Social media influencers (SMIs) have become a prominent source of mental health - related information for young audiences, who often view them as role models and develop strong identification with them. However, SMIs sometimes share health content that is either misleading or overgeneralized, raising concerns about its potential effects. This study investigates the impact of such messaging and examines the role of identification with the message source. We conducted a pre-registered 3 (message type: misinformation vs. overgeneralized vs. control) & times; 2 (identification: higher vs. lower) between-subjects experiment with N = 549 Gen Z social media users in Germany recruited from an online panel, investigating three main outcomes: belief inaccuracy, behavioral intentions, and self-diagnostic tendencies. While neither misinformation nor overgeneralized messaging consistently affected behavioral intentions or self-diagnosis, findings showed that exposure to mental health-related misinformation by an SMI significantly increased belief inaccuracy, that is, a greater endorsement of inaccurate claims, regardless of whether participants strongly identified with the influencer.
Understanding how people perceive virtual humans compared to real ones is important. Based on the mind perception theory, this study investigated whether moral responsibility attribution and trust dynamics differ between virtual influencers (VIs) and human influencers (HIs) during endorsement scandals. In a between-subjects experiment using US-based participants from CloudResearch (N = 167), we found that although participants viewed VIs as having less mind and moral agency, they still attributed similar levels of blame and perceived wrongdoing to both VIs and HIs. Interestingly, apologies in VI endorsement were found to be more effective in trust repair than HI endorsement, especially when VI apologized. The study offers insights into how people morally evaluate virtual agents and highlights the implications for brands using VIs in advertising and crisis communication strategies.
Perceived digital well-being occurs when adolescents believe that they manage their smartphone use in a way that ensures that the benefits of using a smartphone outweigh the drawbacks in the social, emotional, and cognitive domains. Perceived digital benefits may also extend to offline benefits, such as adolescents' self-esteem and affective well-being. As self-esteem and affective well-being are known to fluctuate daily, this 14-day daily diary study among 303 Slovenian adolescents (M(SD)(age) = 16.39(1.84), 51.33% boys) examined the short-term relationships between perceived digital well-being and adolescents' state self-esteem and affective well-being. Perceived smartphone addiction and gender were considered moderators. Significant positive within-person associations were observed between all three domains of daily perceived digital well-being and both state self-esteem and affective well-being. At the between-level, perceived digital well-being in the emotional domain was positively associated with self-esteem and affective well-being, the cognitive domain was positively associated only with self-esteem, and the social domain was positively associated only with affective well-being. Gender moderated the relationships. Girls had a stronger positive within-person relationship between perceived digital well-being in the emotional domain and state self-esteem/affective well-being than boys. Daily perceptions of digital well-being thus matter for adolescents' daily changes in identity and offline well-being.
This study evaluated the efficacy of the Digital Bodies program, originally developed in England, which aims to improve body satisfaction and reduce the internalization of appearance ideals and self-objectification among adolescents. A cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted in Italian secondary schools (N = 435; mean age = 14.7 +/- 0.5 years; 63% female). Schools were randomized to either an intervention group (single 1-hour session) or a no-intervention control group. Assessments were conducted one week before the intervention, one week after, and at an 8-week follow-up. Primary outcomes included body satisfaction, internalization of appearance ideals, and self-objectification. Among participants with complete data, no significant differences were found between the intervention and control groups over time. Subgroup analyses by gender also revealed no significant effects. These findings partially diverge from those of the original study. Possible explanations include differences in participant age (older in our study), the use of different assessment instruments, and lower participants' comprehension of the intervention. If confirmed, these results suggest that Digital Bodies may be more effective when implemented with younger adolescents and that strict adherence to the program protocol is essential for achieving positive outcomes.
In contemporary Western societies, social identity seems to serve as a lens through which political issues are increasingly viewed. It is hence reasonable to expect a relationship between people's social identities and central political cleavages. At the same time, however, social identities appear to have become narrower during the last decades. Alongside that, the media environment has become increasingly fragmented while the ties between voters and political parties have weakened. Such developments might lead to fragmented social identities, rather than polarized social identities related to political cleavages. Against this background, this study applies a latent profile analysis to investigate how prominent social identities are structured and relate to each other. Furthermore, the study examines the relationships between social identities and digital media use. Among other things, the results from a 3-wave panel survey conducted in 5 European countries (N = 5,333) suggest that (a) social identities are fragmented rather than polarized, (b) there is a clear correlations between alternative media use and social identities, and (c) active social media use, compared to passive social media use, leads to stronger identification with peoples' most important social identity, and the relationship between social identities and active social media use is likely to be reciprocal.
Drawing on the affect and self-effects literatures, this study proposes a framework to examine how individuals' emotional and behavioral states, as proximal characteristics, shape the effects of online incivility. We differentiate online incivility into two dimensions: tone (use of vulgar language) and substance (attacks on political groups), focusing on two perceptual outcomes: perceived incivility of the comment and attribution of the commenter's aggressive motive. Based on an online experiment with U.S. adults (N = 837) using a hybrid experimental design, we found that a negative emotional state (anger induced by the experiment) attenuated perceived incivility of comments in a vulgar tone but did not alter perceptions of the comment's uncivil substance. The behavioral state (expressing uncivil content) mitigated the effects of exposure to vulgarity on both perceived incivility of the comment and attribution of the commenter's aggressive motive but had no impact on how the uncivil substance was perceived. We further identified age as a crucial distal factor in shaping the processes.
This study examines the impact of direct and indirect digital hate victimization on fundamental human needs (belonging, self-esteem, control, and meaningful existence) and bystander intervention tendencies. Drawing on a two-wave panel survey conducted in Austria with participants aged 16 years and older, the study applies the temporal need-threat model (TNTM) to assess these relationships over time. Findings indicate that direct digital victimization (DDV) undermines belonging, meaningful existence, and control, highlighting its negative consequences on targets over time. In contrast, indirect digital victimization (IDV) unexpectedly relates to increased belonging and meaningful existence, hinting at complex in-group dynamics in response to vicarious digital hate, Additionally, DDV predicts greater intervention as active bystanders over time, while IDV does not. These findings deepen understanding of digital hate's varied impacts and underscore the need for further exploration of DDV and IDV effects, with implications for developing interventions to reduce digital hate and enhance supportive bystander actions.
To combat misinformation at scale, automated fact-checkers are being deployed, but we do not know if lay users trust them. Are AI fact-checkers trusted more than human fact-checkers because of their accuracy in identifying tell-tale features of fake news? Or are they trusted less because they are seen as lacking the subjectivity necessary for corroborating evidence? A pre-registered 2 (Fact-checking source: Human vs. AI) & times; 3 (Fact-checking approach: Evidence-based vs. Feature-based vs. Black-box) between-subjects experiment among 291 US adults recruited from Cloud Research revealed that users' trust was predicted by the extent to which the interface triggered the positive machine heuristic (the algorithm is more objective and precise than human) and the negative machine heuristic (the algorithm lacks human subjective judgment). The latter was more likely when the system used an evidence-based determination of misinformation, which was better understood by users than a feature-based approach. Theoretical and practical implications for individuals' trust of automated fact-checkers are discussed.
The notion that misinformation has persistent effects on beliefs and attitudes despite being debunked is widely recognized, but poorly understood. Through two preregistered experiments, we propose a novel psychological explanation of this phenomenon, based on the conditional nature of spontaneous higher-order inferences (e.g., categorization). In Study 1 (N = 263; American adults in an online (Prolific) panel), inferred beliefs about the subject of the misinformation (attributed behavioral tendencies and personality traits) were assessed after participants read a news article about fictional fraud, followed by a correction for half of the participants. We predicted that corrections would reduce belief in misinformation more than the inferred beliefs about the subject. In Study 2 (N = 429; Dutch adult convenience sample), inferred evaluative beliefs about the subject were additionally assessed, and the design included multiple correc-tion formats. Results confirm our explanatory model: belief in misinformation is more easily reversed than beliefs inferred from misinformation (Study 1 and 2), across correction formats (Study 2). The present work offers initial evidence that the persistence of misinformation may stem from less effective correction at higher levels of inference: Beliefs inferred from false evidence are often not logically addressed by the correc-tion of that evidence, leading to continued persuasive misinfor-mation effects.
Screen use-related parenting behaviors are important predictors for the onset and development of children's problematic screen use (PSU). However, the configurative patterns of these behaviors within parental dyads remain underexplored. It is also unclear how parents' own screen use attitudes and behaviors may shape their screen-related parenting. This study identified profiles of maternal and paternal screen-related parenting practices in a representative sample of 3,290 Chinese parent-child dyads (44.95% girls, Mean child age = 5.34 years, SD = 1.47). We further examined children's PSU levels across profiles and explored parental screen use attitudes and behaviors as antecedents. Latent profile analysis revealed five configurations: disengaged fathers and lax mothers, lax fathers and disengaged mothers, lax fathers and engaged mothers, dually lax parents and dually engaged parents. Children in the dually engaged parents profile showed the lowest PSU, whereas those in disengaged-related profiles showed related high levels of PSU. Moreover, supportive attitudes toward screen use served as a distinguishing feature between the disengaged-related profiles and lax-related profiles, while parental phubbing distinguished the engaged-related profiles from the lax-related profiles. Findings highlight the heterogeneity in screen-related parenting configurations. Joint efforts from both parents in screen use related parenting may maximize the reduction of children's PSU.
Social media influencers addressing the environmental crisis, also called "greenfluencers," almost seamlessly blend pro-environmental content with insights into their personal lives. Yet, we know little about how this specific interplay affects consumers' pro-environmental attitudes and behavior dynamically over time. To that end, we used a pre-registered digital field experiment in which 263 Belgian women followed a seemingly real greenfluencer account via Instagram for 10 days. Drawing from the Affect-Reason-Involvement (ARI) model, we systematically varied the degree of pro-environmental density and self-disclosure and investigated mechanisms explaining the differential effects of these content elements on pro-environmental outcomes. Findings revealed that higher pro-environmental density increased perceived autodidact expertise of the influencer. High environmental involvement also moderated the effect of pro-environmental density on pro-environmental outcomes.
Dating apps are designed to facilitate partner-seeking, yet they can also expose users to various forms of social exclusion. Previous research has primarily focused on ghosting experiences (i.e., others disappearing without notice). However, little is known about the effects of more explicit forms of social exclusion, such as being removed from another user's match list after initial selection (i.e., unmatched). Addressing this research gap, we conducted two pre-registered 2 (dating experience: dissolving vs. maintaining the match) & times; 2 (chat history: small talk vs. planning a date) between-subjects experiments. After selecting the most appealing profile in a simulated dating environment, participants (S1: N = 252, Mage = 25.19; 49% female, S2: N = 259, Mage = 25.78, 45% female) saw a chat conversation with "My Match," who either dissolved the match at different stages or not. Receiving unmatching notifications significantly threatened fundamental needs (i.e., belonging, self-esteem, meaningful existence, and control), increased negative affect, and evoked ruminative thoughts. Moreover, being unmatched (vs. not) led to less prosocial and more withdrawal coping preferences. These findings strengthen our understanding of social exclusion in online dating and highlight that explicit rejection-despite removing uncertainty about whether the relationship has ended-elicits negative consequences.
Problematic internet use (PIU) and loneliness are consistently linked, but whether one drives the other over time is unclear. Using six-wave panel data from 753 Finnish adults recruited through an online panel (4,518 observations), we examined how PIU and loneliness relate to each other within individuals. We used dynamic panel models that account for stable between-person differences and examine within-person changes, testing both contemporaneous (within-wave) and lagged (across-wave) associations over 6- and 12-month intervals. Results revealed strong reciprocal contemporaneous effects: when individuals experienced elevated PIU, they also reported greater loneliness, and vice versa. However, we found no evidence of lagged effects at either 6- or 12-month intervals. This suggests the relationship between PIU and loneliness unfolds within rather than across the specific measurement periods examined, though the contemporaneous effects may reflect unmeasured shorter-term dynamic processes occurring between waves.
Instagram and TikTok are among the world's most popular social media sites, yet questions remain about how their use is associated with appearance-based social comparison, body satisfaction, and self-esteem. Specifically, we know little about the temporal ordering of these phenomena, the role of TikTok vis-& agrave;-vis Instagram, and how passive use (browsing without interacting) and active use (interacting with other users) differentially contribute to these outcomes. To address this gap, we collected daily diary data over 10 days from 383 undergraduate students at a Canadian university. Our preregistered analyses revealed that participants who spent more time on Instagram and TikTok were higher in appearance-based social comparison, and in turn, lower in body satisfaction and self-esteem. Ancillary analyses revealed a similar pattern - both active and passive use of Instagram were associated with greater social comparison, and in turn, lower body satisfaction and self-esteem. Furthermore, passive use of Instagram also predicted lower next-day body satisfaction via an increase in appearance-based social comparison. Overall, these results suggested that engaging in appearance-based social comparison on TikTok and Instagram might jeopardize users' body satisfaction and self-esteem.
When striving to promote acceptance of marginalized groups through persuasive narratives, past research suggests that delaying disclosure of a character's stigmatized identity can facilitate narrative involvement and promote message-consistent outcomes. In the present studies, we apply this strategy to the context of transgender individuals through two experiments that compared narratives which disclosed the protagonist's identity at different points in the story (early or late). In findings that diverge from previous evidence, our results offer a complicated picture of narrative influence. In Study 1 (N = 334; story of transgender boy), early disclosure, rather than late, promoted greater identification and transportation and lower counterarguing. These variables mediated the relationship between disclosure timing and message-consistent outcomes such that participants in the early disclosure condition reported more favorable attitudes toward transgender individuals as well as greater interest in discussion and willingness to communicate with them. In Study 2 (N = 328; story of transgender girl), we found that the outcome variables were only significantly associated with political ideology. Both studies collected data from a politically diverse sample of U.S. adults.
Pervasive digital media use in early childhood raises concerns about problematic media use and executive functions. Yet, limited research has examined its long-term predictive effects and bidirectional relations among these factors, leaving predictive pathways unclear. This study analyzed data from 1113 Korean children in the Panel Study on Korean Children, tracking them at ages 6, 9, 10, and 12 years. A cross-lagged panel model examined bidirectional associations between general media use, problematic media use, and executive function difficulties in middle childhood, with media use at age 6 as a predictor. Results showed that higher media use at age 6 predicted higher general and problematic media use at ages 9 and 10. Problematic media use at age 10 mediated the link between media use at age 6 and executive function difficulties at age 12, suggesting that problematic media use drives later executive function difficulties. While executive function difficulties predicted problematic media use at all ages, bidirectional associations emerged between media use and problematic media use (ages 9 and 10) and between problematic media use and executive function difficulties (ages 10 and 12). These findings highlight dynamic interplay between general and problematic media use and executive functions from early to middle childhood.
Children learn more from educational television when it is paired with hands-on instruction, and the current experiment examined ways to strengthen the benefits of this pairing. Specifically, 4- to 7-year-old children at a U.S. museum (N = 120, 56.7% girls, 75.0% White) viewed an educational television program and completed a hands-on activity that varied whether it integrated two distinct components from the program: factual concepts and narrative elements. Results indicated that integrating factual concepts supported children's transfer from the hands-on activity (eta 2p = .05), whereas integrating narrative elements had no impact. These patterns held regardless of children's responses to viewing the program (e.g. knowledge acquisition). These findings have implications for theories of children's transfer from media, and we propose alternative mechanisms that might explain these patterns (e.g. interpretive knowing).
Non-binary communities advocate for greater inclusion of their identities in the media, as lack of visibility and awareness remains a significant cause of prejudice against this population. This study investigates the impact of media representations of non-binary individuals on audience attitudes. Specifically, it draws on narrative transportation theory to examine how different narrative types affect their viewers' openness to such identities. An online experiment with a between-subjects factorial design was conducted with 404 Spanish participants, who were of diverse gender and sexual identities (AgeRange = 19 to 74; M = 35.01, SD = 11.11) and were recruited via an online panel. Participants were randomly assigned to one of six narratives from a TV series featuring a non-binary character, in which identity-linked narrative valence outcome was either positive, neutral or negative. Results indicate that negative and neutral narratives generate higher levels of narrative transportation, which enhances character liking, subsequently reducing intergroup anxiety and fostering greater openness toward non-binary gender identities. This research contributes to the understanding of how media narratives can positively influence attitudes toward non-binary individuals.
Although artificial intelligence (AI) can improve human welfare and well-being in many ways, AI has sparked controversies regarding efficiency, bias, and fairness. Motivated by defensive attribution, this study argues that perception of AI fairness and responsibility attribution of biased decisions can be affected by whether they benefit from the decisions or are discriminated against by the AI decisions. This study also examined how individuals' abstract, or concrete thinking (construal levels) modulate their fairness judgments, an area that remains underexplored despite its importance. Two interconnected experiments employing an experimental-causal-chain approach were conducted with English-speaking adults (18 years or older) residing in the United States, recruited via Prolific, to investigate the effects of construal level and perceived benefits on perceived algorithmic fairness and organizational moral responsibility. Key findings reveal that perceived benefits from AI decisions critically influence fairness perceptions, and that procedural fairness plays a vital role in attributing moral responsibility to organizations. Females showed greater sensitivity to fairness than males when not benefiting from AI decisions. This research enhances our understanding of the psychological factors influencing algorithmic decision-making, providing crucial insights for creating fairer AI decision-making systems and highlighting the importance of procedural fairness in promoting responsible practices within organizations.
