No abstract

This study develops a measure of perceived authenticity in science communication and then explores communication strategies to improve the perceived authenticity of a scientific message. The findings are consistent with literature around trust and credibility, but indicate that authenticity-the perception that the scientist is a unique individual with qualities beyond institutional affiliations or a role in the production of the research-may add a potentially important dimension to accepted categories of integrity and benevolence.

In addition, I would also like to thank my friends, colleagues, the department faculty and staff for making my time at Iowa State University a wonderful experience. I want to also offer my appreciation to those who were willing to participate in my surveys and observations, without whom, this thesis would not have been possible.

Background Firearm ownership is prevalent in the US and many children spend time in areas where firearms are not stored safely. The AAP recommends firearm safety counseling at pediatric well-visits. Methods We developed and tested six contextual messages to promote safe firearm storage based on: absence of harm, collective appeal to understanding child behavior, pediatrician’s authority, evidence-based, fear appeal, and general safety considerations. One hundred four parents who keep firearms at home were recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk Prime and viewed video messages and reported behavioral intentions and emotional reactions following each message. Results All six contextual messages were perceived as important and believable and increased parents’ intentions to follow safety advice provided, but also elicited negative emotions. The authority message elicited more negative emotions and resulted in lower intentions to follow safe storage advice. Conclusions Including firearm messages with other child safety advice merits further evaluation. Authority messages should be avoided.

No abstract

No abstract

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: anecdotal vs. scientific evidence referenced in comments) between-subjects factorial design experiment with a no-comments control group ( N = 426) showed that comments have independent effects on the evaluation of medical science news stories on perceived relevance, uncertainty, and risk perception. Also, the types of comments interact with participants’ intellectual humility and subjective numeracy. The findings illustrate that comments may have a deleterious impact on audience perception of journalistic stories and scientific issues.

No abstract