![]() Production value serves a proxy for overall perception When production value was perceived to be high, the video and narrator were perceived more positively. 1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree (with 95% CI). Figure 4: Perceived trustworthiness by perceived aim. The same goes for changing behaviour, which is a remarkable finding, as this suggests that science communicators do not have to obscure their beliefs if they feel strongly about a certain topic and want to make a change. The significant effects of perceived aim on trustworthiness are displayed in figure 4. On the contrary, respondents that indicated the video aimed to inform, rated the video higher on trustworthiness than those who did not. Therefore, science communicators should make sure their message does not come across as such. Some of these respondents commented that the video was ‘quite brain washing’ or ‘seemed to be aimed at children’. When respondents believe the aim of the video is to blame, they perceive the video to be less trustworthy. Table 1: Correlations between video and narrator perceptions Perceived aim matters One of the most striking findings is the effect of perceived aim on the overall perception of the video. All correlations between the video and narrator perceptions are illustrated in table 1. ![]() As a consequence, quality and entertainment should not be treated as a trade-off. Respondents who perceived the video to be entertaining, were more likely to say the video was also trustworthy, reliable and engaging. Our analysis indicates this fear is not grounded in reality. Trustworthiness and entertainment go hand-in-hand Science communicators can be hesitant to communicate insights in an entertaining way as they fear this might harm the trustworthiness of the message. Figure 3: Narrator perceptions by gender (F = female, M = male). This result can reflect some underlying gender bias and would require further analysis to disentangle cultural and individual effects. The narrators were perceived to be similar in terms of warmth and trustworthiness, but the male narrator was perceived to be more competent (Figure 3). They were also positive towards the female and male narrator. Respondents deemed the video to be trustworthy, reliable, engaging and entertaining (Figure 2). Positive perceptions First, it is important to mention that the video was perceived very positively. Respondents also answered how they perceived the narrator, the overall production and what they thought the primary aim of the video was, which produced interesting insights as well. This allowed us to understand whether small changes in the video affect the overall perceptions of the video. After watching one chapter, respondents answered how they perceived the video in terms of trustworthiness, reliability, engagement, and entertainment. Figure 1: Screenshot from the Kurzgesagt video “Who Is Responsible For Climate Change? – Who Needs To Fix It?” We split up this video in three chapters to which we made several manipulations (e.g., the gender of the narrator, textual changes). The Kurzgesagt video we used is called “Who is responsible for climate change? – Who needs to fix it?”. As the title suggests, the video revolves around climate change and which countries should take responsibility in countering this worrying development. As a consequence, science communication experts face the critical, yet difficult, task of increasing public understanding, and stimulating engagement within this group of skeptics. Despite the vast majority of scientists agreeing that humans have a (lasting) impact on climate change, a fraction of the population does not believe in the existence of the phenomenon, or its man-made cause. The experiment focused on climate change. In this study, we tried to bridge this knowledge gap by running a survey experiment using a science communication video by the popular animation studio Kurzgesagt (In a Nutshell). ![]() Nonetheless, we know little about how viewers perceive, trust, or judge, this type of science communication. This is not entirely surprising as science communication increasingly occurs via platforms such as YouTube and Twitter. By Asher van der Schelde, Marina Tulin, and Jay Lee, Erasmus University Rotterdam How do you stay informed about what is happening in the world? Chances are social media play a crucial role.
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