Thursday, January 16, 2025

Rain or shine, elementary-age Bingbing Zhang was always at her neighbor’s house, consuming hours of cartoons. Eventually Zhang’s father bought their family a TV, so she wouldn’t spend every afternoon next door.

Today, Zhang, assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication and researcher affiliate at the Center for Social Science Innovation (CSSI), has continued to foster her childhood love of media through her research.

Originally, Zhang wanted to study physics and learn how to build communication channels.

However, a college entrance exam in China, where Zhang grew up, changed her trajectory. Her score placed her in the broadcasting and television communications program at South China Normal University.

During undergraduate, she interned with a social media company’s marketing unit and surveyed individuals at a local mall. This experience, combined with a research methods class, made Zhang realize she enjoyed research and its practical applications.

While at her master’s program in radio and television at Jinan University, a guest lecturer from the U.S. spoke to her cohort. Zhang, who notes she could fluently speak English because she was an avid watcher of Gossip Girl, acted as the professor’s personal translator.

Zhang recalls the professor opening her eyes to opportunities in the United States to conduct the research she wanted to do.

So, Zhang arrived in the U.S., earning a second master’s in mass communications from Texas Tech and a PhD in the same field from the Pennsylvania State University.

Professional portrait of Bingbing Zhang.
Bingbing Zhang, CSSI researcher affiliate

Now, at the University of Iowa, Zhang studies how different media messages in three fields – science, health, and politics – aid people’s understandings of those fields. More specifically, Zhang wants to understand how media messages can bolster the adoption of healthy practices and engagement in democratic practices.

For example, her recent study showed that perceptions of Twitter/X posts’ credibility were lower when the posts were labeled as COVID-19 vaccine misinformation.

Another study revealed that three factors improved individuals’ ability to discern fake news: 1) high activity on social media, 2) possession of extensive political knowledge and 3) strong confidence in their abilities to detect the truth in politics.

“My research has practical applications to provide insights and guidance for individuals and policymakers regarding why people react to certain types of media messages and what can help motivate individuals to understand science, health, and political issues more,” Zhang says.

To help her achieve these research goals, Zhang has taken part in CSSI’s grant writing, grant residency, and workshop offerings, helpful experiences she recommends to other researchers.

And if one of her research project stalls, Zhang has a perseverance mindset, stating “In China, there is a saying called ‘having a thick face.’ Even if I receive failure or rejection in my research, I just keep going. Tomorrow’s version of me is always better than yesterday’s me.”

To learn more about CSSI’s researcher affiliate program, please visit our website.

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