Annenberg Public Policy Center

Surprise! The pandemic has made people more science literate

Research led by Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center found that Americans know much more about vaccines and public health measures than they did at the onset of the pandemic.

healthcare professional with syringe and vaccine

Millions embrace COVID-19 misinformation, which is linked to vaccine hesitancy

Millions continue to believe misinformation about vaccination and COVID-19, and these beliefs are associated with hesitancy to get themselves and their children vaccinated—or, if they are vaccinated, to get a booster for added protection.

Five rows of COVID-19 vaccine vials. The vials are angled diagonally, from bottom left to top right.

Mandates likely work to increase vaccine uptake

Rather than causing a backlash, vaccination requirements will succeed at getting more people inoculated, according to research from PIK Professor Dolores Albarracín and colleagues at Penn.

1 in 3 Americans say they might consider abolishing or limiting Supreme Court

A new survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center finds that more than a third of Americans say they might be willing to abolish the Supreme Court or have Congress limit its jurisdiction.

historic illustration of a phrenology map of someone’s skull.

When trust in science fosters pseudoscience

A study co-authored by PIK Professor Dolores Albarracín finds that people who trust science are more likely to believe and disseminate false claims containing scientific references than people who do not trust science.

Anthony Fauci speaking at a podium with an American flag in the background.

Public trust in CDC, FDA, and Fauci holds steady, survey shows

The top U.S. health agencies retain the trust of the vast majority of the American public, as does Anthony Fauci, the public face of U.S. efforts to combat the virus, according to a new survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center.

Adolescent in the driver’s seat of a car looking at their cell phone.

Use of cell phones while driving may be tied to other risky road behaviors in young adults

Anew study finds that 18- to 24-year-olds who use cell phones while driving are more likely to engage in other risky driving behaviors associated with “acting-without-thinking,” a form of impulsivity.

Hand holding a blank COVID-19 vaccination card.

Three in four people say COVID-19 vaccines effective and safer than getting virus

A national probability Annenberg Science Knowledge survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center finds that about 15% of people are uncertain about the vaccine, but persuadable.

To reduce shootings, give guns on TV the cigarette treatment

Dan Romer and Patrick Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center argue that the U.S. should fund further research on how depictions of guns violence in entertainment media affect off-screen gun violence. “One might argue that seeing cigarette use is not morally objectionable and so it’s more likely to be imitated by adolescents the more it’s seen in use by appealing characters on the screen,” they write. “But the same is true for guns, when they are used by appealing characters for seemingly justified reasons.”

Newsstand featuring three publications, two of which are covid-related.

How news messages affect views on vaccination

News coverage of expert scientific evidence about vaccine safety is effective at increasing public acceptance of vaccines, but the positive effect is diminished when the expert message is juxtaposed with a personal narrative about real side effects.

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