Author ORCID Identifier:

https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5109-4989

Date of Graduation

5-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Journalism (MA)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Journalism

Advisor/Mentor

Foster, Bobbie

Committee Member

Chioffi, David Charles

Second Committee Member

Hu, Sisi

Keywords

Experimental research; Health journalism; Media effects; Surrealism; Visual communication; Women's health

Abstract

Since the 1930s, surrealism has lent its abstract hand to journalism, offering a visual language for topics that resist literal depiction. Given its historical and often fraught association with the female form, surrealist imagery has found a natural home in editorial coverage of women's health, most recently in reporting on endometriosis, a condition whose invisible, stigmatized and difficult-to-articulate experience makes conventional photojournalism an inadequate representational tool. The present study experimentally compared surreal imagery, realistic imagery and a text-only control condition to assess their effects on knowledge acquisition, comprehension, attitudinal responses, perceived risk and behavioral intentions related to endometriosis in a between-subjects online experiment (N = 159).Results indicate that the inclusion of imagery, regardless of style, significantly enhanced knowledge and comprehension relative to text alone, with correct identification of endometriosis nearly doubling in the surreal condition compared to control. Surreal imagery demonstrated a modest advantage in aesthetic appeal and informational uptake relative to realistic imagery. However, neither imagery type produced significant changes in attitudes, perceived risk or behavioral intentions, suggesting that visual framing can restructure cognitive engagement without necessarily increasing personal relevance or motivating action. These findings support the use of intentional, thematically grounded metaphorical artwork in health journalism, particularly for conditions that resist straightforward visual documentation, while cautioning that aesthetic stimulation alone is insufficient to close the gap between awareness and action.

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