Third-Person Perceptions and Calls for Censorship of Flat Earth Videos on YouTube

Calls for censorship have been made in response to the proliferation of flat Earth videos on YouTube, but these videos are likely convincing to very few. Instead, people may worry these videos are brainwashing others. That individuals believe other people will be more influenced by media messages than themselves is called third-person perception (TPP), and the consequences from those perceptions, such as calls for censorship, are called third-person effects (TPE). Here, we conduct three studies that examine the flat Earth phenomenon using TPP and TPE as a theoretical framework. We first measured participants’ own perceptions of the convincingness of flat Earth arguments presented in YouTube videos and compared these to participants’ perceptions of how convincing others might find the arguments. Instead of merely looking at ratings of one’s self vs. a general ‘other,’ however, we asked people to consider a variety of identity groups who differ based on political party, religiosity, educational attainment, and area of residence (e.g., rural, urban). We found that participants’ religiosity and political party were the strongest predictors of TPP across the different identity groups. In our second and third pre-registered studies, we found support for our first study’s conclusions, and we found mixed evidence for whether TPP predict support for censoring YouTube among the public

When Science Journalism is Awesome: Measuring Audiences’ Experiences of awe from Reading Science Stories

In collaboration with professional science journalists, we conducted a national online survey (N = 2,088) to explore facets of awe as potential response states to science journalism and how audiences’ dispositional science curiosity may influence these response states. Our science journalist collaborators identified several “awe-inducing” articles as well as a “business-as-usual” article to use in the survey, and we measured participants’ experiences of awe using the Awe Experience Scale (AWE-S). We replicated the factor structure of the AWE-S and found that participants’ generally experienced greater awe from reading the “awe-inducing” science articles compared to the “business-asusual” one. Only partial support for the Differential Susceptibility to Media Effects model was found. Although we found that greater science curiosity predicted greater awe reactions to science journalism, science curiosity did not moderate the relationship between type of article read and experiences of awe. Together, these results demonstrate that audiences can experience awe from reading science journalism and the AWE-S is a good way to capture this emotion for media psychology research

Culturally Antagonistic Memes and the Zika Virus: An Experimental Test

This paper examines a remedy for a defect in existing accounts of public risk perceptions. The accounts in question feature two dynamics: the affect heuristic, which emphasizes the impact of visceral feelings on information processing; and the cultural cognition thesis, which describes the tendency of individuals to form beliefs that reflect and reinforce their group commitments. The defect is the failure of these two dynamics, when combined, to explain the peculiar selectivity of public risk controversies: despite their intensity and disruptiveness, such controversies occur less frequently than the affect heuristic and the cultural cognition thesis seem to predict. To account for this aspect of public risk perceptions, the paper describes a model that adds the phenomenon of culturally antagonistic memes – argumentative tropes that fuse positions on risk with contested visions of the best life. Arising adventitiously, antagonistic memes transform affect and cultural cognition from consensus-generating, truth-convergent influences on information processing into conflictual, identity-protective ones. The paper supports this model with experimental results involving perceptions of the risk of the Zika virus: a general sample of US subjects, whose cultural orientations were measured with the Cultural Cognition Worldview Scales, formed polarized affective reactions when exposed to information that was pervaded with antagonistic memes linking Zika to global warming; when exposed to comparable information linking Zika to unlawful immigration, the opposing affective stances of the subjects flipped in direction. Normative and prescriptive implications of these results are discussed

Measuring Interest in Science: The Science Curiosity Scale

In the current study, we present the methods for creating andvalidating a science curiosity scale. We find that the scalepresented here is unidimensional and highly reliable.Moreover, it predicts engagement with a science documentaryclip more accurately than do measures of science intelligenceor education. Although more steps are needed, this providesinitial evidence for the utility of our measure of sciencecuriosity

Asheley Landrum: Influencer l’engagement et l’apprentissage scientifiques des jeunes adultes grâce à la couverture médiatique de la COVID-19

Cette présentation a été faite par Asheley Landrum. Le titre de la présentation est: “Influencer l’engagement et l’apprentissage scientifiques des jeunes adultes grâce à la couverture médiatique de la COVID-19.” -- Chaque mois, l'équipe COVID Information Commons (avec le Northeast Big Data Innovation Hub) rassemble un groupe de chercheurs étudiant de nombreux aspects de la pandémie actuelle, pour partager leurs recherches et répondre aux questions de notre communauté. Ces événements mettent en valeur les efforts continus des scientifiques dans la lutte contre le COVID-19, notamment les opportunités de collaboration

Asheley Landrum: Influyendo en el compromiso científico y el aprendizaje de los adultos jóvenes con la cobertura de los medios de COVID-19

Descripción de esta presentación: Esta presentación fue hecha por Asheley Landrum, Texas Tech University. El título de la presentación es: Influyendo en el compromiso científico y el aprendizaje de los adultos jóvenes con la cobertura de los medios de COVID-19." Descripción de los seminarios web del CIC: Cada mes, el equipo del Centro de Información de COVID (junto con el Northeast Big Data Innovation Hub) reúne a un grupo de investigadores que estudian diversos aspectos de la pandemia actual, para compartir sus investigaciones y responder preguntas de nuestra comunidad. Los eventos muestran los esfuerzos continuos de los científicos en la lucha contra la COVID-19, incluyendo oportunidades de colaboración

Asheley Landrum: Collaborative Research: Influencing Young Adults’ Science Engagement and Learning with COVID-19 Media Coverage

This presentation was made by Asheley Landrum, Texas Tech University. The presentation’s title is: “Collaborative Research: Influencing Young Adults’ Science Engagement and Learning with COVID-19 Media Coverage.” Funded by NSF Division of Education and Human Resources (EHR) / Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL). -- Every month, the COVID Information Commons Team (along with the Northeast Big Data Innovation Hub) brings together a group of researchers studying wide-ranging aspects of the current pandemic, to share their research and answer questions from our community. The events showcase scientists' ongoing efforts in the fight against COVID-19, including opportunities for collaboration

Are Women a Missing Audience for Science on YouTube? An Exploratory Study

Educational science programming on digital video platforms such as YouTube wrestle with sometimes significant gender disparities in viewership. When men engage with science and technology content on digital platforms more than women, gender gaps in the understanding of, engagement with, and interest in STEM may intensify. Therefore, there is a critical need for research aiming to aid in our understanding of these gender differences. This study provides evidence that the gender gaps may exist not in the use of YouTube itself, but in the engagement with science and technology content on the platform. Furthermore, there are gender differences in the reasons for engaging with such content, with women, perhaps, more motivated by instrumental purposes than to satisfy their science curiosity