1
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Guess AM, Malhotra N, Pan J, Barberá P, Allcott H, Brown T, Crespo-Tenorio A, Dimmery D, Freelon D, Gentzkow M, González-Bailón S, Kennedy E, Kim YM, Lazer D, Moehler D, Nyhan B, Rivera CV, Settle J, Thomas DR, Thorson E, Tromble R, Wilkins A, Wojcieszak M, Xiong B, de Jonge CK, Franco A, Mason W, Stroud NJ, Tucker JA. How do social media feed algorithms affect attitudes and behavior in an election campaign? Science 2023; 381:398-404. [PMID: 37498999 DOI: 10.1126/science.abp9364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/16/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
We investigated the effects of Facebook's and Instagram's feed algorithms during the 2020 US election. We assigned a sample of consenting users to reverse-chronologically-ordered feeds instead of the default algorithms. Moving users out of algorithmic feeds substantially decreased the time they spent on the platforms and their activity. The chronological feed also affected exposure to content: The amount of political and untrustworthy content they saw increased on both platforms, the amount of content classified as uncivil or containing slur words they saw decreased on Facebook, and the amount of content from moderate friends and sources with ideologically mixed audiences they saw increased on Facebook. Despite these substantial changes in users' on-platform experience, the chronological feed did not significantly alter levels of issue polarization, affective polarization, political knowledge, or other key attitudes during the 3-month study period.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew M Guess
- Department of Politics and School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Neil Malhotra
- Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Jennifer Pan
- Department of Communication, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | | | - Hunt Allcott
- Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | | | | | - Drew Dimmery
- Meta, Menlo Park, CA, USA
- Research Network Data Science, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Deen Freelon
- UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel, NC, USA
| | | | | | - Edward Kennedy
- Department of Statistics and Data Science, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Young Mie Kim
- School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - David Lazer
- Network Science Institute, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Brendan Nyhan
- Department of Government, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA
| | | | - Jaime Settle
- Department of Government, William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA
| | | | - Emily Thorson
- Department of Political Science, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA
| | - Rebekah Tromble
- School of Media and Public Affairs and Institute for Data, Democracy, and Politics, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | | | - Magdalena Wojcieszak
- Department of Communication, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- Amsterdam School of Communication Research, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | | | | | | | | | - Natalie Jomini Stroud
- Moody College of Communication and Center for Media Engagement, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Joshua A Tucker
- Wilf Family Department of Politics and Center for Social Media and Politics, New York University, New York, NY, USA
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2
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Guess AM, Malhotra N, Pan J, Barberá P, Allcott H, Brown T, Crespo-Tenorio A, Dimmery D, Freelon D, Gentzkow M, González-Bailón S, Kennedy E, Kim YM, Lazer D, Moehler D, Nyhan B, Rivera CV, Settle J, Thomas DR, Thorson E, Tromble R, Wilkins A, Wojcieszak M, Xiong B, de Jonge CK, Franco A, Mason W, Stroud NJ, Tucker JA. Reshares on social media amplify political news but do not detectably affect beliefs or opinions. Science 2023; 381:404-408. [PMID: 37499012 DOI: 10.1126/science.add8424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2022] [Accepted: 03/16/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
We studied the effects of exposure to reshared content on Facebook during the 2020 US election by assigning a random set of consenting, US-based users to feeds that did not contain any reshares over a 3-month period. We find that removing reshared content substantially decreases the amount of political news, including content from untrustworthy sources, to which users are exposed; decreases overall clicks and reactions; and reduces partisan news clicks. Further, we observe that removing reshared content produces clear decreases in news knowledge within the sample, although there is some uncertainty about how this would generalize to all users. Contrary to expectations, the treatment does not significantly affect political polarization or any measure of individual-level political attitudes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew M Guess
- Department of Politics and School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Neil Malhotra
- Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Jennifer Pan
- Department of Communication, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | | | - Hunt Allcott
- Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | | | | | | | - Deen Freelon
- UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | | | | | - Edward Kennedy
- Department of Statistics and Data Science, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Young Mie Kim
- School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - David Lazer
- Network Science Institute, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Brendan Nyhan
- Department of Government, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA
| | | | - Jaime Settle
- Department of Government, William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA
| | | | - Emily Thorson
- Department of Political Science, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA
| | - Rebekah Tromble
- School of Media and Public Affairs and Institute for Data, Democracy, and Politics, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Natalie Jomini Stroud
- Moody College of Communication and Center for Media Engagement, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Joshua A Tucker
- Wilf Family Department of Politics and Center for Social Media and Politics, New York University, New York, NY, USA
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3
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Larsen BJ, Ryan TJ, Greene S, Hetherington MJ, Maxwell R, Tadelis S. Counter-stereotypical messaging and partisan cues: Moving the needle on vaccines in a polarized United States. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadg9434. [PMID: 37467319 PMCID: PMC10355821 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adg9434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 05/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/21/2023]
Abstract
This paper reports results from a large-scale randomized controlled trial assessing whether counter-stereotypical messaging and partisan cues can induce people to get COVID-19 vaccines. The study used a 27-s video compilation of Donald Trump's comments about the vaccine from Fox News interviews and presented the video to millions of U.S. YouTube users through a $100,000 advertising campaign in October 2021. Results indicate that the number of vaccines increased in the average treated county by 103 (with a one-tailed P value of 0.097). Based on this average treatment effect and totaling across our 1014 treated counties, the total estimated effect was 104,036 vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bradley J. Larsen
- Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, and NBER, Cambridge, MA
| | - Timothy J. Ryan
- The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
| | | | | | | | - Steven Tadelis
- The University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, and NBER, Cambridge, MA
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4
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Galos DR, Coppock A. Gender composition predicts gender bias: A meta-reanalysis of hiring discrimination audit experiments. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eade7979. [PMID: 37146136 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ade7979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Since 1983, more than 70 employment audit experiments, carried out in more than 26 countries across five continents, have randomized the gender of fictitious applicants to measure the extent of hiring discrimination on the basis of gender. The results are mixed: Some studies find discrimination against men, and others find discrimination against women. We reconcile these heterogeneous findings through a "meta-reanalysis" of the average effects of being described as a woman (versus a man), conditional on occupation. We find a strongly positive gender gradient. In (relatively better paying) occupations dominated by men, the effect of being a woman is negative, while in the (relatively lower paying) occupations dominated by women, the effect is positive. In this way, heterogeneous employment discrimination on the basis of gender preserves status quo gender distributions and earnings gaps. These patterns hold among both minority and majority status applicants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana Roxana Galos
- Centre for the Experimental-Philosophical Study of Discrimination (CEPDISC), Department of Political Science, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Alexander Coppock
- Department of Political Science, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
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5
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Resolving content moderation dilemmas between free speech and harmful misinformation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2210666120. [PMID: 36749721 PMCID: PMC9963596 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2210666120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
In online content moderation, two key values may come into conflict: protecting freedom of expression and preventing harm. Robust rules based in part on how citizens think about these moral dilemmas are necessary to deal with this conflict in a principled way, yet little is known about people's judgments and preferences around content moderation. We examined such moral dilemmas in a conjoint survey experiment where US respondents (N = 2, 564) indicated whether they would remove problematic social media posts on election denial, antivaccination, Holocaust denial, and climate change denial and whether they would take punitive action against the accounts. Respondents were shown key information about the user and their post as well as the consequences of the misinformation. The majority preferred quashing harmful misinformation over protecting free speech. Respondents were more reluctant to suspend accounts than to remove posts and more likely to do either if the harmful consequences of the misinformation were severe or if sharing it was a repeated offense. Features related to the account itself (the person behind the account, their partisanship, and number of followers) had little to no effect on respondents' decisions. Content moderation of harmful misinformation was a partisan issue: Across all four scenarios, Republicans were consistently less willing than Democrats or independents to remove posts or penalize the accounts that posted them. Our results can inform the design of transparent rules for content moderation of harmful misinformation.
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6
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Institution and gender-related differences in publication speed before and during COVID-19. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0277011. [PMCID: PMC9671365 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0277011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2022] [Accepted: 10/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic elicited a substantial hike in journal submissions and a global push to get medical evidence quickly through the review process. Editorial decisions and peer-assessments were made under intensified time constraints, which may have amplified social disparities in the outcomes of peer-reviewing, especially for COVID-19 related research. This study quantifies the differential impact of the pandemic on the duration of the peer-review process for women and men and for scientists at different strata of the institutional-prestige hierarchy. Using mixed-effects regression models with observations clustered at the journal level, we analysed newly available data on the submission and acceptance dates of 78,085 medical research articles published in 2019 and 2020. We found that institution-related disparities in the average time from manuscript submission to acceptance increased marginally in 2020, although half of the observed change was driven by speedy reviews of COVID-19 research. For COVID-19 papers, we found more substantial institution-related disparities in review times in favour of authors from highly-ranked institutions. Descriptive survival plots also indicated that scientists with prestigious affiliations benefitted more from fast-track peer reviewing than did colleagues from less reputed institutions. This difference was more pronounced for journals with a single-blind review procedure compared to journals with a double-blind review procedure. Gender-related changes in the duration of the peer-review process were small and inconsistent, although we observed a minor difference in the average review time of COVID-19 papers first authored by women and men.
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7
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Stöckli S, Spälti AK, Phillips J, Stoeckel F, Barnfield M, Thompson J, Lyons B, Mérola V, Szewach P, Reifler J. Which vaccine attributes foster vaccine uptake? A cross-country conjoint experiment. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0266003. [PMID: 35507554 PMCID: PMC9067644 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0266003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2021] [Accepted: 03/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Why do people prefer one particular COVID-19 vaccine over another? We conducted a pre-registered conjoint experiment (n = 5,432) in France, Germany, and Sweden in which respondents rated the favorability of and chose between pairs of hypothetical COVID-19 vaccines. Differences in effectiveness and the prevalence of side-effects had the largest effects on vaccine preferences. Factors with smaller effects include country of origin (respondents are less favorable to vaccines of Chinese and Russian origin), and vaccine technology (respondents exhibited a small preference for hypothetical mRNA vaccines). The general public also exhibits sensitivity to additional factors (e.g. how expensive the vaccines are). Our data show that vaccine attributes are more important for vaccine preferences among those with higher vaccine favorability and higher risk tolerance. In our conjoint design, vaccine attributes–including effectiveness and side-effect prevalence–appear to have more muted effects among the most vaccine hesitant respondents. The prevalence of side-effects, effectiveness, country of origin and vaccine technology (e.g., mRNA vaccines) determine vaccine acceptance, but they matter little among the vaccine hesitant. Vaccine hesitant people do not find a vaccine more attractive even if it has the most favorable attributes. While the communication of vaccine attributes is important, it is unlikely to convince those who are most vaccine hesitant to get vaccinated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina Stöckli
- Department of Politics, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
- * E-mail: (SS); (MB)
| | | | - Joseph Phillips
- School of Psychology, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom
| | - Florian Stoeckel
- Department of Politics, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
| | - Matthew Barnfield
- Department of Politics, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
- * E-mail: (SS); (MB)
| | - Jack Thompson
- Department of Politics, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
| | - Benjamin Lyons
- Department of Communication, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America
| | - Vittorio Mérola
- Department of Political Science, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States of America
| | - Paula Szewach
- Department of Politics, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
| | - Jason Reifler
- Department of Politics, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
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8
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9
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Blair G, Weinstein JM, Christia F, Arias E, Badran E, Blair RA, Cheema A, Farooqui A, Fetzer T, Grossman G, Haim D, Hameed Z, Hanson R, Hasanain A, Kronick D, Morse BS, Muggah R, Nadeem F, Tsai LL, Nanes M, Slough T, Ravanilla N, Shapiro JN, Silva B, Souza PCL, Wilke AM. Community policing does not build citizen trust in police or reduce crime in the Global South. Science 2021; 374:eabd3446. [PMID: 34822276 DOI: 10.1126/science.abd3446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
[Figure: see text].
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Affiliation(s)
- Graeme Blair
- Department of Political Science, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Jeremy M Weinstein
- Department of Political Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Fotini Christia
- Department of Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Eric Arias
- Equitable Growth, Finance, and Institutions Practice Group, World Bank Group, Bouchard 547, Piso 29, CP1106, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | | | - Robert A Blair
- Department of Political Science, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA.,Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
| | - Ali Cheema
- Department of Economics, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan 54792
| | - Ahsan Farooqui
- Institute of Development and Economic Alternatives, Lahore, Pakistan 54000
| | - Thiemo Fetzer
- School of Economics and Finance, Queen Mary University of London, London E14NS, UK
| | - Guy Grossman
- Department of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Dotan Haim
- Department of Political Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA
| | | | - Rebecca Hanson
- Center for Latin American Studies, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.,Department of Sociology, Criminology, & Law, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Ali Hasanain
- Department of Economics, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan 54792
| | - Dorothy Kronick
- Department of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | | | | | - Fatiq Nadeem
- Bren School, University of California-Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93117, USA
| | - Lily L Tsai
- Department of Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Matthew Nanes
- Department of Political Science, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO 63103, USA
| | - Tara Slough
- Wilf Family Department of Politics, New York University, New York City, NY, 10003, USA
| | - Nico Ravanilla
- School of Global Policy and Strategy, University of California-San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Jacob N Shapiro
- Department of Politics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | | | - Pedro C L Souza
- School of Economics and Finance, Queen Mary University of London, London E14NS, UK
| | - Anna M Wilke
- Department of Political Science, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
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10
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Trusted authorities can change minds and shift norms during conflict. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2105570118. [PMID: 34635594 PMCID: PMC8594585 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2105570118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Violent extremist groups such as the Islamic State and Boko Haram have proliferated across the world in recent decades. While considerable scholarship addresses why people join violent extremist groups, much less attention has been paid to how former members reenter society. Yet successfully ending conflict requires reluctant communities to accept former members back home. In this research, we find that radio messages delivered by trusted authorities in Nigeria lead to large, positive changes in people’s willingness to accept former Boko Haram fighters back home and make people think their neighbors are more in favor of reintegration. Our results show that messages from leaders can create change on a mass scale at low cost, helping to end conflict and division. The reintegration of former members of violent extremist groups is a pressing policy challenge. Governments and policymakers often have to change minds among reticent populations and shift perceived community norms in order to pave the way for peaceful reintegration. How can they do so on a mass scale? Previous research shows that messages from trusted authorities can be effective in creating attitude change and shifting perceptions of social norms. In this study, we test whether messages from religious leaders—trusted authorities in many communities worldwide—can change minds and shift norms around an issue related to conflict resolution: the reintegration of former members of violent extremist groups. Our study takes place in Maiduguri, Nigeria, the birthplace of the violent extremist group Boko Haram. Participants were randomly assigned to listen to either a placebo radio message or to a treatment message from a religious leader emphasizing the importance of forgiveness, announcing the leader’s forgiveness of repentant fighters, and calling on followers to forgive. Participants were then asked about their attitudes, intended behaviors, and perceptions of social norms surrounding the reintegration of an ex–Boko Haram fighter. The religious leader message significantly increased support for reintegration and willingness to interact with the ex-fighter in social, political, and economic life (8 to 10 percentage points). It also shifted people’s beliefs that others in their community were more supportive of reintegration (6 to 10 percentage points). Our findings suggest that trusted authorities such as religious leaders can be effective messengers for promoting peace.
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11
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Abstract
In the political domain, disgust is primarily portrayed as an emotion that explains individual differences in pathogen avoidance. We hypothesized that political rhetoric accusing opponents of moral transgressions also elicits disgust responses. In this registered report, we present the results from a laboratory experiment. We find that participants self-report higher disgust and have stronger physiological (Levator labii) responses to pictures of out-party leaders compared with in-party leaders. Participants also report higher disgust in response to moral violations of in-party leaders. There is more suggestive evidence that in-party leaders evoke more labii activity when they commit moral violations than when out-party leaders do. The impact of individual differences in moral disgust and partisanship strength is very limited to absent. Intriguingly, on average, the physiological and self-reported disgust responses to the treatment are similar, but individuals differ in whether their response is physiological or cognitive. This motivates further theorizing regarding the concordance of emotional responses.
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