ESTHER THORSON has published more than 100 scholarly pieces on news effects, advertising, media economics, and health communication, and she has edited six books. Thorson has headed grant and research contracts totaling nearly $3 million. She is the only female Fellow of the American Academy of Advertising. Thorson applies research, both hers and that of her colleagues, in newsrooms and advertising agencies across the United States and abroad. She serves on eight journal editorial boards.

Her research with colleague Margaret Duffy for the Newspaper Association of America has been presented in national forums throughout the United States. Other recent projects focus on internet advertising, the choice of news sources of the 18-34 demographic, the emotional effect of negative news photographs and the impact of the Internet on traditional media use for news.

Thorson advised more than 35 doctoral dissertations, and her former students hold prestigious professorships throughout the United States and Asia. She is the recipient of the American Advertising Federation’s Distinguished Advertising Education Award, the American Academy of Advertising’s Outstanding Contribution to Research Award, a Mizzou Alumni Association Faculty Award and the Missouri Curator’s Award for Scholarly Excellence.

Awards

• Best Dissertation Proposal Award for doctoral student Anna Kim, American Academy of Advertising, March, 2014.
• First Prize, Advertising Age White Paper Proposal 2012 (with Jeri Moore, Communicus, LLC).
• Harold L. Nelson award for achievement in mass communication research from the School of Journalism & Mass communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2011.
• Director of Graduate Studies Outstanding Contribution Award, University of Missouri, 2009.
• “Outstanding Woman of the Year in Journalism Education,” Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Commission on the Status of Women, 2008.
• American Advertising Federation Distinguished Advertising Education Award, 2004.
• Missouri Alumni Association Faculty Award, 2003.
• Outstanding Contribution to Research Award, American Academy of Advertising, 2003.
• Curator’s Award for Scholarly Excellence, University of Missouri, 2000.
• Fellow, American Academy of Advertising, 1994.

Books

• Thorson, E., & Duffy, M. (Eds.) (Forthcoming). Persuasion ethics today: Contemporary issues in advertising, marketing, and public relations. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe.
• Thorson, E., McKinney, M., & Shah, D. (Eds.) (Forthcoming). Political socialization in a media-saturated world. New York: Peter Lang Press.
• Kent S. Collins, Greeley Kyle, Martha Steffens, Esther Thorson, Lee Wilkins. Reporting Disaster on Deadline, Routledge, 2012. 144 pages.
• Shelly Rodgers, Esther Thorson. Advertising Theory, New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group., 2012.
• Thorson, Esther, & Duffy, Margaret (July, 2011). Advertising Age: The Principles of Advertising and Marketing Communication at Work. Cengage.
• Parker, Jerry, and Thorson, Esther (2008). Health Communication in the New Media Environment. Springer.
• Esther Thorson, David W. Schumann. Internet Advertising: Theory and Research, Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Association, Inc., 2007.
• Esther Thorson, Jane Stevens and Lori Dorfman. Reporting on Violence: Instructor’s Guide, 2002.
• Edmund B. Lambeth, Esther Thorson, Philip Meyer. Assessing Public Journalism, Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press, 1998.
• Esther Thorson, Jeri Moore. Integrated Communication: Synergy of Persuasive Voices, Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Association, Inc., 1996.
• Thorson, E. (Ed.) (1993). Proceedings of the 1993 Conference of the American Academy of Advertising. School of Journalism, University of Missouri-Columbia.
• Thorson, E. (Ed.) (1989). Advertising Age: The Principles of Advertising at Work. Chicago: National Textbook Co.
• Thorson, E. (Ed.) (1979). Simulation in Higher Education. Hicksville, N.Y.: Exposition University Press.

Book Chapters

• Thorson, E. (2013). Alcohol advertising. In C. Pardun (Ed.), Advertising and society. New York: Wiley-Blackwell.
• Martin-Kratzer, Renee, & Thorson, Esther (2009). The Presence and Pattern of International News in American News Media. In (Ed.) Guy Golan, Thomas J. Johnson, & Wayne Wanta, International Media Communication in a Global Age. New York: Routledge.
• Rodgers, S., Thorson, E., & Jin, Y. (2009). Social science theories of traditional and Internet advertising. In D.W. Stacks & M.B. Salwen (Eds.), An Integrated Approach to Communication Theory and Research (2nd ed) (pp. 198-219). New York: Routledge.
• Thorson, Esther (2006). The role of the press in mobilizing citizen participation in the democracy. In (Eds) Geneva Overholser and Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Institutions of Democracy: The Press. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 203-220.
• Beaudoin, Christopher, & Thorson, Esther (2002). Spiral of violence: Conflict and conflict resolution in international news: In (Ed.) Eytan Bilboa, Media and conflict: Framing issues, making policy, shaping opinions. Transnational Publishers, pp. 45-64.
• Thorson, Esther (1999). Emotion and advertising. In John Philip Jones (Ed.),The Advertising Business. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
• Thorson, Esther, Ognianova, Ekaterina, & Coyle, James (1998). Evaluation of the audience impacts of two civic journalism projects in a small midwestern town. In (Eds.), E. Lambeth, P. Meyer, & E. Thorson, Assessing Public Journalism. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press.
• Denton, Frank, Thorson, Esther, & Coyle, James (1998). Effects of a multimedia public journalism project on political knowledge and attitudes. In (Eds.), E. Lambeth, P. Meyer, & E. Thorson, Assessing Public Journalism. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press.
• Thorson, Esther (1996). Advertising. In Michael B. Salwen and Don W. Stacks (Eds.), An Integrated Approach to Communication Theory and Research. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
• Thorson, Esther, & Zhao, Xinshu (1997). Television viewing behavior as an indicator of commercial effectiveness. In William D. Wells (Ed.), Measuring Advertising Effectiveness. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, pp. 221-238.
• Thorson, Esther (1995). Studies of the effects of alcohol advertising: Two underexplored aspects. In Susan E. Martin (Ed.), The Effects of the Mass Media on the Use and Abuse of Alcohol: Research Monograph 28. Washington, D.C.: National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, pp. 159-196.
• Thorson, Esther (1994). Using eyes-on-screen as a measure of attention to television. In Annie Lang (Ed.), Measuring Cognitive Responses to Media Messages. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, pp. 65-84.
• Bradley, Sandra, Thorson, Esther, & Hitchon, Jacqueline (1994). Hard sell vs soft sell: A content analysis of American and British prime time television ads. In Basil Englis (Ed.), Global and Multinational Advertising. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, pp. 141-158.
• Thorson, Esther, Christ, William G., & Caywood, Clarke (1991). Selling candidates like tubes of toothpaste: Is the comparison apt? In Frank Biocca (Ed.), Television and Political Advertising: Vol. 1 Psychological Processes. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
• Thorson, Esther & Park, Cheon Soung (1990). Influences on emotional response to commercials of different executional styles. In Stuart Agres, Julie A. Edell, and Tony M. Dubitsky (Eds.), Emotion in Advertising: Theoretical and Practical Explorations. Westport, CT: Quorum Books, pp. 161-174.
• Page, Thomas J., Jr., Thorson, Esther, & Heide, Maria Papas (1990). The memory impact of commercials varying in emotional appeal and product involvement. In Stuart Agres, Julie A. Edell, and Tony M. Dubitsky (Eds.), Emotion in Advertising: Theoretical and Practical Explorations. Westport, CT: Quorum Books, pp. 255-268.
• Thorson, Esther (1990). Television commercials as mass media messages. In James J. Bradac (Ed.), Messages in Communication Science: Contemporary Approaches to the Study of Effects. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
• Thorson, Esther (1990). Processing television commercials. In Brenda Dervin, Lawrence Grossberg, and Ellen Wartella (Eds.), Paradigm Dialogues in Communication, Volume II: Exemplars. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
• Thorson, Esther (1990). Consumer processing of advertising. In James H. Leigh & Claude R. Martin, Jr. (Eds.), Current Issues and Research in Advertising. Ann Arbor, MI: Division of Research, Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Michigan.
• Reeves, Byron, Thorson, Esther, & Schleuder, Joan (1986). Attention to television: Psychological theories and chronometric measures. In Jennings Bryant and Dolf Zillman (Eds.), Perspectives on Media Effects. Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum.
• Thorson, Esther, & Rothschild, Michael L. (1983). Using a text comprehension analysis to compare recall and recognition of TV commercials. In Larry Percy and Arch G. Woodside (Eds.), Advertising and Consumer Psychology. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
• Rothschild, M.L., & Thorson, E. (1983). Electroencephalic activity as a response to complex stimuli: A review of the psychophysiological and advertising literature. In Larry Percy and Arch G. Woodside (Eds.), Advertising and Consumer Psychology. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
• Thorson, E. (1979). The Denison Simulation Project: Formulating, introducing, and evaluating curricular changes. In Esther Thorson (Ed.), Simulation in Higher Education. Hicksville, N.Y.: Exposition University Press.

Refereed Publications

• Li, Y. & Thorson, E. (In press). A Longitudinal Study of the Relationship Between a News Organization’s Editorial Content and Its Circulation and Revenue. Newspaper Research Journal.
• Thorson, E., Karaliova, T., Kim, E. A., & Shoenberger, H. (In press). News Use of Mobile Media: A Contingency View. Mobile Media & Communication.
• Wang, Y., Rodgers, S., Wang, A., & Thorson, E. (In press). A 7-Year Study of Graduate Student Authorship in Advertising Journals. Journalism and Mass Communication Education.
• Kanuri, V., Thorson, E., & Mantrala, M. (In press). Evaluating Investment Strategies at Free Newspapers: A Test of the Influence Model. Newspaper Research Journal.
• Kanuri, V., Thorson, E., & Mantrala, M. (2014). Using Reader Preferences to Optimizing News Content: A Method and a Case Study. International Journal on Media Management, 16(2), 55-75.
• Marchionni, D., & Thorson, E. (2014). When Newspaper Journalists Blog: Credibility of News and Blogs Based on Readers’ Social Political Learning. Web Journal of Mass Communication Research, 46(February).
• McKinney, M., Rill, L. A., & Thorson, E. (2014). Civic Engagement Through Presidential Debates: Young Citizen’s Attitudes in the 2012 Election. American Behavioral Scientist, 58(6), 755-775.
• Kim, H., Oh, H. J., & Thorson, E. (2014). Embedding a Social Cause in News Features: The Effects of Corporate Sponsorship and Localization on Audiences’ Attitudes to Non-Profit Coverage. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 43(2), 314-337.
• Sableman, M., Shoenberger, H., & Thorson, E. (2013). Consumer Perceptions of Targeted Advertising: Crucial Evidence in the Data Privacy Debate. Media Law Resource Center Bulletin, 2, September.
• Thorson, Esther, Wicks, Rob, & Leshner, Glenn (2012). Experimental methodology in journalism and mass communication research. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 89(1), 112-124.
• Moore, Jenson, Thorson, Esther, and Leshner, Glenn (2011). Terror Management Theory and Anti-tobacco Advertising: An Experimental Examination of Influence of Death Explicit Anti- tobacco Messages on Young Adults Journal of Health and Mass Communication, 3 (1-4), 5-19.
• Sridhar, Shrihari, Mantrala, Murali, Naik, Prasad A., & Thorson, Esther (2011). Dynamic marketing budgeting for platform firm: Theory, evidence and application. Journal of Marketing Research, December, Vol. ILVIII, 929-943. (LEAD ARTICLE).
• Tang, Yihui (Elina), Sridhar, Shrihari, Thorson, Esther, & Mantrala, Murali (2011). The bricks that build clicks: Newsroom investment and online news performance. International Journal of Media Management, 13(2), 107-129.
• Coleman, Renita, Thorson, Esther, & Wilkins, Lee (2011). Testing the Impact of Framing and Sourcing in Health News Stories. Journal of Health Communication. 16(9), 941-954.
• Meyer, Hans K., Doreen Marchionni, & Esther Thorson. (2010). The journalist behind the news: Credibility of straight, opinionated, and blogged news. American Behavioral Scientist, 54 (2): 100-119.
• S. Lacy, M. Duffy, D. Riffe, E. Thorson, and K. Fleming. “The Substitutability between Citizen Journalism and Daily Newspaper Sites.” Newspaper Research Journal. (2010).
• S. Lacy, D. Riffe, E. Thorson and M. Duffy. “Examining the Features, Policies, and Resources of Citizen Journalism: Citizen News Sites and Blogs.” Web Journal of Mass Communication Research, June. (2009).
• Sternadori, M. & Thorson, E. (2009). Anonymous sources harm credibility of all stories. Newspaper Research Journal, 30(4), 54-66.
• Lee, Jung-Gyo, & Thorson, Esther (2009). Cognitive and emotional processes in individuals and commercial web sites. Journal of Business & Psychology.
• Micu, A., Thorson, E., Antecol, M. (2009). In the mood for a commercial break? A Model of Consumer Response to Television Commercials During Sensitive News. Management & Marketing, 4(3), 35-52.
• Micu, A., Thorson, E. (2008). Leveraging News and Advertising to Introduce New Brands on the Web. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 9(1), 14-26.
• Kenneth Fleming & Esther Thorson (2008). Assessing the role of information-processing strategies in learning from local news media about sources of social capital. Mass Communication and Society, 11(4), 398-419.
• Beaudoin, Christopher, Thorson, E. (2007). Evaluating the effects of a youth health media campaign. Journal of Health Communication, 12, 439-454.
• Mantrala, Murali, Sridhar, Shrihari, Thorson, Esther, & Naik, Prasad A (2007). Uphill or Downhill? Locating Your Firm on a Profit Function. Journal of Marketing, 70(2), 26-44.
• Kratzer, Renee, & Thorson, Esther (2007). Use of anonymous sources declines in U.S. newspapers. Newspaper Research Journal, 28(2), 56-70.
• Rodgers, Shelly, Kenix, Linda Jean, & Thorson, Esther. (2006). Stereotypical portrayals of emotionality in news photographs. Mass Communication & Society.
• Beaudoin, Christopher, Thorson, E., & Hong, T. (2006). Promoting youth health by social empowerment: A media campaign targeting social capital. Health Communication, 19(2), 175–182.
• Fleming, Kenneth, Thorson, Esther, and Zhang, Yuyan (2006). Going beyond exposure to local news media: An information-processing examination of public perceptions of food safety. Journal of Health Communication, 11, 789-806.
• Beaudoin, Christopher, & Thorson, Esther (2006). The social capital of Blacks and Whites: Differing effects of the mass media in the United States. Human Communication Research, 32, 157-177.
• Lacy, Stephen, Didd, Arvind, & Thorson, Esther (2006). Small dailies’ profit margins half those of medium dailies. Newspaper Research Journal, 27(1), Summer, 22-36.
• Thorson, Esther (2006). Print news and health psychology: Some observations. Journal of Health Psychology, 11(2), 175-182.
• Thorson, Esther, Shim, Jae C., & Yoon, Doyle (2005). Synergy effects of public service multi-media campaigns. Korean Journal of Broadcasting and Telecommunication Studies. The International Edition. 11(7), 21-47.
• Chen, Rene, Thorson, Esther, & Lacy, Stephen (2005). The impact of newsroom investment on newspaper revenues and profits: Small and medium newspapers, 1998-2002. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 82(3), 516-532.
• Stammerjohan, Claire A., Wood, Charles M., Chang, Yuhmiin, & Thorson, Esther (2005). An empirical investigation of the interaction between publicity, advertising, and previous brand attitudes and knowledge. Journal of Advertising, 34(4).
• Thorson, Esther (2005). Reconceptualizing the influence of the news industry on journalism graduate education. Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, Spring, 17-22.
• Beaudoin, Christopher, & Thorson, Esther (2005). Credibility perceptions of news coverage of ethnic groups: The predictive roles of race and news use. The Howard Journal of Communication, 16(1), 33-48.
• Fleming, K., Thorson, E., & Peng, Z. (2005). Associational membership as a source of social capital: Its links to use of local newspapers, interpersonal communication, entertainment media, and volunteering. Mass Communication and Society, 8(3), 219-240.
• Len-Rios, Maria, Rodgers, Shelly, Thorson, Esther, & Yoon, Doyle (2005). Representation of women in news and photos: Comparing content to perceptions. Journal of Communication, 55(1), 152-168.
• Lacy, Stephen, & Thorson, Esther (2004). Abnormally high profit margins in the newspaper industry. Newspaper Research Journal.
• Cho, Sooyoung, Thorson, Esther, & Lacy, Stephen (2004). Increased circulation follows investments in newsroom. Newspaper Research Journal, 25(4), 26-39.
• Beaudoin, Christopher, & Thorson, Esther (2004). Social capital in rural and urban communities: Testing differences in media effects and models. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 81(2), 378-399.
• Beaudoin, Christopher, & Thorson, Esther (2004). Testing the cognitive mediation model: The roles of news reliance and three gratifications sought. Communication Research, 31(4), 446-471.
• Mendelson, Andrew, & Thorson, Esther (2004). Relative importance of “visualizing” and “verbalizing” on newspaper processing. Journal of Communication, 54(3), 474-491.
• Lacy, Stephen, Thorson, Esther, & Russial, John (Eds.) (2004). Good journalism, Good business. A special issue of Newspaper Research Journal (25(1), Winter.
• Chang, Yuhmiin, & Thorson, Esther (2004). Television and web advertising synergies. Journal of Advertising, 33(2), 75-84.
• Mendelson, Andrew, & Thorson, Esther (2004). The impact of role-congruency and photo presence on the processing of news stories about Hillary Clinton. New Jersey Journal of Communication.
• Beaudoin, Christopher, & Thorson, Esther (2004). The impact of a health campaign on health social capital. Journal of Health Communication, 9(3), 167-194.
• Fleming, Ken, Thorson, Esther, & Atkin, Charles (2004). Alcohol advertising exposure and perceptions: Links with alcohol expectancies and intention to drink in teens and young adults. Journal of Health Communication, 9(2).
• Rodgers, Shelly, & Thorson, Esther (2003). A socialization perspective on male and female reporting. Journal of Communication, 53(4), 658-675.
• Yoon, Tae-Il, & Thorson, Esther (2003). Examining body image processing among Korean adolescent girls and college women. Journal of Asian Pacific Communication, 13(1), 143-164.
• Thorson, Esther, Dorfman, Lori, & Stevens, Jane (2003). Reporting crime and violence from a public health perspective. Journal of the Institute of Justice and International Studies, 2, 53-66.
• Coleman, Renita, & Thorson, Esther (2002). The effects of news stories that put crime and violence into context: Testing the public health model of reporting. Journal of Health Communication, 7, 401-425.
• Beaudoin, Christopher E., & Thorson, Esther (2002). Journalists, public differ on perception of media coverage. Newspaper Research Journal, 23(4), 52-61.
• Beaudoin, Christopher E., & Thorson, Esther (2002). A marketplace theory of media use. Mass Communication & Society, 5(3), 241-262.
• Dorfman, Lori, Thorson, Esther, & Stevens, Jane (2001). Reporting on violence: Bringing a public health perspective into the newsroom. Health Education and Behavior, 28(4), 402-419.
• Coyle, James & Thorson, Esther (2001). The effects of progressive levels of interactivity and vividness in web marketing sites. Journal of Advertising, 30(3), 65-77.
• Beaudoin, Christopher, & Thorson, Esther (2001). LA Times offered as model for foreign news coverage. Newspaper Research Journal, 22(1), 80-93.
• Beaudoin, Christopher E., & Thorson, Esther (2001). Value representations in foreign news. Gazette, 63(6), 481-503.
• Thorson, Esther, & Mendelson, Andrew (2001). Public perceptions of news stories and news photos of Hillary Clinton. Visual Communication Quarterly, Fall, 4-10.
• Rodgers, Shelly, & Thorson, Esther (2001). The reporting of crime and violence in the LA Times: Is there a public health perspective? Journal of Health Communication, 6(2), 169-181. Commentary by J. Gregory Payne, 189-192.
• Rodgers, Shelly, & Thorson, Esther (2000). An integrative processing model of internet advertising. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 1(1). http://www.jiad.org/vol1/no1/rodgers/index.htm
• Rodgers, Shelly, Thorson, Esther, & Antecol, Michael. (2000) “Reality” in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Newspaper Research Journal, 21(3), 51-68.
• Leshner, Glenn, & Thorson, Esther. (2000). Over-reporting voting activity: Campaign media, public mood and the vote. Political Communication, 17(3), 263-278.
• Rodgers, Shelly, & Thorson, Esther. (2000). “Fixing” stereotypes in news photos: A synergistic approach with the Los Angeles Times. Visual Communication Quarterly, 7(3), 8-12.
• Thorson, E., Ognianova,, E., Coyle, J., & Denton, F. (2000). Negative political ads and negative citizen orientations toward politics. Journal of Current Research in Advertising, 22(1), 13-40.
• Dorfman, Lori, & Thorson, Esther (1998). Measuring the effects of changing the way violence is reported. Nieman Reports, 1998. Winter. http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reportsitem.aspx?id=100534
• Gronstedt, Anders, & Thorson, Esther (1996). Five approaches to organizing an integrated marketing communications agency. Journal of Advertising Research, 36(2), 48-58.
• Thorson, Esther (1995). The impact of Hillary photos on newspaper readers. Visual Communication Quarterly, 2(4), Fall, 7 16.
• Hitchon, Jacqueline, & Thorson, Esther (1995). Effects of emotion and product involvement on the experience of repeated commercial viewing. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 39(3),376-389.
• Christ, William, Thorson, Esther, & Caywood, Clark (1994). Do attitudes toward political advertising affect information processing of televised political commercials? Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 38(3), 251-270.
• Hitchon, Jacqueline, Duckler, Peter, & Thorson, Esther (1994). Effects of ambiguity and complexity on consumer response to music video commercials. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 38(3), 289-306.
• Tapper, John, Thorson, Esther, & Black, David (1994). Variations in music videos as a function of their musical genre. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 38(1), 1-3-113.
• Friestad, M., & Thorson, E. (1993). Remembering ads: The effects of encoding strategies, retrieval cues, and emotional response. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 2(1), 1-24.
• Gunther, Albert, & Thorson, Esther (1992). Perceived persuasive effects of product commercials and public service announcements: “Third Person” effects in other domains. Communication Research, 19(5), 574-596. (Top 10 paper, Mass Communication Division, International Communication Association, 1991).
• Thorson, Esther, & Lang, Annie (1992). The effects of television videographics and lecture familiarity on adult cardiac orienting responses and memory. Communication Research, 19(3), 346-369. Top 10 paper, Mass Communication Division, International Communication Association, 1990).
• Schleuder, Joan, Cameron, Glen T., & Thorson, Esther (1991). The role of news teasers in processing TV news and commercials. Communication Research, 18(5), 667-684.
• Thorson, Esther, Christ, William, & Caywood, Clark (1991). Political commercials: Issue-image strategies, attack vs support appeals, and the impact of music and visual background. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, Fall, 1-14.
• Schumann, David W., & Thorson, Esther (1990). The influence of viewing context on commercial effectiveness: An intensity-affect response model. In (Eds.), James H. Leigh & Claude R. Martin, Jr., Current Issues and Research in Advertising. Volume 12. Ann Arbor, MI: Division of Research, Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Michigan.
• Hoffner, Cynthia, Cantor, Joanne, & Thorson, Esther (1989). Children’s responses to conflicting auditory and visual features of a televised narrative. Human Communication Research, 16(2), 256-278.
• Reeves, Byron, Lang, Annie, Thorson, Esther, & Rothschild, Michael (1989). Emotional television scenes and hemispheric specialization. Human Communication Research, 15(4), 493-508.
• Thorson, E., & Friestad, M. (1989). The effects of emotion on episodic memory for TV commercials. In Alice Tybout and Pat Cafferata (Eds.), Advertising and Consumer Psychology, NY: Lexington Press.
• Hoffner, Cynthia, Cantor, Joanne, & Thorson, Esther (1988) Children’s understanding of a televised narrative. Communication Research, 15(3), 227-245.
• Rothschild, Michael L., Hyun, Yong J., Reeves, Byron, Thorson, Esther, & Goldstein, Robert (1988). Hemispherically lateralized EEG as a response to television commercials. Journal of Consumer Research, 15(2), 185-198.
• Thorson, E., & Page, Thomas (1988). Effects of product involvement and emotional commercials on consumer’s recall and attitudes. In David Stewart and Sid Hecker (Eds.), Nonverbal Communication in Advertising. New York: Lexington Books.
• Thorson, E., Reeves, B., & Schleuder, J. (1987). Local and global complexity and attention to television. In Margaret L. McLaughlin (Ed.), Communication Yearbook 10. (Top Three paper in Mass Communication Division of International Communication Association Annual Meeting, 1986).
• Reeves, Byron, & Thorson, Esther (1986). Watching television: Experiments on the viewing process. Communication Research, 13, 343-361. Translated to French in Rencontre de La Recherche et De L’Education, Lausanne, Switzerland, January, 1992.
• Rothschild, M.L., Thorson, E., Reeves, B.B., Hirsch, J.E., & Goldstein, R. (1986). EEG activity and the processing of television commercials. Communication Research, 13(2), 182-220.
• Thorson, E., Reeves, B., & Schleuder, J. (1985). Message complexity and attention to television. Communication Research, 12(4), 427-454.
• Reeves, B., Thorson, E., Rothschild, M.L., McDonald, D., Goldstein, R., & Hirsch, J. (1985). Attention to television: Intrastimulus effects of movement and scene changes on alpha variation over time. International Journal of Neuroscience, 27, 241-255.
• Thorson, E., & Snyder, R. (1984). Viewer recall of television commercials: Prediction from the propositional structure of commercial scripts. Journal of Marketing Research, 21 (May), 127-136.
• Preston, I.L., & Thorson, E. (1984). The Expanded Association Model: Keeping the hierarchy concept alive. Journal of Advertising Research, 24(1), 59-66.
• Thorson, E. (1983). Propositional determinants of memory for television commercials. In (Eds.), James H. Leigh & Claude R. Martin, Jr., Current Issues and Research in Advertising. Ann Arbor, MI: Division of Research, Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Michigan.
• Thorson, E. (1977). Simulation as a problem-solving technique in college teaching. Liberal Education, No. 2, 284-300.
• Thorson, E., & Buss, T. (1977). Using computer conferencing to formulate a simulation model of the transitivity of choice processes. Behavior Research Methods and Instrumentation, 9(2), 81-86.
• Thorson, Esther, & Thorson, Stuart J. (1976). Cognitive-perceptual aspects of political socialization: An experimental approach. Experimental Study of Politics, 5(1), 42-84.