Annenberg Public Policy Center

Reducing susceptibility to misconceptions about mRNA vaccination

Researchers at the Annenberg Public Policy Center have tested the effectiveness of a “mental model” approach to presenting scientific information, incorporating visual, verbal, or animated models to teach scientific or medical concepts to better identify misconceptions.

2 min. read

Analyzing youth voter turnout

Researchers at the Annenberg Public Policy Center and the Annenberg Communication Neuroscience Lab find that Voting in an election helps shape the government to work on their behalf; however, the majority of U.S. youth don’t vote regularly.

Canada loses measles elimination status. Will the U.S. soon follow?

A survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center found that 82% of respondents would recommend the MMR vaccine for eligible children in their household, down from 90% in November 2024.

Public not highly knowledgeable about measles risks or MMR vaccine safety

A recent health survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center finds that the public is less informed than it should be of measles-related risks and less certain than it used to be of the value of vaccination.

2 min. read

APPC’s Brooks Jackson Prize for Fact-Checking awarded

Penn’s Annenberg Public Policy Center and the Walter Cronkite Awards for Excellence in Political Journalism have awarded the Brooks Jackson Prize for Fact-Checking to KSL-TV 5 Salt Lake City, recognized for its Truth Test series of fact-checks during Utah’s 2024 legislative session.

Changes to vaccine recs causing uncertainty

An Annenberg Public Policy Center survey found that 82% of U.S. adults would recommend that eligible children in their household get the MMR vaccine, although widespread confusion remains about the shot’s safety.

Kathleen Hall Jamieson honored with William D. Carey Lectureship Award for Leadership in Science Policy

The Annenberg Public Policy Center director has been honored with the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s William D. Carey Lectureship Award for Leadership in Science Policy. Her presentation at the 49th Annual AAAS Forum on Science and Technology Policy, “Preempting public misconceptions about science,” urged scientists and science communicators to stop being reactive in seeking to correct misinformation.

Dolores Albarracín receives Career Award from Society for Personality and Social Psychology

The Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor at the Annenberg School for Communication and director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center’s Communication Science division has been honored with the 2025 Career Contribution Award from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology for her contributions to social psychology.

Civics education struggles, even as government and politics saturate daily life

Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center comments on the effect of federal educational priorities on curriculum decisions.

Despite escalating anti-vaccine rhetoric, most Americans support vaccine mandates, surveys find

Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center comments on vaccine mandates.

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