Dustin Carnahan Ph.D.

Dustin Carnahan is an associate professor in the Department of Communication in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences. He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from Ohio State University. His research focuses on how citizens engage with the political information environment and how these practices influence their beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors.

Recently, Professor Carnahan has focused on how communication processes contribute to the formation of misperceptions and the effectiveness of fact-checking messages in combatting misinformation. His work has been published in the Journal of Communication, Human Communication Research, Communication Monographs, Political Communication, and Political Behavior.

Select recent publications:

Bergan, D. E., Shulman, H. C., & Carnahan, D. (2024). Discounting constituent attitudes: Motivated reasoning, ambiguity, and policymaker perceptions of constituent characteristics. Human Communication Research, 50, 53-65.

Ahn. S., Ma, S., Bergan, D. E., & Carnahan, D. (2023). Estimating the impact of immediate versus delayed corrections on belief accuracy. Communication Monographs, 90, 372-392.

Ma, S., Bergan, D. E., Ahn, S., Carnahan, D., Gimby, N., McGraw, J., & Virtue, I. (2023). Fact-checking as a deterrent? A conceptual replication of the influence of fact-checking on the sharing of misinformation by political elites. Human Communication Research, 49, 321-338.

Carnahan, D., Ahn., S., & Turner, M. M. (2023). The madness of misperceptions: Evaluating the ways anger contributes to misinformed beliefs. Journal of Communication, 73, 60-72. 

Carnahan, D., Ulusoy, E., Barry, R., McGraw, J., Virtue, I. C., & Bergan, D. E. (2022). What should I believe? A conjoint analysis of the influence of message characteristics on belief in, perceive credibility of, and intent to share political posts. Journal of Communication, 72, 592-603.

Carnahan, D., & Bergan, D. E. (2022). Correcting the misinformed: The effectiveness of fact-checking messages in changing false beliefs. Political Communication, 39, 166-183.

Bergan, D. E., Carnahan, D., Lajevardi, N., Medeiros, M., Reckhow, S., & Thorson, K. (2022). Promoting the youth vote: The role of information cues and social pressure. Political Behavior, 44, 2027-2047.

Research Interests:

Political communication, political behavior, misinformation, corrective messages, public opinion, selective exposure

Courses taught:

Human Communication (COM 100)

Communication Campaign Design and Analysis (COM 475)

Effects of Mass Communication (COM 275)

Misinformation and Fake News (COM 399/401)

Political Communication (COM 305/307)

Graduate Seminar in Political Communication (CAS 892)

Mediation and Moderation Analysis (CAS 892)

Research Centers and Labs:

Health and Risk Communication Center (affiliated faculty)

Institute for Public Policy and Social Research (affiliated faculty)