Sarah Penner (sarahjeanpenner@gmail.com)

We will be looking at different methods of presentation regarding public health messages during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research has shown that the use of information through media formats such as images and text can affect people's opinions (ÇELİK et al., 2022). Another study showed the importance of consistent, evidence-based public health messaging (Pfattheicher, S. et al., 2020). Participants were exposed to an online survey measuring Global Identity. This online survey collected sociodemographic information from each participant, and then asked them to assess their level of Global Identity. After exposing them to either ten stock photos or ten images of health statistics relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, participants were asked once more to measure their level of Global Identity. The survey was distributed through the official Southern Utah University Portal, researcher's personal social media accounts, and to General Psychology students through SONA. Our hypothesis is that those who are exposed to images of human faces will report higher Global Identity compared to those who are exposed to images of statistical data. This is expected because human faces are more likely to elicit feelings of connectedness to the global populace. Our study is impactful because it evaluates the efficacy of public health messaging, and suggests a way to present information that will unite the human race in the midst of a pandemic. Results are forthcoming.