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The Efficacy of Social Media Communication in Engaging Citizen Scientists: Insights From the Jozi Bee Hotel Project Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2024-03-14 Natasha Shilubane, Mehita Iqani, Chevonne Reynolds
The Jozi Bee Hotel Project recruited Johannesburg residents to help gather data on solitary bee abundance. They were motivated and guided by a strategic communications campaign. This study explores social media’s impact on the citizen scientists’ project involvement, particularly their interaction with visual elements of the communications campaign. Analysis of engagement metrics reveals that social
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Talking About Gene Drive in Uganda: The Need for Science Communication to Underpin Engagement Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2024-03-11 Sarah Hartley, Aleksandra Stelmach, Chris Opesen, George Ladaah Openjuru, Stella Neema
Uganda may host the world’s first field trials of gene drive mosquitoes for malaria control. Global North discourses pre-suppose African publics have access to information about gene drive and are ready to make decisions about its governance. We explore assumptions about the availability of this information in Uganda. We find a paucity of information available combined with a strong desire for information
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On the Motivations to Seek Information From Artificial Intelligence Agents Versus Humans: A Risk Information Seeking and Processing Perspective Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2024-03-11 Wang Liao, William Weisman, Arti Thakur
This study investigates how anticipating an artificial intelligence agent versus human information source moderates the risk information seeking and processing model. It focuses on a behavioral proxy of seeking intention—how long a participant waited for an online consultant whose identity was manipulated. In two samples ( N1 = 182 students and N2 = 800 mturkers), the source identity consistently moderated
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Tipping the Scales of Psychological Reactance: A Closer Look at Imperative Language and the Role of Epistemic Certainty Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2024-03-08 Callie Kalny, Nathan Walter
Psychological reactance is a key construct in persuasion, but experimental inductions often confound imperative language with epistemically certain language (i.e., language that belies grounds for doubt). Two online experiments examine the effects of each language type on indicators of psychological reactance across two scientific contexts. In Study 1 ( N = 274), imperative language increased felt
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Differentiated Trust Strategies and Rebellious Acceptance: A Qualitative Comparative Analysis of the Trust Strategies Used by Scientist Communicators and Citizen Science Communicators in Chinese Online Climate Communication Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2024-03-05 Zheng Yang, Tao Yang
Trust is a core issue in online climate communication where communicators are found to be diverse. This study explores the trust strategies used by different communicators and their audience acceptance in climate communication on Zhihu through Qualitative Comparative Analysis. The results indicate there are structured differences in the trust strategies adopted by scientist communicators and citizen
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Bridging the Knowledge Gap in Artificial Intelligence: The Roles of Social Media Exposure and Information Elaboration Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2024-03-04 Wenbo Li, Shan Xu, Xia Zheng, Ruoyu Sun
This study examined how social media influence the knowledge gap between low and high socioeconomic status (SES) groups in artificial intelligence (AI), a highly debated scientific subject warranting immediate scholarly attention. A national survey of U.S. adults ( N = 965) was conducted. The results showed that education and social media exposure to AI information (SME) predicted greater AI knowledge
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Examining Muslims’ Opinions Toward Cultured Meat in Singapore: The Influence of Presumed Media Influence and Halal Consciousness Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2024-02-28 Shirley S. Ho, Stanley Arvan Wijaya, Mengxue Ou
This study examines how halal consciousness acts as a precursor to the influence of presumed media influence model to explain Muslims’ views (i.e., attitudes and behavioral intentions) toward cultured meat. A survey of 658 Muslim Singaporeans found that halal consciousness positively correlated with Muslims’ attention to media messages on the benefits of cultured meat, which subsequently shaped their
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Shifting Climate Communication Narratives Toward Actions and Futures in a Rural Area of Appalachia Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2024-02-23 Bonnie M. McGill, Taiji Nelson, Mary Ann Steiner, Nicole E. Heller
An urban natural history museum and university partnered with rural conservation organizations to support a climate learning network in southwestern Pennsylvania, a region with a fossil fuels heritage. Network members recognized the urgent need to address climate change at the system scale and wanted to talk about climate action, but they had doubts about what climate actions to take, how much their
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Overcoming Confirmation Bias in Misinformation Correction: Effects of Processing Motive and Jargon on Climate Change Policy Support Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2024-02-20 Yan Huang, Weirui Wang
A 2 (jargon vs. no jargon) × 3 (motive: control vs. accuracy vs. impression) between-subjects experiment examined the impact of jargon and processing motive in correcting climate change misinformation and promoting policy support. The results revealed a positive effect of jargon use when participants were asked to focus on accuracy during information processing. This effect was mediated by reduced
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How Does VR Affect Emotional Appeal and Persuasiveness of Gain Versus Loss-Framed Messages? Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2024-02-19 Mengqi Liao, Pejman Sajjadi, S. Shyam Sundar
Can virtual reality (VR) lead to more desirable persuasion effects than videos in communicating the science of contentious issues like climate change? And, will these effects differ between messages that offer hope versus fear? We addressed these questions with a 2 (Modality: Desktop VR vs. Unidirectional video) × 2 (framing: Gain vs. Loss) between-subjects experiment ( N = 130), and found that VR
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When Science Meets Art on Instagram: Examining the Effects of Visual Art on Emotions, Interest, and Social Media Engagement Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2024-02-06 Isabel I. Villanueva, Nan Li, Thomas Jilk, Julianne Renner, Brianna Rae Van Matre, Dominique Brossard
While artistic representations of scientific subjects, phenomena, and data have gained traction on social media, their effects on audience engagement remain understudied. Using an experiment with Instagram users in the United States ( N = 655), this study found that exposure to artistic representations of COVID-19 information on Instagram significantly increased individuals’ interest and positive emotions
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Identifying the Active Ingredients of Climate Change Narratives: A Model of Temporal Perspective, Narrator Perspective, and Psychological Distance Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2024-01-30 Meng Chen, Jilong Wang, Zhian Yin
Psychological distance has long been regarded as a primary obstacle to driving pro-environmental changes. This study seeks to explore narrative attributes that can be strategically harnessed to solve the distal nature of climate change. By adopting a 2 (retrospective vs. prospective temporal perspective) × 2 (first-person vs. third-person narrator perspective) factorial experimental design, the findings
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Lived Experience, Shared Knowledge: Reimagining Community-Driven Science Communication Research Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2024-01-29 Todd P. Newman, Lillie D. Williamson, Michael A. Xenos
This essay advocates for a transformative, community-centric approach to science communication, promoting inclusivity and recognizing the impact of lived experiences. We challenge the prevalent population-centric approach and underscore the importance of engaging persistently marginalized communities, notably Black Americans. Drawing from health communication literature, we unveil a comprehensive project
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Explaining Polarized Trust in Scientists: A Political Stereotype-Approach Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2024-01-20 Marlene S. Altenmüller, Tobias Wingen, Anna Schulte
Trust in science is polarized along political lines—but why? We show across a series of highly controlled studies (total N = 2,859) and a large-scale Twitter analysis ( N = 3,977,868) that people across the political spectrum hold stereotypes about scientists’ political orientation (e.g., “scientists are liberal”) and that these stereotypes decisively affect the link between their own political orientation
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Polarization or Mainstreaming? How COVID-19 News Exposure Affects Perceived Seriousness of the Pandemic and the Susceptibility to COVID-19 Misinformation? Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2023-07-25 Jiyoung Han,Eun-Ju Lee
Two surveys investigated whether the exposure to COVID-19 news widens (polarization) or narrows (mainstreaming) the partisan gap in perceived seriousness of the pandemic, and how the perception affects individuals' susceptibility to COVID-19 misinformation that either exaggerates or downplays its health risks. Overall exposure to COVID-19 news homogenized the partisans' otherwise divergent risk perceptions
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Emergent Sonification: Using Computational Media to Communicate the Anthropocene in ByrdBot Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2023-04-27 Miles C. Coleman, Brandon Simon, Matt Pierce, Charles A. Schutte
This research note describes ByrdBot, a science communication tool that leverages bird songs to communicate data regarding human impacts on the environment. With ByrdBot, listeners can compare simu...
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Expanding on Behavioral Outcomes in the Risk Information Seeking and Processing Model: Socio-Cognitive Factors Predicting Information Seeking, Sharing, and Discussion Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2023-04-04 Alisius D. Leong, Katherine A. McComas, Dominic H. P. Balog-Way, Krysten L. Schuler
We employed the risk information seeking and processing (RISP) model to identify socio-cognitive factors motivating hunters’ information seeking, sharing, and discussion of the risks of using lead ...
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Science Communication as a Collective Intelligence Endeavor: A Manifesto and Examples for Implementation Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2023-04-04 Dawn Holford, Angelo Fasce, Katy Tapper, Miso Demko, Stephan Lewandowsky, Ulrike Hahn, Christoph M. Abels, Ahmed Al-Rawi, Sameer Alladin, T. Sonia Boender, Hendrik Bruns, Helen Fischer, Christian Gilde, Paul H. P. Hanel, Stefan M. Herzog, Astrid Kause, Sune Lehmann, Matthew S. Nurse, Caroline Orr, Niccolò Pescetelli, Maria Petrescu, Sunita Sah, Philipp Schmid, Miroslav Sirota, Marlene Wulf
Effective science communication is challenging when scientific messages are informed by a continually updating evidence base and must often compete against misinformation. We argue that we need a n...
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Exploring the Influence of Aggressive and Target-Framing Messages on Proenvironmental Behaviors Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2023-03-02 Shupei Yuan, Colin Kuehl
As the tenor of climate change debates continues to intensify, it is critical to understand how shifts in style and target affect individuals’ proenvironmental behaviors. Using two online experimen...
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Introduction to Sharon Dunwoody Memorial Issue Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2023-02-21 Susanna Priest, Lee Ann Kahlor, Robert J. Griffin
This introduction to our February 2023 issue is intended to provide context for the issue content, which presents multiple examples of the ongoing influence of the work of the late Sharon Dunwoody....
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Using Light Art Installation in Urban Nightscapes to Raise Public Awareness of Carbon Neutrality Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2023-02-08 Shaokun Chen, Kaixuan Fu, Biao Yang, Xin Lian
The carbon neutrality goal requires citizens’ awareness and participation. Public art attracts audiences to spread awareness by intervening in urban space, which is conducive to the visualization a...
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Individual and Collective Actions Against Climate Change Among Chinese Adults: The Effects of Risk, Efficacy, and Consideration of Future Consequences Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2023-02-03 Jingyuan Shi, Zixi Li, Liang Chen, Hongjie Tang
In this study, we tested the core premise of the risk perception attitude framework—that perceived risk and perceived efficacy jointly affect intention—and identified consideration of future conseq...
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Communication and Perspectives About COVID-19 and Vaccinations Among Native Americans Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2023-02-03 Rachel Ellenwood, Amanda D. Boyd, Zoe Higheagle Strong
The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected Native American people and communities across the United States. Despite unequal losses during the pandemic, Native Americans have high vaccination...
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Contested Certainty and Credibility: The Effect of Personal Stories and Scientific Evidence in User Comments on News Story Evaluation and Relevance Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2023-02-03 Amanda Hinnant, Sisi Hu, Yoorim Hong, Rachel Young
This study examined how user comments influence perceptions of a less-controversial news story. The results of a 2 (argument direction: supporting vs. dissenting comments) × 2 (evidence type: anecd...
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Spreadsheets, Software, Storytelling, Visualization, Lifelong Learning: Essential Data Skills for Journalism and Strategic Communication Students Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2023-02-03 Piotr S. Bobkowski, Christopher E. Etheridge
To facilitate greater integration of statistical reasoning and data instruction in journalism and mass communication (JMC) college curricula, this research note advocates designing collective instr...
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Sharon Dunwoody’s Legacy: Three Timely Lessons for Us Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2023-01-16 Hans Peter Peters
Sharon Dunwoody gained international reputation for her research on science journalism and media risk communication. Drawing on her publications published over more than four decades and the author...
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A View From the Trenches: Interviews With Journalists About Reporting Science News Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2023-01-16 Josh Anderson, Anthony Dudo
In the United States and many other large media markets, science journalism has experienced major structural shifts that have resulted in the profession largely being conducted by nonspecialists an...
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Scientists and Journalists and Communicating Uncertainty: Collaborating With Sharon Dunwoody Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2023-01-04 Sharon M. Friedman, Carol L. Rogers
This commentary honors Sharon Dunwoody’s scholarship and collaboration by focusing on two co-edited books on science communication. It explores the development of these two seminal publications tha...
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Communicating Blue Carbon Science Across the Indo-Pacific Region Through Capacity Building Fellowships Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2023-01-02 Daniel Gorman, Mark S. Wilson, Andrew D. L. Steven
Communicating the value of blue carbon ecosystems requires sound knowledge of biology, remote sensing, carbon assessment, policy, and approaches to restoration. We describe a successful training pr...
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Linking Psychometric Paradigm of Risk and Issue Attention Cycle: Risk Information in News Coverage of Avian and Swine Influenza Global Outbreaks Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2022-12-22 Timothy K. F. Fung, Kang Namknoong, Jiyoun Kim, Po Yan Lai
To examine risk characteristics of health threats during global outbreaks, this study linked the psychometric paradigm of risk and issue attention cycle to content analyze 1,626 news articles durin...
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How Media Reports on COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories Impact Consensus Beliefs and Protective Action: A Randomized Controlled Online Trial Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2022-12-14 Hannah Timna Logemann, Samuel Tomczyk
This study examines the influence of news coverage on coronavirus disease (COVID)-related conspiracy theories on consensus perceptions regarding the seriousness of COVID-19 and its impact on attitu...
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Reduced Risk Information Seeking Model (RISK): A Meta-Analysis Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2022-12-14 Zhuling Liu, Janet Zheng Yang, Thomas Hugh Feeley
This meta-analysis synthesizes research findings from 50 studies to assess the explanatory power of the reduced risk information seeking model (RISK). The results show that informational subjective...
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[DUNWOODY ISSUE] The Sagan Effect and Scientists’ Public Outreach Participation in China: Multilayered Roles of Social Norms and Rewards Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2022-12-13 Anfan Chen, Xing Zhang, Jianbin Jin
In this study, we investigate public outreach participation among Chinese scientists through a multiple mediation model. Factors related to the Sagan effect—negative experiences and negative person...
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Investigating the Heterogeneity of Misperceptions: A Latent Profile Analysis of COVID-19 Beliefs and Their Consequences for Information-Seeking Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2022-12-10 Marlis Stubenvoll
This panel study in Austria in 2020 (NW1 = 912, NW2 = 511) explores distinct audience segments regarding beliefs in misinformation, conspiracy, and evidence statements on COVID-19. I find that citi...
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A State of Emergency or Business as Usual in Climate Science Communication? A Three-Dimensional Perspective on the Role Perceptions of Climate Scientists, Climate Journalists, and Citizens Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2022-12-10 Peter Busch Nicolaisen
Building on post-normal science, Brüggemann et al. (2020) suggest that the uncertain, disputed, high-stakes, and urgent character of the climate challenge facing modern societies may alter the conv...
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Do Conservation Films Generate Support for Conservation? A Case Study Using Transportation Theory and Hidden Rivers Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2022-12-07 Bryan B. Bozeman, Celeste M. Condit, Gary D. Grossman
We conducted an experiment to determine whether a conservation film increased support for conservation and whether transportation and emotion were correlated with shifts in conservation support. Vi...
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Can Communication Theory Advance Research When Environmental Issues Become Wicked? The Case of Microplastics Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2022-11-19 Anne Gammelgaard Ballantyne, Jean-Paul de Cros Péronard
This commentary reviews current empirical trends focusing on microplastics in the social sciences and discusses how science communication and media research can make meaningful contributions to adv...
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Researchers’ Public Engagement in the Context of Interdisciplinary Research Programs: Learning and Reflection from Boundary Crossing Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2022-11-17 Friederike Hendriks, Rainer Bromme
Outreach activities might facilitate researchers’ boundary crossing not only between science and society but also between disciplines. This offers opportunities for learning and reflection on the i...
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Science Journalism in India: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2022-11-03 Pradeep Naik
Science journalism in India is need-based and happens only when the country is in crisis. There are many reasons to it including a lack of journalistic training in presenting science stories. While...
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Participatory Science Communication Through Consensus Conferences: Legitimacy Evaluations of a German Consensus Conference on Genome Editing Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2022-10-22 Leonie Dendler
Considering growing deliberative turns within and beyond science communication coupled with calls for their systematic evaluations, this paper presents a legitimacy framework to analyze a recent co...
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Humor Can Increase Perceived Communicator Effectiveness Regardless of Race, Gender, and Expertise—If You are Funny Enough Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2022-10-21 Sara K. Yeo, Amy B. Becker, Michael A. Cacciatore, Ashley A. Anderson, Kasha Patel
Across a wide range of issues and a variety of sources, scientific information often gets lost in translation, failing to properly inform, educate, and engage publics in a meaningful way. But scien...
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Media Use, Interpersonal Communication, and Attitudes Toward Artificial Intelligence Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2022-10-17 Paul R. Brewer, James Bingaman, Ashley Paintsil, David C. Wilson, Wyatt Dawson
This study examines how members of the public frame artificial intelligence (AI) along with how news use predicts “frames in mind” for AI. The study also tests whether news use, science fiction vie...
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Benefits and Pitfalls of Debunking Interventions to Counter mRNA Vaccination Misinformation During the COVID-19 Pandemic Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2022-10-14 Philipp Schmid, Cornelia Betsch
Misinformation about mRNA vaccination is a barrier in the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, authorities often rely on text-based refutations as a countermeasure. In two experiments ...
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Television News, Political Comedy, Party, and Political Knowledge in Global Warming Belief: Evidence From a Large-Scale Panel Survey Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2022-08-24 Patrick C. Meirick
Secondary analysis of panel data found, after controlling for prior belief and many covariates, that 2011 Fox News viewing was negatively related to belief in global warming in 2016 and 2019, while...
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An Application of the Risk Information Seeking and Processing Model in Understanding College Students’ COVID-19 Vaccination Information Seeking and Behavior Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2022-08-24 Xin Zhou, Anthony J. Roberto
This study tested the utility of risk information seeking and processing (RISP) model in understanding college students’ information seeking about COVID-19 vaccines and their vaccination behavior. ...
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Missing the Bigger Picture: The Need for More Research on Visual Health Misinformation Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2022-08-05 Kathryn Heley, Anna Gaysynsky, Andy J. King
Research shows that health misinformation is widespread online and poses a potentially significant threat to public health. Visual misinformation has been largely overlooked, a notable gap given th...
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No Laughing Matter: Exploring the Effects of Scientists’ Humor Use on Twitter and the Moderating Role of Superiority Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2022-08-05 Annie L. Zhang, Hang Lu
This study explores the effects of two humor styles—pure humor and satire—on audiences’ Twitter engagement intentions as well as their attitudes toward mRNA Covid-19 vaccines. In an online between-...
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Cutting the Bunk: Comparing the Solo and Aggregate Effects of Prebunking and Debunking Covid-19 Vaccine Misinformation Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2022-07-20 Michelle A. Amazeen, Arunima Krishna, Rob 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...
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The Role of Repeated Exposure and Message Fatigue in Influencing Willingness to Help Polar Bears and Support Climate Change Mitigation Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2022-06-23 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 assign...
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Linking Online Vaccine Information Seeking to Vaccination Intention in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2022-06-06 Han Zheng, Shaohai Jiang, Sonny 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 ...
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Varieties of Awe in Science Communication: Reflexive Thematic Analysis of Practitioners’ Experiences and Uses of This Emotion Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2022-05-20 Daniel Silva Luna, Jesse M. 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...
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Establishing Trust in Experts During a Crisis: Expert Trustworthiness and Media Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2022-05-20 Sabina Mihelj, Katherine Kondor, Václav 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 ask...
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Don’t Look Up: Science Communication Revisited Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2022-05-11 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
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Verification Upon Exposure to COVID-19 Misinformation: Predictors, Outcomes, and the Mediating Role of Verification Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2022-04-13 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
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Gene Drives in the U.K., U.S., and Australian Press (2015–2019): How a New Focus on Responsibility Is Shaping Science Communication Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2022-01-25 Aleksandra Stelmach, Brigitte Nerlich, Sarah 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.
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Generating Science Buzz: An Examination of Multidimensional Engagement With Humorous Scientific Messages on Twitter and Instagram Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2021-12-31 Leona Yi-Fan Su, Meaghan McKasy, Michael A. Cacciatore, Sara K. Yeo, Alexandria R. DeGrauw, Jennifer Shiyue Zhang
This study investigates the types of humor embedded in funny scientific posts on social media and their effects on engagement. We mapped the landscape of such posts on Twitter and Instagram through content analysis of their message attributes. Regression analyses were then conducted to examine how different humor types, communicative functions, and visual attributes were associated with liking, retweeting
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“Listening” to Science: Science Podcasters’ View and Practice in Strategic Science Communication Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2021-12-31 Shupei Yuan, Shaheen Kanthawala, Tanya Ott-Fulmore
We have witnessed an increasing amount of science podcasts, and it has emerged as an important venue for science communication. From a strategic science communication perspective, this study investigated how science podcasters view science communication–related goals and objectives, as well as the tactics they use in producing science communication content based on the theory of planned behavior. A
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To Vaccinate or Not? The Role Played by Uncertainty Communication on Public Understanding and Behavior Regarding COVID-19 Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2021-12-27 Nicole C. Kelp, Jessica K. Witt, Gayathri Sivakumar
Communication regarding COVID-19 vaccines requires evidence-based strategies. We present findings from a quantitative survey measuring participants’ understanding, trust, and decision-making in response to information conveying low or high uncertainty regarding the vaccine. Communication conveying high uncertainty led to lower self-assessed understanding but higher actual understanding of possible
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Seeking Scientific Health Information for Empowerment: Empowered-Get-More-Empowered Effects Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2021-12-27 Chingching Chang
To explore the scientific value of information elements in health news, this article reports on common information elements that are associated with scientific value, according to the findings of surveys conducted in the United States and Taiwan. The design of two further studies in Taiwan reflects an effort to understand whether scientific information elements benefit only health conscious people
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Risk Communication and Community Engagement During the Migrant Worker COVID-19 Outbreak in Singapore Sci. Commun. (IF 7.441) Pub Date : 2021-12-07 Wai Jia Tam, Nina Gobat, Divya Hemavathi, Dale Fisher
In early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore, Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) with large, diverse communities of migrant workers living in high-density accommodation was slow to develop. By August 2020, Singapore had reported 55,661 cases of COVID-19, with migrant workers comprising 94.6% of the cases. A system of RCCE among migrant worker communities in Singapore was developed