DDRIG in DRMS: Communicating risks in a sensational media environment-Using short video multimodal features to attract attention and reduce psychological reactance for persuasion

在当今以短视频为主的社交媒体格局中，争夺公众注意力影响着科学传播中的信息完整性。组织和个人使用各种多模式功能，如图像、背景音乐和视觉效果，以最大限度地提高信息浏览量，希望将公众舆论转向重要问题。消息感觉价值(MSV)反映了消息的内容和格式特征如何影响受众的参与度，从而直接或间接地改变公众对事件的看法。以往的研究对MSV对说服的影响提出了相互矛盾的观点。这项研究使用一种新型的短视频数据集来捕获和测试MSV的影响，旨在使科学和健康传播者、政策制定者和技术平台能够更好地了解和解决耸人听闻的社交媒体功能在影响人们的消费方式和受这些信息影响方面的影响。这项研究采用了大规模计算视频分析和在线实验相结合的方法。首先，该项目使用计算技术在10,000个不同消息内容质量的视频中系统地识别多模式特征，并检查18个多模式特征与视频参与度指标的关联。本研究为多通道特征在信息传播中的作用提供了证据。其次，本研究采用2(MSV：高、低)乘2(信念一致性：积极态度、反态度)乘以2(问题)的被试间设计，再加上一个控制条件，进行了一个在线实验(N=1500)。该实验测试了MSV对注意力、可信度判断、心理反应和风险感知的说服作用的相互竞争的理论机制，这些个体在这两个关键问题上的先前存在的态度不同。这项研究为科学和风险传播中使用的耸人听闻的媒体特征提供了一个有理论依据的调查。这些发现阐明了沟通健康和气候风险以及科学信息和维护信息完整性的有效战略。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

In today’s social media landscape, dominated by short videos, competition for public attention affects information integrity in science communication. Organizations and individuals use various multimodal features such as images, background music, and visual effects to maximize message viewing in hopes of shifting public opinion toward important issues. Message sensation value (MSV) captures how content and format features of messages can influence audience engagement, directly or indirectly changing public opinion towards the issues. Previous studies present conflicting views on MSV’s impacts on persuasion. This research captures and tests MSV’s impacts using a novel short video dataset, aiming to enable science and health communicators, policymakers, and technological platforms to better understand and address the effects of sensational social media features in influencing how people consume and are influenced by these messages. This research employs a combination of large-scale computational video analysis and an online experiment. First, the project uses computational techniques to systematically identify multi-modal features in 10,000 videos of varying message content quality and examines the associations of 18 multi-modal features to video engagement metrics. This research provides evidence on the role played by multi-modal features in the propagation of messages. Second, this research conducts an online experiment (N = 1,500) with a 2 (MSV: high, low) by 2 (belief congruence: pro-attitudinal, counter-attitudinal) by 2 (issues) between-subject design, plus a control condition. The experiment tests competing theoretical mechanisms of MSV’s persuasive effects on attention, credibility judgment, psychological reactance, and risk perceptions for individuals with varying pre-existing attitudes on the two critical issues. This research provides a theory-informed investigation of sensational media features used in science and risk communication. The findings shed light on effective strategies for communicating health and climate risks and scientific information and maintaining information integrity.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.