David Morin, Ph.D.
Associate Professor Utah Valley University
- Orem UT
Morin is an expert in political communication, social media effects, and science communication
Media
Biography
Areas of Expertise
Accomplishments
Wolverine Achievement Award: New Faculty of the Year (Nominated/Finalist)
Utah Valley University - 2014
Dean’s Award for Faculty Service
College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Utah Valley University - 2017
PRSSA Full-time Faculty of the Year Award
Department of Communication, Utah Valley University - 2018
Inclusion Award for Departments and Programs
College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Utah Valley University - 2021
Education
Bowling Green State University
Ph.D.
Media and Communication
2013
Virginia Tech
M.A.
Communication
2008
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
B.A.
Political Science
2005
Affiliations
- International Communication Association (ICA)
- Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC)
Media Appearances
UVU Announces Six New Online Degrees
UVU News online
2021-04-26
“The faculty in the Department of Communication are excited to offer students two opportunities to complete a communication degree entirely online,” says Dr. David Morin, chair of the Department of Communication.
Courses
Fundamentals of New and Social Media
COMM 3120
Communication Research Methods
COMM 3020
Articles
The role of social media messages design and audience demographics in promoting sunscreen use to prevent skin cancer: An online randomized controlled experiment
Digital Health2026-01-16
Skin cancer represents a significant public health concern, and consistent sunscreen use reduces risk. With social media emerging as a dominant source of health information, unconventional video formats have gained increased prominence. Despite these shifts in health promotion practice, limited research has examined how digital message formats influence health-related beliefs. The objective of this study is to examine how different social media-based message formats (amateur video, professional video, written text, and control) and participant characteristics affect perceptions of skin cancer risk, sunscreen efficacy, and intentions to wear sunscreen to prevent skin cancer.
A pillar of community: Local newspapers, community capital, and impact on readership and advertising
Community Development2018-11-10
With the advent of the Internet, once prosperous local newspapers are now faced with closure as the number of subscriptions decreases and advertising revenue continues to wane. The purpose of this article is to investigate how a newspaper’s role is perceived by its local community.
To debate or not debate? Examining the effects of scientists engaging in debates addressing contentious issues
Journal of Science Communication2018-01-01
According to the Gateway Belief Model, scientists and science educators should stress the scientific consensus when engaging with the lay population across a wide variety of mediums, including debates. The purpose of this study, then, was to determine if engaging in such debates does more harm than good in terms of persuading individuals towards accepting the scientific consensus of controversial issues.
Social media and flu: Media Twitter accounts as agenda setters
International Journal of Medical Informatics2016-07-01
This paper has two objectives. First, it categorizes the Twitter handles tweeted flu related information based on the amount of replies and mentions within the Twitter network. The collected Twitter accounts are categorized as media, health related individuals, organizations, government, individuals with no background with media or medical field, in order to test the relationship between centrality measures of the accounts and their categories. The second objective is to examine the relationship between the importance of the Twitter accounts in the network, centrality measures, and specific characteristics of each account, including the number of tweets and followers as well as the number of accounts followed and liked.
“Let's Get This Party Started!”: An Analysis of Health Risk Behavior on MTV Reality Television Shows
Journal of Health Communication2015-10-23
Past research has examined portrayals of risk behavior in various media, including television, advertising, and film. To address an underexplored area, this study analyzed drinking, smoking, and sexual activities in MTV reality programming popular among adolescent viewers from 2004 to 2011.
Anything but Real: Body Idealization and Objectification of MTV Docusoap Characters
Sex Roles2015-03-06
Results from a quantitative content analysis of five popular docusoaps from 2004 to 2011 demonstrated that, although these shows were labeled as reality-based, the bodies displayed in them were highly idealized.
We Are the Tea Party!: The Use of Facebook as an Online Political Forum for the Construction and Maintenance of in-Group Identification during the “GOTV” Weekend
Communication Quarterly2014-02-05
This study examined how Tea Party supporters used Facebook to construct and maintain an identity during the “Get Out The Vote” weekend.
“Where Do I Belong, from Laguna Beach to Jersey Shore?”: Portrayal of Minority Youth in MTV Docusoaps
Howard Journal of Communications2015-10-23
Based on the notion that reality television is used by the youth to learn about various social identity groups, the portrayal of minority in MTV “docusoap” was analyzed.
