News

New Study Explains When Some Conspiracy Beliefs Can Lead to Action

Why do some people who embrace conspiracy theories simply hold those beliefs, while others act on them? A new study...

What Makes Messages Persuasive?

PIK Professor Dolores Albarracín and Penn Psychology doctoral student Yubo Zhou studied the relative persuasive impact of messages expressing attitudes, describing behaviors, or combining both.

• Technology & Society

Brain Activity Reveals What Makes Persuasive Messages Stick

A new study by the Communication Neuroscience Lab and colleagues reveals that activity in brain regions associated with reward and social processing can predict the effectiveness of messages.

• Technology & Society

AI Perceived More Negatively than Climate Science or Science in General

A new study by researchers affiliated with the Annenberg Public Policy Center explores public perceptions of artificial intelligence.

• Science Communication
• Technology & Society

What Behavioral Strategies Motivate Environmental Action?

A collaborative study from researchers affiliated with the Annenberg School for Communication, Annenberg Public Policy Center, and School of Arts & Sciences tested 17 strategies in an ‘intervention tournament.’

• Health Communication
• Science Communication

Polarization Research Lab’s Path to 2024 Series Highlights Realities of American Attitudes

Focusing on corporate political action, AI, immigration, and more, the Polarization Research Lab aims to dispel myths about partisan beliefs.

• Political Communication

Abortion, Not Inflation, Directly Affected Congressional Voting in 2022

Contrary to the conventional wisdom that Americans are “pocketbook voters,” views on abortion and the Supreme Court are more likely to sway voters today.

• Political Communication

Largest Quantitative Synthesis to Date Reveals What Predicts Human Behavior and How to Change It

Prof. Dolores Albarracín and her team dug through years of research on the science behind behavior change to determine the best ways to promote changes in behavior.

• Health Communication
• Science Communication

Cerianne Robertson Named 2024-26 George Gerbner Postdoctoral Fellow

At USC Annenberg, Robertson has studied media narratives and discourses that sustain power relations, particularly for cites and sports mega-events.

• Culture & Media

Experiencing Extreme Weather Predicts Support for Policies to Mitigate Effects of Climate Change

A new survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center finds that exposure to severe weather is associated with greater support for policies that address the effects of climate change.

• Science Communication