UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — One Penn State faculty member has a highly personal reason that sparked her interest in the idea of authenticity in media.
Heather Shoenberger, an associate professor of advertising/public relations in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, began her research into the perceived authenticity of digital advertising due to her sister’s struggle with body image and social media.
Social media platforms often feature images of people who have been edited using various filters or photo editing tools to “enhance” someone’s appearance. This can create unrealistic beauty standards, which can lead to low self-esteem and body image dissatisfaction by some who consume the content.
“My sister was not sheltered from social media and was active on it from a young age. I believe it was detrimental to her self-confidence and caused her to struggle with body dysmorphia,” Shoenberger said. “I really wanted to do something to stop or at least understand these issues.”
As Shoenberger examined perceived authenticity in the context of digital advertising, a social media campaign by Aerie — wherein the company specifically decided not to airbrush models – served as the inspiration for the study’s stimuli. She found that models with diverse body types and un-retouched skin were perceived as more authentic and their presence subsequently increased social media engagement and brand attitudes, which is good for the brand and the consumer.
Content performs the best when people perceive it as authentic because they trust it, she said. Shoenberger defines authenticity as “a perception of whether a message or the source of the message may be considered genuine.”
Shoenberger has since focused her query of perceived authenticity’s effects to other issues in advertising. In an article in the “Journal of Advertising” (2021), Shoenberger found that perceived brand message authenticity was key for avoiding psychological reactance against COVID-19 advertisements that were meant to promote pro-social behaviors.
Shoenberger’s love for research, she said, stems from her desire to satiate her own curiosity.
“There are so many questions that I want answers to. Those unanswered questions drive me to continue researching,” she said.
New questions led her and a former Penn State graduate student, Yuan Sun, to win a 2024 American Academy of Advertising Research Fellowship Grant to support a proposal about understanding consumer perceptions in the generative artificial intelligence age.
Shoenberger finds support and inspiration for her research from her colleagues at Penn State and the doctoral students she works with every day. Shoenberger said her colleagues are always willing to discuss their research and eager to learn about each other’s areas of expertise. She co-leads the Strategic Communication Research Group in the Bellisario College with Dr. Fuyuan Shen, the Donald P. Bellisario Professor of Advertising/Public Relations and head of the Department of Advertising/Public Relations.
“My colleagues are world class and a constant source of inspiration. I work with amazing people and we, together, have a supportive community that has allowed me to succeed,” Shoenberger said. “Whether it is teaching or research, I know I can always ask a colleague for help or to talk about new ideas.”