Event Details
When:
-
Location:
Online: Zoom
In-Person at WWU
Poster Sessions 3:30-4pm:
Academic West (AW),
4th Floor Skybridge
Keynote 4-5pm:
Academic West (AW),
Room 210
In-Person Reception 5-6pm:
Academic West (AW),
Room 210
Price:
Free
Brought to you by:
Psychology Department, WWU Alumni Association
Description
PsychFest gives psychology or behavioral neuroscience students an opportunity to present their scholarly efforts in a supportive, low-pressure environment and can help students develop public speaking skills necessary to excel in a graduate program or a post-baccalaureate career as well as for practice for a thesis defense.
There will be two poster sessions as well as talks through the day culminating with a keynote address from alumna, Dr. Maddie Jalbert on misinformation and disinformation. Join us in-person for the day or join us online for the keynote presentation.
Keynote Presentation
The Spread of Misinformation
The spread of misinformation online has become a growing societal concern. This talk will start with an overview of the psychological processes behind why we believe and share information, as well as how these processes make us all vulnerable to misinformation. The talk will then turn to new research on how individuals can respond when others share misinformation online.
Corrective messaging is a commonly proposed strategy; however, individuals may be hesitant to directly correct their peers or lack the fact-checking resources to do so. Our group has been testing the effectiveness of an alternative approach: responding to posts containing false information with “truth queries” — questions that draw attention to truth or the criteria used to assess truth. Examples of truth queries include “Where did you learn this?,” “How do you know that is true?,” and “Do other people believe this?” We find that the presence of these types of replies consistently reduces other users’ belief in and intent to share posts containing false information. This suggests the usefulness of truth queries as a simple, flexible, user-driven approach to addressing online misinformation.
Featuring:
Dr. Madeline Jalbert, Speaker
Dr. Madeline Jalbert studies how context and subjective experiences influence memory, judgment, and decision-making. Her work primarily focuses on factors that impact judgments of truth and risk, as well as how these judgments play out in naturalistic contexts. The goal of this work is to shed light on effective strategies for preventing and correcting the spread of misinformation.
Madeline comes from a background in social and cognitive psychology. She completed her PhD in Social Psychology under the advisement of Dr. Norbert Schwarz. Prior to this, she worked in the Applied Cognition Research Lab of Dr. Ira Hyman.
Accommodations and Other Details
Contact the WWU Alumni Association for this event. Feel free to call at (360) 650-3353 or email at alumni@wwu.edu if you have any questions or comments.
Advance notice for disability accommodations and special needs is greatly appreciated. Please indicate your special needs on the registration form.
There will be auto-captions available for the Zoom webinar.
Limited parking is available in the C lots at the south end of campus and in lots 6V and 7G at the north end of campus. Western provides comprehensive parking details—including lot locations, applicable fees, and campus map. Please note that parking in the C lot and 12A by Fairhaven College is free after 4:30pm on weekdays and all hours on weekends.