Research Findings

A popular theory in recent neuroscience proposes that slow development of the prefrontal cortex explains teenagers’ seemingly impulsive and risky behavior. But an extensive literature review in the the journal Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience challenges that interpretation.
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How can the public’s confidence in science be strengthened? A new study finding that public confidence in science spiked following coverage of the Zika vaccine trial in 2016 suggests a way to improve trust in science on a more sustained basis.
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An experimental study of the effect of humor and video in fact-checking finds that both funny and non-humorous videos were more interesting and understandable than a comparable textual fact-checking story.
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A study of the Pope’s encyclical on climate change conducted by researchers at the Annenberg Public Policy Center has been featured as a “research highlight” by the journal Nature Climate Change.
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Pope Francis’s 2015 encyclical on climate change, “Laudato si’,” sought to leverage the pontiff’s moral authority and draw attention to climate change as a global issue that disproportionately harms the poor. Advocates for climate change mitigation had hoped that that urgent message, coming from the leader of a socially conservative religious institution, would raise concern
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A new study finds that pictorial warnings on cigarette packs can help to curb smoking levels at least 30 days after smokers had daily exposure to them.
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