Carpenter, C. J., Rahman, M. S., & Kotowski, M. R. (2023). Vaccine mavens or health mavens? Southern Communication Journal. https://doi.org/10.1080/1041794X.2023.2277432

Abstract

Although topic-focused opinion leaders have been studied for decades, it remains unclear whether they are best conceptualized based on a narrow topic (e.g. vaccines) or a broader topic (e.g.  health). Two studies were conducted to contribute to this discussion. The first (N = 397) examined the issue in terms of vaccine knowledge, tendency to promote vaccines, and trust in science. Results favored the vaccine maven over the health. The second study (N = 400) studied the issue by looking at self-other congruence in terms of perceptions of opinion leadership and advice seeking. Results were more equivocal.

Keywords: opinion leadership, vaccines, mavens, superdiffusers