner. Results showed that neither PSU nor technoference behaviors predicted relationship or life satisfaction among the participants who reported on their own smartphone use. However, for participants who reported on their partner’s smartphone use, PSU was directly associated with reduced relationship satisfaction and indirectly linked with lower life satisfaction while technoference was not a significant predictor. These findings shed light on how problematic types of smartphone use are associated with personal and interpersonal health.
• Lapierre, M., & Aubrey, J. (2022). Resisting Privilege: Effects of a White Privilege Message Intervention and Conservative Media Use on Freedom Threat and Racial Attitudes. Mass Communication and Society, 25(3). doi:10.1080/15205436.2021.1996610
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  Identifying ways to effectively communicate about racial/ethnic disparities is a place where communication scholars can make vital contributions. Yet, existing studies on this subject are scarce. Borrowing from reactance theory and the 3D model of White identity management, the present study tested whether exposing White adults to White privilege messaging helps them to become more aware or deny racial privilege. The results of our experiment revealed that there was a main effect for reading about racial privilege and increased awareness of privilege. However, in keeping with reactance theory, if the message stoked a perceived threat to freedom, message exposure resulted in the denial of both blatant and institutional racism. We also found a moderating role for Fox News viewing such that awareness of racial privilege was not affected by the intervention for heavy Fox News viewers, but it was for low Fox News viewers. We conclude that messages focused on explaining White privilege are promising, but there are risks.
• Lapierre, M., Ashtaputre, A., & Stevens Aubrey, J. (2022). Boys Go, Girls Go Along: exploring gender and price differences regarding themes present on children’s graphic t-shirts. Young Consumers, 23(3). doi:10.1108/YC-07-2021-1353
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  Purpose: Using gender schema theory, this study aims to explore how children’s graphic t-shirts from clothing retailers in the USA differed on gendered themes for graphic t-shirts targeting boys or girls, in addition to differences for shirts that were higher in cost. Design/methodology/approach: This content analysis of children’s t-shirts included 866 child-targeted shirts taken from the online retail portals from 11 clothing retailers in the USA. Shirts were coded for gendered themes on the front torso part of the shirt and included traditional boy themes (e.g. aggression, instrumentality) and girl themes (e.g. compassion, passivity). In addition, the retail prices for each shirt were recorded at the time of data collection. Findings: The results demonstrated that children’s graphic t-shirts starkly differentiate between femininity and masculinity based on their target. Boys’ shirts were significantly more likely to feature active themes, whereas girls’ shirts were more likely to focus on social belonging and interpersonal connection. Boys’ shirts were also more likely to display themes linked to dominance/aggression but not compassion. Girls’ shirts were more likely to tout both shyness and attention seeking. Finally, results generally showed that higher priced t-shirts were less likely to feature gender stereotypes than lower-priced t-shirts. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first known study that has looked at the marketing of children’s clothes in retail environments with a specific focus on gender and gender stereotyping.
• Lapierre, M. A., & Aubrey, J. S. (2021). Resisting Privilege: Effects of a White Privilege Message Intervention and Conservative Media Use on Freedom Threat and Racial Attitudes. Mass Communication and Society, 1--27.
• Lapierre, M. A., & Choi, E. (2021). Parental awareness of new online advertising techniques targeting children: An exploratory study of American parents. Young Consumers, 22(2), 290-305. doi:10.1108/yc-12-2020-1271
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  Purpose This study aims to examine what parents from across the USA know about online advertising/marketing tactics directed at children, their familiarity with these tactics and what they believe about the appropriateness of using these promotional methods to target children. Design/methodology/approach The online survey company Qualtrics was used to collect data from 500 parents in the USA. Parents had to have at least one child between the ages of 5 and 14 to participate. To ensure socio-economic diversity, half of the participants had an associate degree or more of schooling while the other half of participants had some college or less. Participants were given vignettes describing 11 different online advertising/marketing tactics and were asked how familiar they were with each tactic, whether they could identify the tactic by name, at what age they believed their child could understand the promotional intent of the tactic and the age that they thought it was ethical to use this tactic with children. Findings The results revealed that parents were only moderately familiar with many of these advertising/marketing tactics and had difficulty identifying most of them by name. In addition, parents reported that, on average, most 11-year-old children would understand the purpose of these marketing approaches and that it was ethical to target children with them. Originality/value The results of this exploratory study offer researchers some key insights into how American parents perceive online advertising that targets children.
• Zhao, P., & Lapierre, M. A. (2021). Smartphones and social support: Longitudinal associations between smartphone use and types of support. Social Science Computer Review. doi:10.1177/0894439320988762
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  Smartphones provide users with a vast array of tools to reach out to the world. Smartphones can be used to reach out interpersonally with family, friends, and acquaintances, they can be used to scr...
• Zhao, P., Lapierre, M. A., Rains, S. A., & Segrin, C. (2021). When and why we disclose distress on SNSs: Perceived affordances, disclosure goals, and anticipated negative evaluations. Computers in Human Behavior, 125, 106964.
• Choi, E., & Lapierre, M. A. (2020). Media and Theory of Mind.
• Lapierre, M. A. (2020). Smartphones and loneliness in love: Testing links between smartphone engagement, loneliness, and relational health.. Psychology of popular media culture, 9(2), 125-134. doi:10.1037/ppm0000230
• Lapierre, M. A., & Custer, B. E. (2021). Testing relationships between smartphone engagement, romantic partner communication, and relationship satisfaction. Mobile Media & Communication, 9(2), 155-176. doi:10.1177/2050157920935163
• Lapierre, M. A., Krcmar, M., Choi, E., Haberkorn, K. A., & Locke, S. J. (2021). Take a deep breath: The effects of television exposure and family communication on family shopping-related stress. International Journal of Advertising, 40(4), 529-551. doi:10.1080/02650487.2020.1820205
• Zhao, P., & Lapierre, M. (2020). Stress, dependency, and depression: An examination of the reinforcement effects of problematic smartphone use on perceived stress and later depression. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 14(4). doi:https://doi.org/10.5817/CP2020-4-3
• Lapierre, M. A. (2019). Not quite herculean, but pretty darn close: the hazards of finding and recruiting child research participants. Journal of Children and Media, 13(4), 498-500.
• Lapierre, M. A. (2019). Smartphones and loneliness in love: Testing links between smartphone engagement, loneliness, and relational health.. Psychology of Popular Media Culture.
• Lapierre, M. A., & Rozendaal, E. (2019). A Cross-National Study Examining the Role of Executive Function and Emotion Regulation in the Relationship between Children’s Television Exposure and Consumer Behavior. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 48(10), 1980-2004.
• Lapierre, M. A., Zhao, P., & Custer, B. E. (2019). Short-Term Longitudinal Relationships Between Smartphone Use/Dependency and Psychological Well-Being Among Late Adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 65(5), 607-612.
• Krcmar, M., & Lapierre, M. A. (2018). Revising a measure to assess consumer-related family communication patterns. Young Consumers, 00--00.
• Lapierre, M. A., & Farrar, K. M. (2018). Learning to love guns? Gun-based gameplay's links to gun attitudes. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 7(Issue 3). doi:10.1037/ppm0000132
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  Although there is a long empirical record exploring links between violent videogame play and aggression, little is known about how these games potentially affect players' political attitudes. Specifically, with firearms frequently featured in videogames, including games where players are required to use firearms to succeed during gameplay, it is worth examining whether players' experience with firearms relates to their attitudes toward guns and gun policy. Utilizing the General Learning Model, this survey explores whether public policy outcomes regarding gun control and public safety are related to exposure to violent video games, first-person shooter games, and realistic gun controllers. Results show that increased exposure to first-person shooter games was related to more negative attitudes concerning gun control. In addition, more experience using realistic gun controllers was associated with negative attitudes toward gun control and greater support for the idea that greater gun availability can help guarantee public safety. Thus, video game exposure may shape the gun attitudes of young people in small but important ways.
• Lapierre, M. A., & Rozendaal, E. (2018). Cross-national differences in consumer socialization, development, and behavior: a comparison of children in the United States and the Netherlands. Journal of Children and Media, 12(4), 388-405.
• Lewis, M. N., & Lapierre, M. A. (2018). Should it stay or should it go now? Smartphones and relational health.. Psychology of popular media culture, 7(3), 384-398. doi:10.1037/ppm0000119
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  Since introduced in the mid-2000s, smartphones have become widely used, particularly among young adults. With the ability to connect to others across numerous modalities and occupy one’s time, these devices have become personal extensions for many people. However, recent research suggests that young
• Farrar, K. M., Lapierre, M. A., McGloin, R., & Fishlock, J. (2017). Ready, Aim, Fire! Violent Video Game Play and Gun Controller Use: Effects on Behavioral Aggression and Social Norms Concerning Violence. Communication Studies, 68(4), 369--384.
• Krcmar, M., Lapierre, M. A., Hoxie, A., & Colvett, J. (2017). Observing parent-child purchase related interactions in US-based retail environments: replication and extension. Journal of Children and Media, 11(3), 261--277.
• Lapierre, M. A. (2019). Advertising Literacy and Executive Function: Testing Their Influence on Children's Consumer Behavior. Media Psychology, 22(1), 39-59. doi:10.1080/15213269.2017.1345638
• Lapierre, M. A., Brown, A. M., Houtzer, H. V., & Thomas, T. J. (2017). Child-directed and nutrition-focused marketing cues on food packaging: links to nutritional content. Public Health Nutrition, 20(5), 765--773.
• Lapierre, M. A., Fleming-Milici, F., Rozendaal, E., McAlister, A. R., & Castonguay, J. (2017). The effect of advertising on children and adolescents. Pediatrics, 140(Supplement 2), S152--S156.
• Lapierre, M. A. (2015). Development and Persuasion Understanding: Predicting Knowledge of Persuasion/Selling Intent From Children's Theory of Mind. Journal of Communication, 65, 423--442.
• Lapierre, M. A. (2016). Emotion regulation and young children’s consumer behavior. Young Consumers, 17(2), 168--182.
• Lapierre, M. A., & Farrar, K. M. (2016). Learning to Love Guns? Gun-Based Gameplay’s Links to Gun Attitudes.. Psychology of Popular Media Culture.
• Lapierre, M. A., & Lewis, M. N. (2018). Should It Stay or Should It Go Now? Smartphones and Relational Health.. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 7(3), 384-398. doi:10.1037/t01850-000
• Lapierre, M. A., & Vaala, S. E. (2015). Predictors of Baby Video/DVD Ownership: Findings from a National Sample of American Parents with Young Children. Journal of Children and Media, 9, 212--230.
• Lapierre, M. A., Piotrowski, J. T., & Linebarger, D. L. (2014). Assessing the relationship between pediatric media guidance and media use in American families. Clinical pediatrics, 53(12), 1166--1173.
• Liebeskind, K. G., Piotrowski, J. T., Lapierre, M. A., & Linebarger, D. L. (2014). The home literacy environment: Exploring how media and parent--child interactions are associated with children's language production. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 14(4), 482--509.
• Linebarger, D. L., Barr, R., Lapierre, M. A., & Piotrowski, J. T. (2014). Associations between parenting, media use, cumulative risk, and children's executive functioning. Journal of Developmental \& Behavioral Pediatrics, 35(6), 367--377.
• Vaala, S. E., & Lapierre, M. A. (2014). Marketing genius: The impact of educational claims and cues on parents' reactions to infant/toddler DVDs. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 48(2), 323--350.
• Lapierre, M. A. (2013). Low-income child consumers across cultures: An investigation of children's consumer behavior in three diverse communities in North America. Journal of Children and Media, 7(2), 151--169.
• Piotrowski, J. T., Lapierre, M. A., & Linebarger, D. L. (2013). Investigating correlates of self-regulation in early childhood with a representative sample of English-speaking American families. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 22(3), 423--436.
• Lapierre, M. A., Piotrowski, J. T., & Linebarger, D. L. (2012). Background television in the homes of US children. Pediatrics, 130(5), 839--846.
• Lapierre, M. A., Vaala, S. E., & Linebarger, D. L. (2011). Influence of licensed spokescharacters and health cues on children's ratings of cereal taste. Archives of pediatrics \& adolescent medicine, 165(3), 229--234.
• Rozendaal, E., Lapierre, M. A., Van, R., & Buijzen, M. (2011). Reconsidering advertising literacy as a defense against advertising effects. Media Psychology, 14(4), 333--354.