Vucinic, Milica (2022) The Effect of Communication Source and Uncertainty Communication on Trust in COVID-19 Information. Bachelor thesis, Psychology.
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Abstract
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has increased the need for transparent science communication strategies in recent years. Scientific findings are the basis of many policy decisions, specifically for health- and safety regulations during the pandemic. Previous research demonstrates that factors such as the communication source, uncertainty communication, and individual characteristics can impact people’s trust in scientific information. In this study (N = 463), we used a 2 (uncertainty vs. no uncertainty) x 3 (government website vs. scientific article vs. scientists via social media) between-subjects design to examine the effects of the communicator source on trust in information about COVID-19 booster vaccines. In addition, we examined the association between psychological distress and trust. Overall we obtained varied results regarding previous research, as we found no effects of the source, or uncertainty communication on trust, while psychological distress was negatively correlated with trust. We conclude that scientific findings may be communicated more transparently. The implications of this study are further discussed.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Bachelor) |
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| Supervisor name: | Bles, A.M. van der |
| Degree programme: | Psychology |
| Differentiation route: | Applied Social Psychology (ASP) [Bachelor Psychology] |
| Date Deposited: | 11 Mar 2022 09:00 |
| Last Modified: | 11 Mar 2022 09:00 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/302 |
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