Resources Repository
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ArticlePublication 2021Misinformation and Public Opinion of Science and Health
This article summarizes the literature on misinformation, beginning with an overview of the most common …
This article summarizes the literature on misinformation, beginning with an overview of the most common definitions of misinformation (and related terms) in the communication literature and then a review of academic studies in the areas of science and health. The author acknowledges four overarching questions that have emerged prominently in recent years: (1) What does “misinformation” (and the terms that are oftentimes treated synonymously) mean? (2) How big of a problem is it in areas…
Energy/Engineering | Culture/Society | Global | Decision Psychology | Preferences/Values | Social Determinants | Climate/Environment | Education/Labor | Science/Technology | North America -
ArticlePublication 2019Misinformation Has Created a New World Disorder
This article, in brief, discusses (1) that many types of information disorder exist online, from …
This article, in brief, discusses (1) that many types of information disorder exist online, from fabricated videos to impersonated accounts to memes designed to manipulate genuine content, (2) automation and microtargeting tactics have made it easier for agents of disinformation to weaponize regular users of the social web to spread harmful messages, and (3) much research is needed to understand the effects of disinformation and build safeguards against it. This description was adapted from the…
Energy/Engineering | Culture/Society | Global | Decision Psychology | Preferences/Values | Climate/Environment | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | North America -
ArticlePublication 2018How to Unring the Bell: A Meta-Analytic Approach to Correction of Misinformation
This study reports on a meta-analysis that attempts to correct misinformation. Results indicate that corrective …
This study reports on a meta-analysis that attempts to correct misinformation. Results indicate that corrective messages have a moderate influence on belief in misinformation; however, it is more difficult to correct for misinformation in the context of politics and marketing than health. Correction of real-world misinformation is more challenging, as opposed to constructed misinformation. Rebuttals are more effective than forewarnings, and appeals to coherence outperform fact-checking, and appeals to credibility. This description was adapted from…
Energy/Engineering | Culture/Society | Global | Social Determinants | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | North America -
ArticlePublication 2020Perceptions of COVID-19 around the World
This study evaluates public risk perception of COVID-19 around the world in ten countries across …
This study evaluates public risk perception of COVID-19 around the world in ten countries across Europe, America, and Asia. They found that significant predictors of risk perception included personal experience with the virus, individualistic and prosocial values, hearing about the virus from friends and family, trust in government, science, and medical professionals, personal knowledge of government strategy, and personal and collective efficacy. Although there was substantial variability across cultures, individualistic worldviews, personal experience, prosocial values,…
Culture/Society | Global | Decision Psychology | Preferences/Values | Risk Analysis | Infectious Diseases | Health/Medicine -
ArticlePublication 2021Narrative Truth About Scientific Misinformation
Science and storytelling mean different things when they speak of truth. This difference leads some …
Science and storytelling mean different things when they speak of truth. This difference leads some to blame storytelling for presenting a distorted view of science and contributing to misinformation. Yet others celebrate storytelling as a way to engage audiences and share accurate scientific information. This review disentangles the complexities of how storytelling intersects with scientific misinformation. Storytelling is the act of sharing a narrative, and science and narrative represent two distinct ways of constructing reality.…
Culture/Society | Global | Decision Psychology | Preferences/Values | Social Determinants | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | North America -
ArticlePublication 2021Misinformation in and About Science
Humans learn about the world by collectively acquiring information, filtering it, and sharing what we …
Humans learn about the world by collectively acquiring information, filtering it, and sharing what we know. Misinformation undermines this process. The repercussions are extensive. Without reliable and accurate sources of information, we cannot hope to halt climate change, make reasoned democratic decisions, or control a global pandemic. Most analyses of misinformation focus on popular and social media, but the scientific enterprise faces a parallel set of problems – from hype and hyperbole to publication bias…
Culture/Society | Global | Decision Psychology | Preferences/Values | Social Determinants | Government/Law | Science/Technology | North America -
ReviewPublication 2021European News Consumers' Perceptions of Misinformation
This study indicated that news users across ten different European countries are quite concerned about …
This study indicated that news users across ten different European countries are quite concerned about misinformation in their information environment. Respondents were most likely to associate politicians, corporations, and foreign actors with misinformation. They perceived misinformation to be most common for topics like immigration, the economy, and the environment. This offered support for the increasingly more relative and politicized status of facts in people’s credibility perceptions. Yet, differences across sources and issues were relatively modest,…
Culture/Society | Europe | Decision Psychology | Preferences/Values | Social Determinants | Education/Labor | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology -
ArticlePublication 2021Measuring the Impact of COVID-19 Vaccine Misinformation on Vaccination Intent in the U.K. and U.S.
Widespread acceptance of a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 will be the next major step to fight …
Widespread acceptance of a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 will be the next major step to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, but high uptake achievement will be a challenge and may be impeded by online misinformation. This article is a randomized controlled trial in the U.K. and the U.S. with the objective to quantify how exposure to online misinformation around COVID-19 vaccines affects intent to vaccinate to protect oneself or others. The authors report that in both countries…
Culture/Society | Europe | Decision Psychology | Preferences/Values | Infectious Diseases | Child/Nutrition | Social Determinants | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | North America -
ArticlePublication 2017Increasing Vaccination: Putting Psychological Science into Action
Vaccination is one of the great achievements of the 20th century, yet persistent public health …
Vaccination is one of the great achievements of the 20th century, yet persistent public health problems include inadequate, delayed, and unstable vaccination uptake. Psychology offers three general propositions for understanding and intervening to increase uptake where vaccines are available and affordable. The first proposition is that thoughts and feelings can motivate getting vaccinated. Hundreds of studies have shown that risk beliefs and anticipated regret about infectious disease correlate reliably with getting vaccinated; low confidence in…
Culture/Society | Global | Decision Psychology | Preferences/Values | Infectious Diseases | Social Determinants | Policy/Regulation | Global Governance | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | North America