On the morning of June 19, 2024, Professor Tai-Quan Peng from Michigan State University’s Department of Communication delivered an insightful academic lecture to faculty and students at the School of Media and Communication. Titled “Believe It or Not: A Network Analysis Investigating How Individuals Embrace False and True Statements,” the lecture was hosted by Professor Guang Yang, Associate Dean of the School of Media and Communication.

Professor Peng is a leading scholar in the field of communication, serving as the Editor-in-Chief of the prestigious Human Communication Research journal and an Associate Editor of the Journal of Communication. His extensive work includes guest editorial roles with top journals like Asian Journal of Communication and Communication Methods and Measures, with over sixty publications in SSCI and SCI-indexed journals.

In his lecture, Professor Peng focused on the psychological mechanisms people employed to process misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Applying multiple theoretical frameworks and a network analysis approach, he explored the psychological processes involved in evaluating both truthful and deceptive contexts. His research highlighted significant differences in information processing mechanisms among people with varying mindsets. These findings provide valuable insights into the public’s psychological state during the pandemic and offer a reference for understanding and countering the spread of misinformation.

During the discussion session, attendees engaged with Professor Peng on topics such as data collection and processing, classification of study participants, and clustering analysis research methods. Professor Guang Yang concluded the event by summarizing the key points of the lecture and encouraging students to broaden their academic perspectives and explore new research methodologies.