How Cable News Has Diverged From Broadcast News

From 2012 to 2022, cable news stations diverged from broadcast news and from each other in the topics they covered and the language they used, according to researchers from Duncan Watts' Computational Social Science Lab.

Communication
Computer and Information Science
Operations Information and Decisions

Consensus and Contagion in Society

What behavioral strategies motivate environmental action?

Drawing on research in psychology, neuroscience, communication, and environmental science, an interdisciplinary team from Penn, including Emily Falk, ran an “intervention tournament” to test 17 strategies for motivating people to act on climate change.

Communication
Marketing
Operations Information and Decisions
Psychology

Consensus and Contagion in Society

What We Value: The Neuroscience of Choice and Change

A new book by Emily Falk reveals how we can transform our relationship with the daily decisions that define our lives—opening pathways to make more purposeful, fulfilling choices; more successfully change our behavior; and influence others to see differently—by thinking like neuroscientists.

Communication
Marketing
Psychology

Consensus and Contagion in Society

Can Social Media Be Less Toxic?

In an era where online interactions can be both motivational and toxic, researchers from Duncan Watts' Computational Social Science Lab (CSSLab) are interested in what encourages prosocial behavior — acts of kindness, support, and cooperation — on social media.

Communication
Computer and Information Science
Operations Information and Decisions

Consensus and Contagion in Society

‘I Will Vote’: Using Future-Oriented Frames to Motivate Voters

“I Voted” stickers are a ubiquitous sight on American election days, but a new paper from Dolores Albarracín examines these stickers’ influence on people’s voting intentions, and asks whether different language choices in this approach to voter outreach might make a bigger impact on civic engagement.

Communication
Health Management
Nursing
Psychology

Consensus and Contagion in Society

How Small Talk Opens Up Deeper Connections

In an essay for The Wall Street Journal, Emily Falk explains how small talk establishes a brain “synchrony” that allows for more meaningful conversations.

Communication
Marketing
Psychology

Consensus and Contagion in Society

Dolores Albarracín Honored with BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award

Dolores Albarracín has been named one of five recipients of the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Social Sciences for her research increasing “our understanding of how attitudes can be changed, particularly with regard to persuasive messages.”

Communication
Health Management
Nursing
Psychology

Consensus and Contagion in Society

Coverage of civilian casualties in allied countries boosts support for U.S. involvement

A new paper from Dolores Albarracín finds that media coverage of civilian casualties evokes empathy and increases public support for U.S. involvement in conflicts—provided that the victims are from allied countries.

Communication
Health Management
Nursing
Psychology

Consensus and Contagion in Society

Why Income Inequality in America Is Hurting Collective Happiness

What does income inequality in America have to do with happiness? And more generally, what is the right way to think about the relationship between money and happiness? A recent study by Matthew Killingsworth offers some surprising answers.

People Analytics

Consensus and Contagion in Society

Is ‘Bypassing’ a Better Way to Battle Misinformation?

New research from Dolores Albarracín and Annenberg Public Policy Center postdoctoral fellow Javier Granados Samayoa explores an innovative approach to countering the impact of factually incorrect information called “bypassing.”

Communication
Health Management
Nursing
Psychology

Consensus and Contagion in Society