Headline Format Influences Evaluation of, but Not Engagement with, Environmental News

Abstract

Sparked by a collaboration between academic researchers and science media professionals, this study sought to test three commonly used headline formats that vary based on whether (and, if so, how) important information is left out of a headline to encourage participants to read the corresponding article; these formats are traditionally-formatted headlines, forward-referencing headlines, and question-based headlines. Although headline format did not influence story selection or engagement, it did influence participants evaluations of both the headline's and the story's credibility (question-based headlines were viewed as the least credible). Moreover, individuals' science curiosity and political views predicted their engagement with environmental stories as well as their views about the credibility of the headline and story. Thus, headline formats appear to play a significant role in audience's perceptions of online news stories, and science news professionals ought to consider the effects different formats have on readers.

Are Women a Missing Audience for Science on YouTube? An Exploratory Study

“…Supporting our prior work suggesting that our science curiosity scale (Kahan et al, 2017) predicts engagement with science media (e.g., Janét et al, 2020), logistic regression analyses show that science curiosity was positively associated with listing at least one science video (b = 0.59, exp(b) = 1.81, 95% CI[1.28, 2.60], p < 0.001) and at least one technology video (b = 0.53, exp(b) = 1.70, 95% CI[1.21,2.41], p = 0.002). Notably, it was Women Seem More Likely to Access Science Videos for Information Gathering; Men Access Science Videos for Both Information Gathering and Entertainment…”

“…To determine whom is interested in engaging with science content, my collaborators and I developed the "Science Curiosity Scale" (see also Kahan et al, 2017;Motta et al, 2019). Individuals' science curiosity scores are strongly predictive of their engagement with educational science video (Kahan et al, 2017) as well as other types of science media (Janét et al, 2020). In my collaborative research with KQED Science, we have found that in some cases, women were less likely than equally science curious men to agree to watch an educational science video (Kahan, 2019).…”

Effect of visual imagery in COVID-19 social media posts on users’ perception

“…This method adapted a previously created survey by Janét, Richards & Landrum (2022) to measure participant perception of the credibility of social media posts. The survey consists of ten items, answered with a six-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (disagree) to 6 (strongly agree).…”

“…Another line of research is investigating how headlines used in social media posts affect user perceptions. In that vein, Janét, Richards & Landrum (2022) investigated three types of headlines about environmental topics: traditional ones (with straightforward information), those that ask questions, and forward-referencing headlines (‘You’ll never believe what…’). They found that headlines did not affect story engagement or selection but did affect credibility, and the question-formatted headlines seemed the least credible.…”

“…They found that headlines did not affect story engagement or selection but did affect credibility, and the question-formatted headlines seemed the least credible. The participants’ political views and scientific curiosity also affected the engagement and credibility of the stories ( Janét, Richards & Landrum, 2022 ). Another study found that users typically share news on social media through more interpersonal and subjective methods.…”