Polarization and misinformation are some of the leading challenges of the 21st century.
C-SPAM is dedicated to understanding the science behind contemporary societal divisions and the false and misleading information that fuels them. As an interdisciplinary initiative housed in The Ohio State University's College of Arts and Sciences (ASC), we connect experts across fields to facilitate research with implications for communication, national security, public health, sustainability, and other sectors. A reference to spam email and the public resource C-SPAN, our name alludes to both the prevalence of polarizing misinformation and to our goal: to provide accessible, scientific knowledge about this pressing issue. C-SPAM began in 2024 with a generous gift from the Weary Family Foundation.
News
Kurt Gray Appointed as Inaugural C-SPAM Faculty Director
Leading moral psychology expert Kurt Gray has been appointed to head C-SPAM starting in autumn 2025. He will also join the faculty of the Department of Psychology as the first Weary Family Foundation Endowed Chair in the Social Psychology of Polarization and Misinformation.
$1.47 Million Grant Funds New Ohio State Research on Extremism
From abortion clinic bombings to violent protests and coup attempts, extremism has played a historic and increasingly common role in American society. However, principles that scientists have long used to study everyday human behaviors and attitudes may help illuminate, and mitigate, its rise. This idea animates a new research project led by C-SPAM affiliate Richard Petty.
Kurt Gray Appointed as Inaugural C-SPAM Faculty Director
Leading moral psychology expert Kurt Gray has been appointed to head C-SPAM starting in autumn 2025. He will also join the faculty of the Department of Psychology as the first Weary Family Foundation Endowed Chair in the Social Psychology of Polarization and Misinformation.
$1.47 Million Grant Funds New Ohio State Research on Extremism
From abortion clinic bombings to violent protests and coup attempts, extremism has played a historic and increasingly common role in American society. However, principles that scientists have long used to study everyday human behaviors and attitudes may help illuminate, and mitigate, its rise. This idea animates a new research project led by C-SPAM affiliate Richard Petty.
Research
In Scientific Reports: Belief-consistent information is most shared despite being the least surprising
In Science Advances: Ambivalent attitudes promote support for extreme political actions
In Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin: Two-Sided Messages Promote Openness for a Variety of Deeply Entrenched Attitudes
In Science Advances: Conservatives' susceptibility to political misperceptions
In PNAS Nexus: Engagement with fact-checked posts on Reddit
In PLoS ONE: A gateway conspiracy? Belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories prospectively predicts greater conspiracist ideation
In Scientific Reports: Contracting COVID-19: A longitudinal investigation of the impact of beliefs and knowledge
In Political Psychology: Examining the left-right divide through the lens of a global crisis: Ideological differences and their implications for responses to the COVID-19 pandemic
In Communication Research: Political Homophily in a Large-Scale Online Communication Network
In PNAS: Sharing of misinformation is habitual, not just lazy or biased
In Memory & Cognition: Mechanisms in continued influence: The impact of misinformation corrections on source perceptions
In Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin: How Attitudes Impact the Continued Influence Effect of Misinformation: The Mediating Role of Discomfort
In Populism and Conspiracy Theory: Conspiracy Theory and the Muslim Brotherhood in Post-Revolutionary Egypt
In Oxford Middle East Review: Behind the “Hillary Clinton Spring”: Unpacking the Parti Destourien Libre’s Demonisation of the Arab Uprisings
In Feminist Media Studies: Contemporary conspirituality: centering gender in the field of conspiracy theory research
Current Affiliates
Kurt Gray
Weary Family Foundation Endowed Chair in the Social Psychology of Polarization and Misinformation
Department of Psychology, ASC
Duane Wegener
Distinguished Professor of Psychology, Chair
Department of Psychology, ASC
Gizem Ceylan
Assistant Professor
Department of Marketing and Logistics, Fisher College of Business
Grant Donnelly
Assistant Professor
Department of Marketing and Logistics, Fisher College of Business
Selin Malkoc
FCOB Distinguished Professor
Department of Marketing and Logistics, Fisher College of Business
Helen Murphey
Postdoctoral Scholar
Mershon Center for International Security Studies, ASC
Affiliate with Us
C-SPAM seeks new research affiliates at Ohio State. If you are an Ohio State lecturer, professor, or graduate student and are interested in collaborating with us, please tell us more about your work and interest in C-SPAM. We look forward to hearing from you!