<
https://www.psypost.org/2022/06/exposure-to-humorous-memes-about-anti-vaxxers-boosts-intention-to-get-a-covid-19-vaccine-study-finds-63336>
"Pro-vaccination messaging may be surprisingly effective when delivered through
humorous internet memes, according to new findings published in the journal
Computers in Human Behavior. A series of studies revealed that exposure to
sarcastic memes about anti-vaxxers increased UK residents’ intention to receive
a COVID-19 vaccine. The researchers suggest that the humorous memes were able
to bypass the typical defense processes of people who are vaccine-hesitant.
As a vaccine emerged to combat the novel coronavirus, public health officials
in Western countries grappled with convincing the population to get vaccinated.
Vaccine misinformation was rampant, and officials turned to educational
campaigns backed by expert sources to persuade the public that the vaccine was
safe and effective.
Unfortunately, such educational campaigns can backfire, since people who are
vaccine-hesitant are prone to conspiracy belief and tend to be distrustful of
authoritative sources. Informational campaigns are also not designed to go
viral on social media and can become easily outpaced by anti-vaccine messaging.
A team of psychology researchers led by Shawn N. Geniole proposed a need for
newer interventions that use messaging that is highly shareable, scalable, and
unlikely to be perceived as corrupt — something like an internet meme."
Via Violet Blue’s
Pandemic Roundup: June 23, 2022
https://www.patreon.com/posts/pandemic-roundup-68125277
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
