Two reliability generalization studies: The Suinn-Lew Asian Self-Identity Acculturation Scale (SL-ASIA) and the Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men (ATLG) Scale

The idea that US conservatives are uniquely likely to hold misperceptions is widespread but has not been systematically assessed Research has focused on beliefs about narrow sets of claims never intended to capture the richness of the political information environment Furthermore, factors contributing to this performance gap remain unclear We generated an unique longitudinal dataset combining social media engagement data and a 12-wave panel study of Americans' political knowledge about high-profile news over 6 months Results confirm that conservatives have lower sensitivity than liberals, performing worse at distinguishing truths and falsehoods This is partially explained by the fact that the most widely shared falsehoods tend to promote conservative positions, while corresponding truths typically favor liberals The problem is exacerbated by liberals' tendency to experience bigger improvements in sensitivity than conservatives as the proportion of partisan news increases These results underscore the importance of reducing the supply of right-leaning misinformation

https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/advances/7/23/eabf1234.full.pdf

Conservatives' susceptibility to political misperceptions.

We analyze the relationship between partisanship, echo chambers, and vulnerability to online misinformation by studying news sharing behavior on Twitter. While our results confirm prior findings that online misinformation sharing is strongly correlated with right-leaning partisanship, we also uncover a similar, though weaker trend among left-leaning users. Because of the correlation between a user's partisanship and their position within a partisan echo chamber, these types of influence are confounded. To disentangle their effects, we perform a regression analysis and find that vulnerability to misinformation is most strongly influenced by partisanship for both left- and right-leaning users.

/pdf/right-and-left-partisanship-predicts-asymmetric-55qeltlkaa.pdf

Right and left, partisanship predicts (asymmetric) vulnerability to misinformation

En un contexto multiplataforma de uso generalizado y muy intensivo por parte de los jovenes, estos presentan niveles de participacion diferenciales segun sus distintas motivaciones para participar. En este estudio se realiza un mapa de las practicas mas relevantes de los jovenes en redes sociales, poniendo especial interes en identificar los usos participativos y estudiando sus actitudes hacia estos espacios que respaldan o limitan su comportamiento online; todo ello teniendo en cuenta aspectos como el sexo, la edad o la clase social familiar. La metodologia cuantitativa del estudio analiza los resultados de una encuesta estadistica representativa de los jovenes de 17 a 24 anos de la Comunidad de Madrid (N=533). Los datos confirman el uso especialmente intensivo de los medios sociales que hacen los jovenes, y que se orienta fundamentalmente hacia el entretenimiento y la interaccion con su entorno mas cercano. No obstante, estas cifras bajan drasticamente cuando se trata de acciones mas participativas, con diferencias que destacan segun la clase social. En conjunto, y de acuerdo con los resultados de un estudio factorial exploratorio, podemos identificar cuatro tipos de usos: informativo, participativo, sociabilidad cercana, y recreativo. Por otra parte, los jovenes perciben las redes sociales, sobre todo, como espacios de informacion, para compartir opiniones y experiencias con la comunidad y de participacion de la gente corriente, que les permite influir sobre la realidad, aunque tambien muestran cautela respecto a posibles consecuencias cuando se publican opiniones e informacion personal. La valoracion que hacen de estas plataformas y sus repercusiones dependen del sexo, la edad y la clase social familiar, y tambien permiten predecir los tipos de usos, pero con efectos limitados.

/pdf/habitos-y-actitudes-de-los-jovenes-ante-las-redes-sociales-173bl2n9x2.pdf

Hábitos y actitudes de los jóvenes ante las redes sociales: influencia del sexo, edad y clase social

Social media platforms attempting to curb abuse and misinformation have been accused of political bias. We deploy neutral social bots who start following different news sources on Twitter, and track them to probe distinct biases emerging from platform mechanisms versus user interactions. We find no strong or consistent evidence of political bias in the news feed. Despite this, the news and information to which U.S. Twitter users are exposed depend strongly on the political leaning of their early connections. The interactions of conservative accounts are skewed toward the right, whereas liberal accounts are exposed to moderate content shifting their experience toward the political center. Partisan accounts, especially conservative ones, tend to receive more followers and follow more automated accounts. Conservative accounts also find themselves in denser communities and are exposed to more low-credibility content.

/pdf/neutral-bots-probe-political-bias-on-social-media-1f1vyl8xan.pdf

Neutral bots probe political bias on social media.

Political bots are social media algorithms that impersonate political actors and interact with other users, aiming to influence public opinion. This study investigates the ability to differentiate ...

/pdf/asymmetrical-perceptions-of-partisan-political-bots-zp6efftuxd.pdf

Asymmetrical perceptions of partisan political bots

Significance This study uses large-scale news media and social media data to show that nationwide Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests occur concurrently with sharp increases in public attention to components of the BLM agenda. We also show that attention to BLM and related concepts is not limited to these brief periods of protest but is sustained after protest has ceased. This suggests that protest events incited a change in public awareness of BLM’s vision of social change and the dissemination of antiracist ideas into popular discourse.

Black Lives Matter protests shift public discourse

This study explores the effects and influence of presumed influence of consuming recent lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)-inclusive TV on attitudes toward lesbians and gays (ATLG) and ...

“The Rippled Perceptions”: The Effects of LGBT-Inclusive TV on Own Attitudes and Perceived Attitudes of Peers Toward Lesbians and Gays:

Sexual objectification is a common pornographic theme. Research shows that sexual objectification leads to the expression of aggressive attitudes and behaviors toward women. Based on a survey study of 320 male participants, this study re-conceptualizes sexual objectification in terms of two forms of dehumanization. Evidence suggests men's pornography use is positively associated with both forms, but mechanistic dehumanization of women is more associated with aggressive attitudes while animalistic dehumanization is more associated with aggressive behaviors. Findings indicate how objectifying pornography use may relate to aggressive attitudes and behaviors and inform the future education campaigns and interventions to reduce sexual aggression.

Pornography Use, Two Forms of Dehumanization, and Sexual Aggression: Attitudes vs. Behaviors

Background Internalizing, externalizing, and somatoform disorders are the most common and disabling forms of psychopathology. Our understanding of these clinical problems is limited by a reliance on self-report along with research using small samples. Social media has emerged as an exciting channel for collecting a large sample of longitudinal data from individuals to study psychopathology. Objective This study reported the results of 2 large ongoing studies in which we collected data from Twitter and self-reported clinical screening scales, the Studies of Online Cohorts for Internalizing Symptoms and Language (SOCIAL) I and II. Methods The participants were a sample of Twitter-using adults (SOCIAL I: N=1123) targeted to be nationally representative in terms of age, sex assigned at birth, race, and ethnicity, as well as a sample of college students in the Midwest (SOCIAL II: N=1988), of which 61.78% (1228/1988) were Twitter users. For all participants who were Twitter users, we asked for access to their Twitter handle, which we analyzed using Botometer, which rates the likelihood of an account belonging to a bot. We divided participants into 4 groups: Twitter users who did not give us their handle or gave us invalid handles (invalid), those who denied being Twitter users (no Twitter, only available for SOCIAL II), Twitter users who gave their handles but whose accounts had high bot scores (bot-like), and Twitter users who provided their handles and had low bot scores (valid). We explored whether there were significant differences among these groups in terms of their sociodemographic features, clinical symptoms, and aspects of social media use (ie, platforms used and time). Results In SOCIAL I, most individuals were classified as valid (580/1123, 51.65%), and a few were deemed bot-like (190/1123, 16.91%). A total of 31.43% (353/1123) gave no handle or gave an invalid handle (eg, entered “N/A”). In SOCIAL II, many individuals were not Twitter users (760/1988, 38.23%). Of the Twitter users in SOCIAL II (1228/1988, 61.78%), most were classified as either invalid (515/1228, 41.94%) or valid (484/1228, 39.41%), with a smaller fraction deemed bot-like (229/1228, 18.65%). Participants reported high rates of mental health diagnoses as well as high levels of symptoms, especially in SOCIAL II. In general, the differences between individuals who provided or did not provide their social media handles were small and not statistically significant. Conclusions Triangulating passively acquired social media data and self-reported questionnaires offers new possibilities for large-scale assessment and evaluation of vulnerability to mental disorders. The propensity of participants to share social media handles is likely not a source of sample bias in subsequent social media analytics.

/pdf/sociodemographics-and-transdiagnostic-mental-health-symptoms-2k1l3zz8.pdf

Sociodemographics and Transdiagnostic Mental Health Symptoms in SOCIAL (Studies of Online Cohorts for Internalizing Symptoms and Language) I and II: Cross-sectional Survey and Botometer Analysis

Harry Yaojun Yan

Papers

Asymmetrical perceptions of partisan political bots

Black Lives Matter protests shift public discourse

“The Rippled Perceptions”: The Effects of LGBT-Inclusive TV on Own Attitudes and Perceived Attitudes of Peers Toward Lesbians and Gays:

Pornography Use, Two Forms of Dehumanization, and Sexual Aggression: Attitudes vs. Behaviors

Sociodemographics and Transdiagnostic Mental Health Symptoms in SOCIAL (Studies of Online Cohorts for Internalizing Symptoms and Language) I and II: Cross-sectional Survey and Botometer Analysis