Haunting Messages: Online Videos and Public Belief in Paranormal Phenomena.

Despite broad skepticism within the scientific community regarding paranormal phenomena such as ghosts and unidentified flying objects (UFOs), many members of the public believe in these phenomena. Previous studies have argued that viewing paranormal-themed television-including documentary, reality, and news programming-can cultivate such beliefs. In addition, recent research suggests that the online video-sharing platform YouTube may serve as an important source of messages about fringe phenomena. With that in mind, this study builds on theoretical accounts of genre-specific cultivation and social media affordances to examine how YouTube videos present paranormal topics and whether YouTube use predicts belief in the paranormal. A content analysis of 50 highly viewed YouTube videos about paranormal topics (25 about hauntings and 25 about UFOs) showed that a large majority of these videos featured paranormal claims and that a majority included purported footage of paranormal phenomena. Scientific sources appeared in only a quarter of UFO videos and almost no haunting videos, while government sources appeared in most UFO videos, but few haunting videos. An analysis of data from a survey of the U.S. public (n = 1,035), in turn, found that paranormal documentary or reality television viewing, paranormal news use, and YouTube use predicted belief in hauntings, controlling for a range of other media use variables and background factors. These results highlight the potential for video-sharing platforms such as YouTube to reinforce paranormal beliefs among the public.

Gender Moderates the Relationship Between Avatar Customization and Enjoyment in Popular Video Games.

Using online survey methods (n = 153), this study investigates whether exposure to different levels of customization in games will increase the experiences of enjoyment, both directly and indirectly, through the experience of avatar embodiment, as well as whether these relationships are influenced by gender identity. Results indicate a positive relationship between level of exposure to customization and enjoyment for women-identified participants. These outcomes may provide insight into gendered preference in gaming, potentially providing an avenue by which to make games more inclusive to women gamers.

Lay epistemology and the Populist's playbook: The roles of epistemological identity and expressive epistemology.

Salient social identities have long appeared to shape what we believe and know. But do social identities also shape how we know? This essay argues that performances of "lay epistemology" by populist leaders may shape group norms in ways that encourage supporters to orient to their worlds more through intuition and emotion and less through evidence and data (or at least to report that they do, thus constituting a form of "expressive epistemology"). We summarize research on the positive link between populist attitudes, valuing intuition and emotion over evidence and data, and belief in misinformation and conspiracy theories, and then explore how these relationships may be mutually reinforcing - and strategically beneficial to populist leaders.