Line of inquiry
My research focuses on the marketing of food to consumers. I use an interdisciplinary approach, combining the strengths of strategic communications, social psychology, and nutrition science to study consumer comprehension of food labeling, food safety, and dietary information, as well as methods for improving food literacy.
I am particularly interested in answering empirical questions about the impact of attribute valence on consumer behavior and the influence of rhetorical strategies used in the marketing of food on nutrition confusion and consumer decision-making processes.
ORCID 0000-0002-8628-8003
Recent Scholarship
- Wagner, S. P. (accepted; 2020, April). War of words: ‘Milk’ disrupting dairy dialog. Paper to be presented at the annual convention of the Southern States Communication Association, Frisco, TX.
- Wagner, S. P., & Blanton, H. (accepted; 2020, February). The attribute transfer effect on consumer attitudes toward milk and plant-based dairy alternative beverages. Poster presented at the Annual Convention of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, New Orleans, LA.
- Wagner, S. P. (accepted; 2020, February). Milk does a label good: An experimental study of the impact of beverage labeling on consumer perceptions. Paper presented at the annual National Agricultural Communications Symposium, Louisville, KY.
- Wagner, S. P. (accepted; 2020, February). Impact of team-based research project experiences on undergraduate students’ perceptions of readiness for graduate school. Poster presented at the annual National Agricultural Communications Symposium, Louisville, KY.
- Wagner, S. P. (accepted; 2020, February). Using Bitmoji Coaches to Promote Learning and Engagement in Online Courses. Poster presented at the Southern Region Conference of the American Association for Agricultural Educators, Louisville, KY.
- Wagner, S. P., & Rutherford, T. (2019). Impact of peer review on college students’ performance and perceived self-efficacy in an online graphic design course. Journal of Applied Communications, 103(4), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.4148/1051-0834.2228
- Parrella, J., Leggette, H., Rutherford, T., Ramasubramanian, S., Koswatta, T., Wagner, S. P., & Walter, G. (2019, September). Are they communicators? Scientists’ perceptions of their science communication. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Association for Agricultural Education Western Region, Anchorage, AK.
- Parrella, J., Wagner, S. P., Walter, G., Leggette, H., Rutherford, T., Ramasubramanian, S., & Koswatta, T. (2019, June). Improving Communication between STEM Scientists and Consumers. Paper presented at annual conference of the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture, Twin Falls, ID.
- Leggette, H., Parrella, J., Rutherford, T., Ramasubramanian, S., Koswatta, T., Wagner, S. P., & Walter, G. (2019, April). Improving communication between STEM scientists and consumers. Poster presented at the Presidential Excellence Fund Symposium, College Station, TX.
- Benge, C., Wagner, S. P., & Rutherford, T. (2019, March). Theoretical Foundations of Agricultural Communications: A Bibliometric Analysis. Paper presented atTexas A&M University Student Research Week, College Station, TX.
- Leggette, H., Parrella, J., Rutherford, T., Ramasubramanian, S., Koswatta, T., Wagner, S. P., & Walter, G. (March, 2019). Improving communication between STEM scientists and consumers. Poster presented at the annual Texas A&M University Student Research Week, College Station, TX.
- Wagner, S. P. & Redwine, T. (2019, February). When social identity moderates food crisis response: Exploring the ‘Great Blue Bell Famine.’ Poster presented at the Annual Convention of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Portland, OR.
- Wagner, S. P., & Rutherford, T. (February, 2019). A canon of classics: Foundational readings for Doctoral Students in the Broad Discipline of Agricultural Education. In Proceedings of the American Association for Agricultural Educators Southern Region Conference (pp. 457-473). Birmingham, AL: American Association for Agricultural Educators.
- Leggette, H. R., Redwine, T., Jagger, J., & Wagner, S. P. (2018, February). #ChemicalAwareState: Farm safety goes social. Poster presented at the Southern Region Conference of the American Association for Agricultural Educators, Jacksonville, FL.
- Redwine, T., Wagner, S. P., Rutherford, T., & Wingenbach, G. (2018). Outcomes of study abroad in three domains of human development. NACTA Journal, 62(1), 77-83.
- Leggette, H. R., Redwine, T., Jagger, C., & Wagner, S. P. (2017). #ChemicalAwareState: Enhancing farm chemical safety usage in Mississippi through an interdisciplinary educational and social media outreach campaign. Lexington, KY: Southeast Center for Agricultural Health and Injury Prevention.
- Wagner, S. P. & Redwine, T. (2016, March). Texans buy Texan: A qualitative study exploring the great blue bell famine of 2015 from a social identity perspective. Paper presented at Texas A&M University Student Research Week, College Station, TX.
Ongoing Research Projects
Other Projects, Videos, and Photos
