The Communication Science division addresses questions at the center of APPC’s mission involving the science of understanding how knowledge, attitudes, and intentions translate into behavior, and when and how communication can increase the likelihood that those changes will occur and will benefit individuals and society at large. Answering these crosscutting questions is necessary to advance public well-being and curb the effects of misinformation, as well as to ensure support for democratic institutions. The division focuses on and anticipates communication-related challenges. The Communication Science division’s research involves experiments, surveys, meta-analysis, big data, and modeling. Its goal is informing science and policy with theoretically driven, evidence-based research.

People Select Feedback to Flatter Others, Except When They Dislike Them
An APPC-led study finds that people generally opt to offer flattering feedback to make others feel good about themselves, unless the stranger is unlikable.