When government science organizations violate expectations

An increasing number of government science organizations are inserting humour into their informational messages on social media. However, since individuals may expect government agencies to communicate in a more formal and traditional manner, does the use of humour influence perceptions of the organization? This study examines how humorous messages regarding three different wildlife science issues (climate change, human-wildlife interaction, and human-caused wildfires) influences perceived expertise, trustworthiness, and likability through parallel mediators, expectancy violation magnitude and the valence of that violation. Overall, results showed a significant, negative effect of humour on perceptions of the organization through the two mediators. However, these results varied slightly across issues. Government science organizations should be wary of making abrupt shifts in their tone on social media to avoid unpleasantly surprising their audiences in these spaces. Implications for future research regarding science humour and social media practice are discussed.

Expectancy theory · Perception · Social media · Climate Change Communication and Perception · Humor Studies and Applications · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition