Michelle I Seelig
Biographic Data
| ID | 275243 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Michelle I Seelig |
| GIVEN NAMES | Michelle I |
| FAMILY NAME | Seelig |
| SIGNATURE | SEELIG M I |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Miami |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-0462-7452 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 23 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 243 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 23 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2005 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
White genocide conspiracy
Is It Real Enough? A Mixed-Methods Study of Realism, Engagement and Counterargument in Transmedia Edutainment for Sustainable Behaviors
Advancements in technology have driven media convergence, paving the way for innovative storytelling formats like Transmedia Edutainment (TE-E), a new promising strategy for advocating prosocial behaviors. However, there is limited research on narrative processing and the persuasive outcomes of TE-E, particularly in environmental contexts. Therefore, this paper examines TE-E as a new communication strategy that leverages storytelling across multi…
Belief in Science‐Related Conspiracy Theories
Conspiracy theories attempt to explain events and circumstances by attributing them to the supposed secret actions of powerful, malevolent groups. Due to their associations with potentially harmful non‐normative behaviors at both the individual and collective levels, researchers have expressed particular concern over conspiracy theories that malign science. To better understand such beliefs, we conducted a national US survey to gauge respondents’…
Belief in White Replacement
The "White Replacement" conspiracy theory, that government and corporate leaders are "replacing" white people, is linked to several mass shootings. Given its recent ubiquity in mainstream elite rhetoric, concerns have arisen about how widespread beliefs in the "White Replacement" conspiracy theory are in the United States. However, political scientists have yet to understand why people believe or act upon this idea, or what the political and psyc…
Eco-Warrior
This study developed and evaluated a theory-driven mobile app to facilitate pro-environmental behavior change and habit formation to address the prevalent attitude-behavior gap in environmental activism. The app first informs users of interconnected environmental problems and offers various pro-environmental behaviors for users to practice daily. The app further nudges users toward achieving their behavioral goals through personalized daily remin…
The New Satanic Panic
A moral panic animated by conspiracy theories alleging ritual sex abuse swept through the United States in the 1980s. During that “Satanic Panic,” as it came to be known, people expressed fears of social change regarding gender and sexuality. Beginning in 2022, conservative politicians, pundits, and pastors in the United States levied similar accusations of child grooming, sex trafficking, and satanic sex abuse at the LGBTQ + community, teachers,…
The Relationship Between Social Media Use and Beliefs in Conspiracy Theories and Misinformation
Have beliefs in conspiracy theories increased over time?
The public is convinced that beliefs in conspiracy theories are increasing, and many scholars, journalists, and policymakers agree. Given the associations between conspiracy theories and many non-normative tendencies, lawmakers have called for policies to address these increases. However, little evidence has been provided to demonstrate that beliefs in conspiracy theories have, in fact, increased over time. We address this evidentiary gap. Study …
A frame analysis of climate change solutions in legacy news and digital media
A content analysis of legacy news and digital media from March 2015 to December 2018 found modest progress in communicating solutions to combat climate change. However, the mitigation frame continues to overshadow the adaptation frame and less emphasis on preparing for and adjusting to changing climate conditions happening now. Overall, legacy news and digital media still frame climate solutions using familiar terms and visuals that de-emphasize …
Connected, but are they engaged? Exploring young adults’ willingness to engage online and off-line
Past research has been inconsistent about how awareness and social activism influence young adults’ likelihood of virtual or in-person engagement. The present study thus conducted a national survey of young adults to examine further how social media use, attitudes toward technology, civic-mindedness, social norms, and other factors influence digital engagement, and if online behaviors translate to a willingness to partake in off-line activities s…
Who Supports QAnon? A Case Study in Political Extremism
The QAnon conspiracy theory has garnered increasing attention as more than 80 pro-QAnon congressional candidates vied for nominations in 2020 primary races. The QAnon movement is widely characterized as "far right" and "growing," but such claims rest on flimsy evidence. Using six public opinion polls from 2018 to 2020, we find that support for QAnon is both meager and stable across time. QAnon also appears to find support among both the political…
The Dragonfly Effect
Social media can advocate for social causes and catalyse audience support. To better understand the role of social media in advocacy communication, this article explores how advocates utilised Facebook to advocate for the ‘Taa Marbuta’ women empowerment campaign in Egypt. Our research draws on the dragonfly effect model and muted group theory as theoretical and analytical frameworks. In-depth interviews are conducted with advocates from all campa…
Do conspiracy beliefs form a belief system? Examining the structure and organization of conspiracy beliefs
Despite regular reference to conspiracy theories as a “belief system,” few studies have attempted to explore the structure and organization of conspiracy beliefs beyond an examination of correlations between those beliefs. Employing unique data from two national surveys that includes respondent beliefs in 27 conspiracy theories, we decipher the substantive dimensions along which conspiracy beliefs are organized, as well as subgroupings within tho…
A Women’s Empowerment Campaign in Egypt
The last few years have seen many movements aimed at empowering women worldwide. The question of what it means to be empowered and how to empower others needs to be studied further. Using ‘Taa Marbuta,’ a women’s empowerment campaign in Egypt, this paper attempts to understand the process of empowerment from the campaign/content creators’ perspective, including levels of empowerment and forms of power, and factors that influence a campaign succes…
American Politics in Two Dimensions
Contemporary political ills at the mass behavior level (e.g., outgroup aggression, conspiracy theories) are often attributed to increasing polarization and partisan tribalism. We theorize that many such problems are less the product of left‐right orientations than an orthogonal “anti‐establishment” dimension of opinion dominated by conspiracy, populist, and Manichean orientations. Using two national surveys from 2019 and 2020, we find that this d…
Days
The 2020 presidential election and beliefs about fraud
Why do people believe Covid-19 conspiracy theories
As conspiracy theories about COVID-19 take root in the United States, understanding the psychological foundations of conspiracy beliefs is increasingly critical. Our research shows that beliefs in two popular variants of COVID-19 conspiracy theory are the joint product of the psychological predispositions 1) to reject information coming from experts and other authority figures and 2)
Social activism
Given that young adults consume and interact with digital technologies not only a daily basis, but extensively throughout the day, it stands to reason they are more actively involved in advocating social change particularly through social media. However, national surveys of civic engagement indicate civic and community engagement drops-off after high school and while millennials attend college. While past research has compiled evidence about youn…
Changing the Way We Tell Stories
Technology challenges the traditional paradigm of storytelling by going beyond the printed page to still images juxtaposed with text and sound on the Internet. For this reason, traditional media have started to carve out a niche in content for savvy audiences beyond traditional media logic to capitalize on dynamic design and technologies specific to the Internet. This exploratory research used a Web survey to investigate the presentation mode of …
Journalism and Mass Communication Education The Impact of Technology on Pedagogy
Preview this article: Journalism and Mass Communication Education The Impact of Technology on Pedagogy, Page 1 of 1 /docserver/preview/fulltext/eme/9/4/s5-1.gif
A Case Study of the Photographic Principle
Using The Philadelphia Inquirer as a case study, this article examines the visual behaviors of news professionals as they pertain to the importance and function of the social construction of news photos. The author posits the concept of the photographic principle to explain the process by which news professionals maintain photographic integrity—especially given the latest technology and its potential for misuse in constructing news photos. The ph…
A Case for the Visual Elite
The purpose of this case study was to explore how decisions were made about photo selection and to determine news professionals' influence over this process. The findings reveal that the social construction of news photos is a collaborative process, but by and large, most decisions about which photographs are published in newspapers occur with photo editors. Photo editors are the "visual elite" because they, more than news editors, have a visual …
American Politics in Two Dimensions
Contemporary political ills at the mass behavior level (e.g., outgroup aggression, conspiracy theories) are often attributed to increasing polarization and partisan tribalism. We theorize that many such problems are less the product of left‐right orientations than an orthogonal “anti‐establishment” dimension of opinion dominated by conspiracy, populist, and Manichean orientations. Using two national surveys from 2019 and 2020, we find that this d…
The Relationship Between Social Media Use and Beliefs in Conspiracy Theories and Misinformation
The 2020 presidential election and beliefs about fraud
Do conspiracy beliefs form a belief system? Examining the structure and organization of conspiracy beliefs
Despite regular reference to conspiracy theories as a “belief system,” few studies have attempted to explore the structure and organization of conspiracy beliefs beyond an examination of correlations between those beliefs. Employing unique data from two national surveys that includes respondent beliefs in 27 conspiracy theories, we decipher the substantive dimensions along which conspiracy beliefs are organized, as well as subgroupings within tho…
Who Supports QAnon? A Case Study in Political Extremism
The QAnon conspiracy theory has garnered increasing attention as more than 80 pro-QAnon congressional candidates vied for nominations in 2020 primary races. The QAnon movement is widely characterized as "far right" and "growing," but such claims rest on flimsy evidence. Using six public opinion polls from 2018 to 2020, we find that support for QAnon is both meager and stable across time. QAnon also appears to find support among both the political…
A Case for the Visual Elite
The purpose of this case study was to explore how decisions were made about photo selection and to determine news professionals' influence over this process. The findings reveal that the social construction of news photos is a collaborative process, but by and large, most decisions about which photographs are published in newspapers occur with photo editors. Photo editors are the "visual elite" because they, more than news editors, have a visual …
A Case Study of the Photographic Principle
Using The Philadelphia Inquirer as a case study, this article examines the visual behaviors of news professionals as they pertain to the importance and function of the social construction of news photos. The author posits the concept of the photographic principle to explain the process by which news professionals maintain photographic integrity—especially given the latest technology and its potential for misuse in constructing news photos. The ph…
Days
Belief in Science‐Related Conspiracy Theories
Conspiracy theories attempt to explain events and circumstances by attributing them to the supposed secret actions of powerful, malevolent groups. Due to their associations with potentially harmful non‐normative behaviors at both the individual and collective levels, researchers have expressed particular concern over conspiracy theories that malign science. To better understand such beliefs, we conducted a national US survey to gauge respondents’…
Belief in White Replacement
The "White Replacement" conspiracy theory, that government and corporate leaders are "replacing" white people, is linked to several mass shootings. Given its recent ubiquity in mainstream elite rhetoric, concerns have arisen about how widespread beliefs in the "White Replacement" conspiracy theory are in the United States. However, political scientists have yet to understand why people believe or act upon this idea, or what the political and psyc…
Journalism and Mass Communication Education The Impact of Technology on Pedagogy
Preview this article: Journalism and Mass Communication Education The Impact of Technology on Pedagogy, Page 1 of 1 /docserver/preview/fulltext/eme/9/4/s5-1.gif
A Case for the Visual Elite
The purpose of this case study was to explore how decisions were made about photo selection and to determine news professionals' influence over this process. The findings reveal that the social construction of news photos is a collaborative process, but by and large, most decisions about which photographs are published in newspapers occur with photo editors. Photo editors are the "visual elite" because they, more than news editors, have a visual …
A Case Study of the Photographic Principle
Using The Philadelphia Inquirer as a case study, this article examines the visual behaviors of news professionals as they pertain to the importance and function of the social construction of news photos. The author posits the concept of the photographic principle to explain the process by which news professionals maintain photographic integrity—especially given the latest technology and its potential for misuse in constructing news photos. The ph…
Journalism and Mass Communication Education The Impact of Technology on Pedagogy
Preview this article: Journalism and Mass Communication Education The Impact of Technology on Pedagogy, Page 1 of 1 /docserver/preview/fulltext/eme/9/4/s5-1.gif
Changing the Way We Tell Stories
Technology challenges the traditional paradigm of storytelling by going beyond the printed page to still images juxtaposed with text and sound on the Internet. For this reason, traditional media have started to carve out a niche in content for savvy audiences beyond traditional media logic to capitalize on dynamic design and technologies specific to the Internet. This exploratory research used a Web survey to investigate the presentation mode of …
Social activism
Given that young adults consume and interact with digital technologies not only a daily basis, but extensively throughout the day, it stands to reason they are more actively involved in advocating social change particularly through social media. However, national surveys of civic engagement indicate civic and community engagement drops-off after high school and while millennials attend college. While past research has compiled evidence about youn…
Why do people believe Covid-19 conspiracy theories
As conspiracy theories about COVID-19 take root in the United States, understanding the psychological foundations of conspiracy beliefs is increasingly critical. Our research shows that beliefs in two popular variants of COVID-19 conspiracy theory are the joint product of the psychological predispositions 1) to reject information coming from experts and other authority figures and 2)
The Dragonfly Effect
Social media can advocate for social causes and catalyse audience support. To better understand the role of social media in advocacy communication, this article explores how advocates utilised Facebook to advocate for the ‘Taa Marbuta’ women empowerment campaign in Egypt. Our research draws on the dragonfly effect model and muted group theory as theoretical and analytical frameworks. In-depth interviews are conducted with advocates from all campa…
Do conspiracy beliefs form a belief system? Examining the structure and organization of conspiracy beliefs
Despite regular reference to conspiracy theories as a “belief system,” few studies have attempted to explore the structure and organization of conspiracy beliefs beyond an examination of correlations between those beliefs. Employing unique data from two national surveys that includes respondent beliefs in 27 conspiracy theories, we decipher the substantive dimensions along which conspiracy beliefs are organized, as well as subgroupings within tho…
A Women’s Empowerment Campaign in Egypt
The last few years have seen many movements aimed at empowering women worldwide. The question of what it means to be empowered and how to empower others needs to be studied further. Using ‘Taa Marbuta,’ a women’s empowerment campaign in Egypt, this paper attempts to understand the process of empowerment from the campaign/content creators’ perspective, including levels of empowerment and forms of power, and factors that influence a campaign succes…
American Politics in Two Dimensions
Contemporary political ills at the mass behavior level (e.g., outgroup aggression, conspiracy theories) are often attributed to increasing polarization and partisan tribalism. We theorize that many such problems are less the product of left‐right orientations than an orthogonal “anti‐establishment” dimension of opinion dominated by conspiracy, populist, and Manichean orientations. Using two national surveys from 2019 and 2020, we find that this d…
Days
The 2020 presidential election and beliefs about fraud
Have beliefs in conspiracy theories increased over time?
The public is convinced that beliefs in conspiracy theories are increasing, and many scholars, journalists, and policymakers agree. Given the associations between conspiracy theories and many non-normative tendencies, lawmakers have called for policies to address these increases. However, little evidence has been provided to demonstrate that beliefs in conspiracy theories have, in fact, increased over time. We address this evidentiary gap. Study …
A frame analysis of climate change solutions in legacy news and digital media
A content analysis of legacy news and digital media from March 2015 to December 2018 found modest progress in communicating solutions to combat climate change. However, the mitigation frame continues to overshadow the adaptation frame and less emphasis on preparing for and adjusting to changing climate conditions happening now. Overall, legacy news and digital media still frame climate solutions using familiar terms and visuals that de-emphasize …
Connected, but are they engaged? Exploring young adults’ willingness to engage online and off-line
Past research has been inconsistent about how awareness and social activism influence young adults’ likelihood of virtual or in-person engagement. The present study thus conducted a national survey of young adults to examine further how social media use, attitudes toward technology, civic-mindedness, social norms, and other factors influence digital engagement, and if online behaviors translate to a willingness to partake in off-line activities s…
Who Supports QAnon? A Case Study in Political Extremism
The QAnon conspiracy theory has garnered increasing attention as more than 80 pro-QAnon congressional candidates vied for nominations in 2020 primary races. The QAnon movement is widely characterized as "far right" and "growing," but such claims rest on flimsy evidence. Using six public opinion polls from 2018 to 2020, we find that support for QAnon is both meager and stable across time. QAnon also appears to find support among both the political…
The Relationship Between Social Media Use and Beliefs in Conspiracy Theories and Misinformation
Belief in White Replacement
The "White Replacement" conspiracy theory, that government and corporate leaders are "replacing" white people, is linked to several mass shootings. Given its recent ubiquity in mainstream elite rhetoric, concerns have arisen about how widespread beliefs in the "White Replacement" conspiracy theory are in the United States. However, political scientists have yet to understand why people believe or act upon this idea, or what the political and psyc…
Eco-Warrior
This study developed and evaluated a theory-driven mobile app to facilitate pro-environmental behavior change and habit formation to address the prevalent attitude-behavior gap in environmental activism. The app first informs users of interconnected environmental problems and offers various pro-environmental behaviors for users to practice daily. The app further nudges users toward achieving their behavioral goals through personalized daily remin…
The New Satanic Panic
A moral panic animated by conspiracy theories alleging ritual sex abuse swept through the United States in the 1980s. During that “Satanic Panic,” as it came to be known, people expressed fears of social change regarding gender and sexuality. Beginning in 2022, conservative politicians, pundits, and pastors in the United States levied similar accusations of child grooming, sex trafficking, and satanic sex abuse at the LGBTQ + community, teachers,…
White genocide conspiracy
Is It Real Enough? A Mixed-Methods Study of Realism, Engagement and Counterargument in Transmedia Edutainment for Sustainable Behaviors
Advancements in technology have driven media convergence, paving the way for innovative storytelling formats like Transmedia Edutainment (TE-E), a new promising strategy for advocating prosocial behaviors. However, there is limited research on narrative processing and the persuasive outcomes of TE-E, particularly in environmental contexts. Therefore, this paper examines TE-E as a new communication strategy that leverages storytelling across multi…
Belief in Science‐Related Conspiracy Theories
Conspiracy theories attempt to explain events and circumstances by attributing them to the supposed secret actions of powerful, malevolent groups. Due to their associations with potentially harmful non‐normative behaviors at both the individual and collective levels, researchers have expressed particular concern over conspiracy theories that malign science. To better understand such beliefs, we conducted a national US survey to gauge respondents’…
Psychology (16 works) · Political science (14 works) · Sociology (14 works) · Social Psychology (10 works) · Politics (8 works) · Misinformation and Its Impacts (7 works) · Computer Science (6 works) · Law (6 works) · Social Media and Politics (6 works) · Social Psychology (6 works)