This study examined the role of source credibility in the validation of factual information embedded in short narratives. In a self-paced reading experiment, we tested the assumption that the degree of (im-)plausibility determines the extent that source credibility affects validation during comprehension. We used reading times of target and…

Social media platforms have emerged as leading communication channels for social interaction and information sharing in the early part of the 21st century. In an ideal world, social media users should feel that they can interpret the social interactions they witness and the information that is shared on social media platforms as inherently honest…

Undergraduate epistemology typically transitions from an absolute perspective with a reliance on external knowledge authority to a more open epistemology that utilizes metacognition to evaluate knowledge claims. In the undergraduate agricultural classroom, student epistemic development, combined with deeply embedded agricultural beliefs and…

Three indicators of undergraduate students' (n = 197) source evaluation were investigated as students completed an academic task requiring the use of multiple texts. The source evaluation metrics examined were students' (1) accessing of document information, (2) trustworthiness ratings, and (3) citation in written responses. All three indicators…

Even though science says genetically modified (GM) foods are safe, many consumers remain skeptical of the technology. Additionally, the scientific community has trouble communicating to the public, causing consumers to make uninformed decisions. The Millennial Generation will have more buying power than any other generation before them, and more…

Gaps between what scientists and laypeople find plausible may act as a barrier to learning complex and/or controversial socioscientific concepts. For example, individuals may consider scientific explanations that human activities are causing current climate change as implausible. This plausibility judgment may be due-in part-to individuals'…

Well-educated laypeople tend to rely on their own ability to evaluate scientific claims when they obtain information from texts with high comprehensibility. The present study investigated whether controversial content reduces this facilitating effect of high text comprehensibility on readers' self-reliance and whether the influence of…

The implementation of carbon dioxide capture and storage technology (CCS) is considered an important climate change mitigation strategy, but the viability of this technology will depend on public acceptance of CCS policy decisions. The results of three experiments with students as participants show that whether or not interest groups receive an…

Prior studies suggest that faculty members who are credible are more effective in the classroom in that they are evaluated more highly and their students achieve greater learning. This paper explores how the instructor's attire impacts his or her perceived credibility, and how the students' corresponding perception of instructor credibility…