What question did this study set out to answer?

The aim is to investigate how different video production attributes affect audience curiosity and motivation to engage with science content on social media.

April 16, 2026

Video Production Attributes as Tactics for Communicating Science on Social Media

Key Points

The aim is to investigate how different video production attributes affect audience curiosity and motivation to engage with science content on social media.
Conducted a between-subjects experiment.
Varied attributes like race/ethnicity of the speaker, video tone, and pop culture references.
Utilized the SCPB model as the theoretical framework.
Included a diverse sample of U.S. adults with oversampling of underrepresented STEM groups.
Findings reveal that specific video attributes significantly enhance curiosity and enjoyment.
Different tones and pop culture references affect motivations to follow science content.
Engagement levels are influenced by the race/ethnicity of the speaker.

Abstract

The present study empirically tests video production tactics for TikTok- and Instagram-like videos that can be employed to achieve specific, short-term communication objectives. Using the Strategic (Science) Communication as Planned Behavior (SCPB) model as a framework, a between-subjects experiment varies the race/ethnicity of the speaker, the tone of the video, and the inclusion of references to pop culture to examine how these tactics are related to curiosity, enjoyment, and motivations to follow similar content online. We use a representative sample of U.S. adults with oversampling of underrepresented STEM groups. Findings and implications are discussed.

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Cite This Study

Cacciatore et al. (Tue,) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69e07c632f7e8953b7cbdaeb https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/10755470261421149

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