Pub Date : 2022-07-20DOI: 10.1177/10755470221111558
Michelle A. Amazeen, A. Krishna, R. Eschmann
An online experiment among a nationally representative YouGov sample of unvaccinated U.S. adults (N = 540) leverages inoculation theory as a preliminary step in uniting the prebunking and debunking literature. By testing how prior attitudes toward Covid-19 vaccines interact with varying message interventions, the study finds that specific inoculation messages protect against misinformation, but only among those with preexisting healthy attitudes. Generic inoculation messages have wider application, offering both prophylactic and therapeutic benefits. However, the therapeutic benefits of generic inoculations disappear when debunking messages are present. Nonetheless, generic inoculations do not appear to have detrimental effects on those infected with unhealthy attitudes, unlike specific inoculation messages. Whether the messages are truly a form of inoculation by generating threat merits further research.
{"title":"Cutting the Bunk: Comparing the Solo and Aggregate Effects of Prebunking and Debunking Covid-19 Vaccine Misinformation","authors":"Michelle A. Amazeen, A. Krishna, R. Eschmann","doi":"10.1177/10755470221111558","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10755470221111558","url":null,"abstract":"An online experiment among a nationally representative YouGov sample of unvaccinated U.S. adults (N = 540) leverages inoculation theory as a preliminary step in uniting the prebunking and debunking literature. By testing how prior attitudes toward Covid-19 vaccines interact with varying message interventions, the study finds that specific inoculation messages protect against misinformation, but only among those with preexisting healthy attitudes. Generic inoculation messages have wider application, offering both prophylactic and therapeutic benefits. However, the therapeutic benefits of generic inoculations disappear when debunking messages are present. Nonetheless, generic inoculations do not appear to have detrimental effects on those infected with unhealthy attitudes, unlike specific inoculation messages. Whether the messages are truly a form of inoculation by generating threat merits further research.","PeriodicalId":47828,"journal":{"name":"Science Communication","volume":"44 1","pages":"387 - 417"},"PeriodicalIF":9.0,"publicationDate":"2022-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45345580","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-06-23DOI: 10.1177/10755470221105068
Hang Lu
Repeated exposure and its associated fatigue are key obstacles to engagement that remain insufficiently addressed for climate change communication. To explore this issue, this study randomly assigned U.S. adults (N = 933) to one of five experimental conditions (number of polar bear news headlines: 0 vs. 1 vs. 3 vs. 7 vs. 10), in which they were exposed to a total of 20 news headlines in a brief amount of time. Overall, this study did not find evidence supporting the inverted-U shaped model concerning repeated exposure. In addition, chronic message fatigue played a moderating role such that for those with high chronic message fatigue, even one brief exposure resulted in stronger acute message fatigue, which was associated with lower compassion and weaker willingness to help polar bears and support climate change mitigation. Discussions on these exploratory results and implications for audience segmentation are provided.
反复暴露及其相关的疲劳是参与的主要障碍,气候变化沟通仍未充分解决这一问题。为了探讨这个问题,本研究将美国成年人(N = 933)随机分配到五个实验条件之一(北极熊新闻标题的数量:0 vs. 1 vs. 3 vs. 7 vs. 10),在这些条件下,他们在很短的时间内接触到总共20个新闻标题。总的来说,本研究没有发现证据支持关于重复暴露的倒u型模型。此外,慢性信息疲劳发挥了调节作用,对于那些慢性信息疲劳程度高的人来说,即使是一次短暂的接触也会导致更强烈的急性信息疲劳,这与帮助北极熊和支持减缓气候变化的同情心和意愿较低有关。对这些探索性结果和受众细分的影响进行了讨论。
{"title":"The Role of Repeated Exposure and Message Fatigue in Influencing Willingness to Help Polar Bears and Support Climate Change Mitigation","authors":"Hang Lu","doi":"10.1177/10755470221105068","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10755470221105068","url":null,"abstract":"Repeated exposure and its associated fatigue are key obstacles to engagement that remain insufficiently addressed for climate change communication. To explore this issue, this study randomly assigned U.S. adults (N = 933) to one of five experimental conditions (number of polar bear news headlines: 0 vs. 1 vs. 3 vs. 7 vs. 10), in which they were exposed to a total of 20 news headlines in a brief amount of time. Overall, this study did not find evidence supporting the inverted-U shaped model concerning repeated exposure. In addition, chronic message fatigue played a moderating role such that for those with high chronic message fatigue, even one brief exposure resulted in stronger acute message fatigue, which was associated with lower compassion and weaker willingness to help polar bears and support climate change mitigation. Discussions on these exploratory results and implications for audience segmentation are provided.","PeriodicalId":47828,"journal":{"name":"Science Communication","volume":"44 1","pages":"475 - 493"},"PeriodicalIF":9.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46510692","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-06-01DOI: 10.1177/10755470221101067
Han Zheng, Shaohai Jiang, S. Rosenthal
This study examines how online vaccine information seeking is related to vaccination intention in the United States and China during the initial stage of their coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination programs. Analysis of the pooled sample showed a positive relationship between online vaccine information seeking and vaccination intention. There was also a negative indirect effect via perceived information overload, vaccine risk perception, and negative affective response. Multigroup analysis revealed differences between the United States and China. This study highlights the bright and dark sides of online health information during a global pandemic and has practical implications for communication campaigns to promote health-related behaviors.
{"title":"Linking Online Vaccine Information Seeking to Vaccination Intention in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic","authors":"Han Zheng, Shaohai Jiang, S. Rosenthal","doi":"10.1177/10755470221101067","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10755470221101067","url":null,"abstract":"This study examines how online vaccine information seeking is related to vaccination intention in the United States and China during the initial stage of their coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination programs. Analysis of the pooled sample showed a positive relationship between online vaccine information seeking and vaccination intention. There was also a negative indirect effect via perceived information overload, vaccine risk perception, and negative affective response. Multigroup analysis revealed differences between the United States and China. This study highlights the bright and dark sides of online health information during a global pandemic and has practical implications for communication campaigns to promote health-related behaviors.","PeriodicalId":47828,"journal":{"name":"Science Communication","volume":"44 1","pages":"320 - 346"},"PeriodicalIF":9.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44457779","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-06-01DOI: 10.1177/10755470221102303
S. Priest
{"title":"Introduction to This Theme Issue on Processing COVID Information","authors":"S. Priest","doi":"10.1177/10755470221102303","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10755470221102303","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47828,"journal":{"name":"Science Communication","volume":"44 1","pages":"259 - 260"},"PeriodicalIF":9.0,"publicationDate":"2022-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47965674","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-05-20DOI: 10.1177/10755470221098100
Daniel Silva Luna, J. Bering
Awe is a valued emotion in science communication and assumes a variety of functions in relation to the cultural mandates of the various spaces where it is represented. Based on a reflexive thematic analysis of interviews with 22 science communication practitioners, we constructed seven themes referencing this emotion’s various sociocultural roles in this space. These included the functions of awe in entertainment, curiosity, admiration, revelation, and connection. Drawing from a constructionist view of emotions, we argue that these varieties of awe co-construct many of the differing, and sometimes conflicting, mandates that circulate in the culture of science communication.
{"title":"Varieties of Awe in Science Communication: Reflexive Thematic Analysis of Practitioners’ Experiences and Uses of This Emotion","authors":"Daniel Silva Luna, J. Bering","doi":"10.1177/10755470221098100","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10755470221098100","url":null,"abstract":"Awe is a valued emotion in science communication and assumes a variety of functions in relation to the cultural mandates of the various spaces where it is represented. Based on a reflexive thematic analysis of interviews with 22 science communication practitioners, we constructed seven themes referencing this emotion’s various sociocultural roles in this space. These included the functions of awe in entertainment, curiosity, admiration, revelation, and connection. Drawing from a constructionist view of emotions, we argue that these varieties of awe co-construct many of the differing, and sometimes conflicting, mandates that circulate in the culture of science communication.","PeriodicalId":47828,"journal":{"name":"Science Communication","volume":"44 1","pages":"347 - 374"},"PeriodicalIF":9.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49635107","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-05-20DOI: 10.1177/10755470221100558
Sabina Mihelj, Katherine Kondor, V. Štětka
Existing research on factors informing public perceptions of expert trustworthiness was largely conducted during stable periods and in long-established Western liberal democracies. This article asks whether the same factors apply during a major health crisis and in relatively new democracies. Drawing on 120 interviews and diaries conducted during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Serbia, we identify two additional factors not acknowledged in existing research, namely personal contact with experts and experts’ independence from political elites. We also examine how different factors interact and show how distrust of experts can lead to exposure to online misinformation.
{"title":"Establishing Trust in Experts During a Crisis: Expert Trustworthiness and Media Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic","authors":"Sabina Mihelj, Katherine Kondor, V. Štětka","doi":"10.1177/10755470221100558","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10755470221100558","url":null,"abstract":"Existing research on factors informing public perceptions of expert trustworthiness was largely conducted during stable periods and in long-established Western liberal democracies. This article asks whether the same factors apply during a major health crisis and in relatively new democracies. Drawing on 120 interviews and diaries conducted during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Serbia, we identify two additional factors not acknowledged in existing research, namely personal contact with experts and experts’ independence from political elites. We also examine how different factors interact and show how distrust of experts can lead to exposure to online misinformation.","PeriodicalId":47828,"journal":{"name":"Science Communication","volume":"44 1","pages":"292 - 319"},"PeriodicalIF":9.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44621245","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-05-11DOI: 10.1177/10755470221092100
Samer Angelone
In my workshops, Storytelling and Storyboarding Science, I teach scientists how to use the narrative techniques and strategies employed in movies to produce persuasive presentations and publications. Although the movie Don’t Look Up was initially intended as an allegory about climate change and the idea that decision makers are not listening to scientists, this movie does in fact highlight important issues regarding how scientists communicate science to the wider public. In this article, I discuss how this movie illustrates the challenges that I teach my students to cope with in science communication.
{"title":"Don’t Look Up: Science Communication Revisited","authors":"Samer Angelone","doi":"10.1177/10755470221092100","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10755470221092100","url":null,"abstract":"In my workshops, Storytelling and Storyboarding Science, I teach scientists how to use the narrative techniques and strategies employed in movies to produce persuasive presentations and publications. Although the movie Don’t Look Up was initially intended as an allegory about climate change and the idea that decision makers are not listening to scientists, this movie does in fact highlight important issues regarding how scientists communicate science to the wider public. In this article, I discuss how this movie illustrates the challenges that I teach my students to cope with in science communication.","PeriodicalId":47828,"journal":{"name":"Science Communication","volume":"44 1","pages":"375 - 382"},"PeriodicalIF":9.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49213846","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-04-13DOI: 10.1177/10755470221088927
Yanqing Sun
This study proposes a theory-oriented model that examines the predictors and outcomes of people’s verification of COVID-19 misinformation. Using an online experiment with 400 U.S. adults, this study showed that those who believed that others might be influenced by misinformation and that such influence had serious consequences for others as well as those with a higher level of fear and anxiety were more likely to perform institutional verification by using search engines, prestigious medical sites, or fact-checking sites. The intention to conduct institutional verification increased individuals’ efficacy beliefs regarding correcting misinformation, which motivated them to correct misinformation on social media.
{"title":"Verification Upon Exposure to COVID-19 Misinformation: Predictors, Outcomes, and the Mediating Role of Verification","authors":"Yanqing Sun","doi":"10.1177/10755470221088927","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10755470221088927","url":null,"abstract":"This study proposes a theory-oriented model that examines the predictors and outcomes of people’s verification of COVID-19 misinformation. Using an online experiment with 400 U.S. adults, this study showed that those who believed that others might be influenced by misinformation and that such influence had serious consequences for others as well as those with a higher level of fear and anxiety were more likely to perform institutional verification by using search engines, prestigious medical sites, or fact-checking sites. The intention to conduct institutional verification increased individuals’ efficacy beliefs regarding correcting misinformation, which motivated them to correct misinformation on social media.","PeriodicalId":47828,"journal":{"name":"Science Communication","volume":"44 1","pages":"261 - 291"},"PeriodicalIF":9.0,"publicationDate":"2022-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44756426","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-02-01Epub Date: 2021-11-14DOI: 10.1177/10755470211056990
Amanda D Boyd, Dedra Buchwald
COVID-19 vaccinations are the primary tool to end the pandemic. However, vaccine hesitancy continues to be a barrier to herd-immunity in the United States. American Indians (AI) often have higher levels of distrust in western medicine and lower levels of satisfaction with health care when compared to non-Hispanic Whites. Yet AIs have high COVID-19 vaccination rates. We discuss factors that influence AI risk perceptions of COVID-19 vaccinations including the impact of COVID-19 on AI Elders, community, and culture. We conclude with future research needs on vaccination communication and how culturally congruent communication campaigns may have contributed to high COVID-19 vaccination rates.
{"title":"Factors That Influence Risk Perceptions and Successful COVID-19 Vaccination Communication Campaigns With American Indians.","authors":"Amanda D Boyd, Dedra Buchwald","doi":"10.1177/10755470211056990","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10755470211056990","url":null,"abstract":"COVID-19 vaccinations are the primary tool to end the pandemic. However, vaccine hesitancy continues to be a barrier to herd-immunity in the United States. American Indians (AI) often have higher levels of distrust in western medicine and lower levels of satisfaction with health care when compared to non-Hispanic Whites. Yet AIs have high COVID-19 vaccination rates. We discuss factors that influence AI risk perceptions of COVID-19 vaccinations including the impact of COVID-19 on AI Elders, community, and culture. We conclude with future research needs on vaccination communication and how culturally congruent communication campaigns may have contributed to high COVID-19 vaccination rates.","PeriodicalId":47828,"journal":{"name":"Science Communication","volume":"44 1","pages":"130-139"},"PeriodicalIF":9.0,"publicationDate":"2022-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9355386/pdf/nihms-1771731.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40678181","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-01-25DOI: 10.1177/10755470211072245
Aleksandra Stelmach, B. Nerlich, S. Hartley
Gene drive is a controversial biotechnology for pest control. Despite a commitment from gene drive researchers to responsibility and the key role of the media in debates about science and technology, little research has been conducted on media reporting of gene drive. We employ metaphor and discourse analysis to explore how responsibility is reflected in the coverage of this technology in the U.S., U.K., and Australian press. The findings reveal a rhetorical strategy of trust-building by evoking the moral attributes of gene drive researchers. We discuss the implications of these findings for the communication of new technologies.
{"title":"Gene Drives in the U.K., U.S., and Australian Press (2015–2019): How a New Focus on Responsibility Is Shaping Science Communication","authors":"Aleksandra Stelmach, B. Nerlich, S. Hartley","doi":"10.1177/10755470211072245","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/10755470211072245","url":null,"abstract":"Gene drive is a controversial biotechnology for pest control. Despite a commitment from gene drive researchers to responsibility and the key role of the media in debates about science and technology, little research has been conducted on media reporting of gene drive. We employ metaphor and discourse analysis to explore how responsibility is reflected in the coverage of this technology in the U.S., U.K., and Australian press. The findings reveal a rhetorical strategy of trust-building by evoking the moral attributes of gene drive researchers. We discuss the implications of these findings for the communication of new technologies.","PeriodicalId":47828,"journal":{"name":"Science Communication","volume":"44 1","pages":"143 - 168"},"PeriodicalIF":9.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42521393","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}