Using selfies to challenge public stereotypes of scientists

In an online Qualtrics panel survey experiment (N = 1620), we found that scientists posting self-portraits ("selfies") to Instagram from the science lab/field were perceived as significantly warmer and more trustworthy, and no less competent, than scientists posting photos of only their wo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in	PloS one Vol. 14; no. 5; p. e0216625
Main Authors	Jarreau, Paige Brown, Cancellare, Imogene A., Carmichael, Becky J., Porter, Lance, Toker, Daniel, Yammine, Samantha Z.
Format	Journal Article
Language	English
Published	United States Public Library of Science 10.05.2019 Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Subjects	Analysis Biology and Life Sciences Biomedical Research Body Image - psychology Cognition & reasoning Computer and Information Sciences Digital media Female Humans Internet services Male Marginalized groups Medicine and Health Sciences Morality People and Places Perceptions Photography Physical Sciences Portraits Practice Research and Analysis Methods Science Policy Scientists Self portraits Social aspects Social Media Social networks Social Sciences Stereotypes (Psychology) Stereotyping Surveys and Questionnaires Trustworthiness Viewing Baton Rouge Louisiana Louisiana United States > US
Online Access	Get full text
ISSN	1932-6203 1932-6203
DOI	10.1371/journal.pone.0216625

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Summary:	In an online Qualtrics panel survey experiment (N = 1620), we found that scientists posting self-portraits ("selfies") to Instagram from the science lab/field were perceived as significantly warmer and more trustworthy, and no less competent, than scientists posting photos of only their work. Participants who viewed scientist selfies, especially posts containing the face of a female scientist, perceived scientists as significantly warmer than did participants who saw science-only images or control images. Participants who viewed selfies also perceived less symbolic threat from scientists. Most encouragingly, participants viewing selfies, either of male or female scientists, did not perceive scientists as any less competent than did participants viewing science-only or control images. Subjects who viewed female scientist selfies also perceived science as less exclusively male. Our findings suggest that self-portraiture by STEM professionals on social media can mitigate negative attitudes toward scientists.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 14 content type line 23 Competing Interests: We declare a commercial affiliation with LifeOmic. Author PBJ has a current affiliation with LifeOmic (salary). This affiliation started in March 2018, after all data had been collected for this study. LifeOmic did not play a role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript, nor provided any direct financial support connected to this study. Since March 2018, LifeOmic provided support in the form of salaries for authors [PBJ] (which was not in any way connected to the work or time spent writing up the results of this study and submitting the study for publication), but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. All authors listed contributed equally to this study. All of the authors of this manuscript are Instagram users and several could be called influencers within the IG science community (IAC, DT, SZY). We also declare a commercial affiliation to LifeOmic. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.
ISSN:	1932-6203 1932-6203
DOI:	10.1371/journal.pone.0216625