Browsing by Author "Halpern, Daniel"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    A Downward Spiral? A Panel Study of Misinformation and Media Trust in Chile
    (SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC, 2021) Valenzuela, Sebastián; Halpern, Daniel; Araneda, Felipe
    Despite widespread concern, research on the consequences of misinformation on people's attitudes is surprisingly scant. To fill in this gap, the current study examines the long-term relationship between misinformation and trust in the news media. Based on the reinforcing spirals model, we analyzed data from a three-wave panel survey collected in Chile between 2017 and 2019. We found a weak, over-time relationship between misinformation and media skepticism. Specifically, initial beliefs on factually dubious information were negatively correlated with subsequent levels of trust in the news media. Lower trust in the media, in turn, was related over time to higher levels of misinformation. However, we found no evidence of a reverse, parallel process where media trust shielded users against misinformation, further reinforcing trust in the news media. The lack of evidence of a downward spiral suggests that the corrosive effects of misinformation on attitudes toward the news media are less serious than originally suggested. We close with a discussion of directions for future research.
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    A Panel Study on the Dynamics of Social Media Use and Conspiracy Thinking
    (SPRINGER INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING AG, 2023) Valenzuela, Sebastian; Diehl, Trevor; Lee, Sangwon; Halpern, Daniel
    Studies exploring the association between social media use and belief in conspiracy theories have yielded mixed evidence. To address this inconsistency, we focus on conspiracy thinking - a predisposition to interpret events as products of secret, malevolent plots - for which contextual confounds can be better isolated. We posit that social media use and conspiracy thinking are positively related, and examine whether this relationship stems from selectivity effects, media effects, or reinforcing effects. The analysis relies on a random intercept cross-lagged panel model estimated with data from an original three-wave panel survey (N = 331) fielded in Chile. Results support the existence of a reciprocal, lagged relationship between frequency of use of social media platforms, and conspiracy thinking. In line with recent studies on social media, the association becomes manifest at the within-, rather than between-, person level. We close with a discussion of how these results align with the reinforcing spirals model.
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    Competing Frames and Melodrama: The Effects of Facebook Posts on Policy Preferences about COVID-19
    (2021) Valenzuela Leighton, Sebastián Andrés; Bachmann Cáceres, Ingrid Andrea; Mujica, Constanza; Grassau, Daniela; Labarca, Claudia; Halpern, Daniel; Puente, Soledad
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    From Belief in Conspiracy Theories to Trust in Others: Which Factors Influence Exposure, Believing and Sharing Fake News
    (SPRINGER INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING AG, 2019) Halpern, Daniel; Valenzuela, Sebastián; Katz, James; Miranda, Juan Pablo; Meiselwitz, G
    Drawing on social-psychological and political research, we offer a theoretical model that explains how people become exposed to fake news, come to believe in them and then share them with their contacts. Using two waves of a nationally representative sample of Chileans with internet access, we pinpoint the relevant causal factors. Analysis of the panel data indicate that three groups of variables largely explain these phenomena: (1) Personal and psychological factors such as belief in conspiracy theories, trust in others, education and gender; (2) Frequency and specific uses of social media; and (3) Political views and online activism. Importantly, personal and political-psychological factors are more relevant in explaining this behavior than specific uses of social media.
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    PARENT AND SCHOOL MEDIATION: USE OF TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE SCHOOL PERFORMANCE
    (UNIV NACIONAL EDUCACION DISTANCIA, 2021) Halpern, Daniel; Pina, Martina; Ortega Gunckel, Constanza
    With the massive assimilation of new digital platforms in the educational world, in which several users can generate content simultaneously, collaborate by integrating different sources and consume this information according to their own preferences and needs, knowing how to control and choose the appropriate channels for their learning processes has become increasingly relevant Answering to the call of various experts to teach about the use of technologies at home and school for educational purposes, this research aims to: 1) Identify the impact of parental and school mediation on academic performance, 2) Observe the relationship between study tools and school performance, and 3) Explain the reasons behind the results obtained. For this purpose, a mixed-methods research was carried out, applying a questionnaire to more than 7000 Chilean students aged 12 to 18 years, and interviews with 14 specialists in the field of education. The study yielded three main results: firstly, it showed that parental mediation at home has a much greater impact -on the use of technologies and academic performance- than mediation carried out in schools. Secondly, it was observed that students who use YouTube as a study tool have a lower school performance than students who use their notebook notes. Thirdly, we identified difficulties and challenges in the implementation of ICT in the classroom. Thus, this work acquires special relevance by contributing to how to influence the practices of ICT use in an educational system that has had to adapt to the online modality.
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    The Paradox of Participation Versus Misinformation: Social Media, Political Engagement, and the Spread of Misinformation
    (2019) Valenzuela Leighton, Sebastián Andrés; Halpern, Daniel; Katz, James E.; Miranda, Juan Pablo