Research
My research focuses on various facets of public opinion, in particular on trust in media, the third person effect & campaign effects.
Here is a selection of my published research according to specific topics. A complete list of my research can be found in my full CV.
Audience trust in media:
Tsfati, Y., Strömbäck, J., Lindgren, E., Boomgaarden, H., & Vliegenthart, R. (2023). What news outlets
do people have in mind when they answer survey questions about trust in “media”? International Journal for
Public Opinion Research, 35(2), edad008. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/edad008
Lindgren, E., Lindholm, T., Vliegenthart, R., Boomgaarden, H., Damstra, A., Strömbäck, J.,& Tsfati, Y. (2022).
Trusting the facts: The role of framing, news media as a (trusted) source, and opinion resonance for perceived
truth in statistical statements. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 10776990221117117.
https://doi.org/10.1177/10776990221117117
Tsfati, Y., Strömbäck, J., Lindgren, E., Damstra , A., Boomgaarden, H., & Vliegenthart, R. (2022). Going beyond
general media trust: An analysis of topical media trust, its antecedents and effects on issue (Mis)perceptions.
International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 34(2), edac010. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/edac010
Strömbäck, J., Tsfati, Y., Boomgaarden, H., Damstra, A., Lindgren, E., & Vliegenthart, R. (2020). News media trust
and its impact on media use: Toward a framework for future research. Annals of the International
Communication Association, 44(2), 139-156. https://doi.org/10.1080/23808985.2020.1755338
Tsfati, Y., & Ariely, G. (2014). Individual and contextual correlates of trust in media across 44 countries.
Communication Research, 41(6), 760-782. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650213485972
Tsfati, Y. (2010) Online news exposure and trust in the mainstream media – Exploring possible associations.
American Behavioral Scientist, 54(1), 22-42. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764210376309
Tsfati, Y., & Peri, Y. (2006). Mainstream media skepticism and exposure to extra-national and sectorial news
media: The case of Israel. Mass Communication & Society, 9(2), 165-187. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327825mcs0902_3
Tsfati, Y., & Cappella, J. N. (2005). Why do people watch news they do not trust: Need for cognition as a
moderator in the association between news media skepticism and exposure. Media Psychology, 7(3), 251-272.
https://doi.org/10.1207/s1532785xmep0703_2
Tsfati, Y. (2004). Exploring possible correlates of journalists’ perceptions of audience trust. Journalism and
Mass Communication Quarterly, 81(2), 274-291. https://doi.org/10.1177/107769900408100204
Tsfati, Y. (2003). Media skepticism and climate of opinion perception. International Journal of Public Opinion
Research, 15(1), 65-82. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/15.1.65
Tsfati, Y. (2003). Does audience skepticism of the media matter in agenda setting? Journal of Broadcasting and
Electronic Media, 47(2), 157- 176. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15506878jobem4702_1
Tsfati, Y., & Cappella, J. N. (2003). Do people watch what they do not trust? Exploring the association between
news media skepticism and exposure. Communication Research, 30(5), 504-529. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650203253371
Selective exposure and polarization:
Tsfati, Y. (2020). Personality factors differentiating selective approach, selective avoidance and the belief in the
importance of silencing others: Further evidence for discriminant validity. International Journal of Public
Opinion Research, 32(3), 488-509. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/edz031
Tsfati, Y., & Dvir Gvirsman, S. (2018). Silencing fellow citizens: Conceptualization, measurement and validation
of a scale for measuring the belief in the importance of actively silencing others. International Journal of Public
Opinion Research, 30, 391-419. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/edw038
Dvir Gvirsman, S., Garrett, R.K., & Tsfati Y. (2018) Why do partisan audiences participate? Perceived public
opinion as the mediating mechanism. Communication Research, 45(1), 112-136. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650215593145
Tsfati, Y. & Nir, L. (2017). Framing and argumentation: Two pathways from selective exposure to political
polarization. International Journal of Communication, 11, 301-322. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/5793
Dvir Gvirsman, S., Tsfati, Y., & Menchen-Trevino, E. (2016). The extent and nature of ideological selective
exposure. New Media &Society, 18 (5), 857-877. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444814549041
Tsfati, Y., & Chotiner, A. (2016). Testing the selective exposure-polarization hypothesis among Israeli online
news users: Using three indicators of ideological news exposure and testing for mediating mechanisms.
International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 28(1), 3-24. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/edv001
Tsfati, Y. (2016). A new measure for the tendency to select ideologically congruent political information: Scale
development and validation. International Journal of Communication, 10, 200-225. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/3688
Triling, D., van Klingeren, M., & Tsfati, Y. (2016). Selective exposure, political polarization, and possible
mediators: Evidence From the Netherlands. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 29(2), 189-213.
https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/edw003
Tsfati Y., Stroud, N. J., & Chotiner, A. (2014). Exposure to ideological news and perceived opinion climate:
Testing the media effects component of spiral-of-silence in a fragmented media landscape. The International
Journal of Press/Politics, 19(1), 13-23. https://doi.org/10.1177/1940161213508206
Garrett, R.K., Dvir Gvirsman, S., Johnson, B.K., Tsfati, Y., Neo, R., & Dal, A. (2014). Implications of pro- and
counter-attitudinal information exposure for affective polarization. Human Communication Research, 40(3),
309-332. https://doi.org/10.1111/hcre.12028
Presumed media influence:
Tsfati, Y., & Huino, H. (2014). Research findings weaken perceptions of media bias. Newspaper Research
Journal, 35(1), 82-95. https://doi.org/10.1177/073953291403500107
Tsfati, Y., Cohen, J., & Gunther, A. C. (2011). The influence of presumed media influence on news about science
and scientists. Science Communication, 22(2), 143-166. https://doi.org/10.1177/1075547010380385
Tal-Or, N., Cohen, J., Tsfati, Y., & Gunther, A. C. (2010) Testing causal direction in the influence of presumed
media influence. Communication Research, 37(6), 801-824. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650210362684
Cohen, J. & Tsfati, Y. (2009). The influence of presumed media influence on strategic voting. Communication
Research, 36(3), 359-378. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650209333026
Cohen, J., Tsfati, Y., & Sheafer, T. (2008). The influence of presumed media influence in politics: Do politicians'
perceptions of media impact matter? Public Opinion Quarterly, 72(2), 331-344. https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfn014
Tsfati, Y., & Livio, O. (2008). Exploring journalists' perceptions of media impact. Journalism and Mass
Communication Quarterly, 85(1), 113-130. https://doi.org/10.1177/107769900808500108
Tal Or, N., & Tsfati, Y. (2007). On the substitutability of the third person perception. Media Psychology, 10(2),
231-249. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213260701375637
Tsfati, Y. (2007). Hostile media perceptions, presumed media influence and political alienation: The case of
Arabs in Israel. Journal of Communication, 57(4), 632-651. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2007.00361.x
Tsfati, Y., & Cohen, J. (2005). Democratic consequences of hostile media perceptions: The case of Gaza settlers.
The Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, 10(4), 28-51. https://doi.org/10.1177/1081180x05280776
Tsfati, Y., & Cohen, J. (2005). The influence of presumed media influence on democratic legitimacy: The case of
Gaza settlers. Communication Research, 32(6), 794-821. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650205281057
Tsfati, Y., Ribak, R., & Cohen J. (2005). Rebelde Way in Israel: Parental perceptions of television influence and
monitoring of children’s social and media activities. Mass Communication & Society, 8(1), 3-22. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327825mcs0801_2
Tsfati, Y., &; Cohen J. (2004). Object-subject distance and the third person perception. Media Psychology 6(4),
335-362. https://doi.org/10.1207/s1532785xmep0604_2
Tsfati, Y., & Cohen, J. (2003). On the effect of the “third person effect”: Perceived influence of media coverage
and residential mobility intentions. Journal of Communication, 53(4), 711-727. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2003.tb02919.x
Physical attractiveness and news coverage:
Markowitz-Elfassi, D., & Tsfati, Y. (2019). How does beauty shape political television news? The effect of Israeli
politicians’ facial attractiveness on the tone of their news coverage. Journalism, 20 (10), 1397-1414. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884916688548
Waismel-Manor, I., & Tsfati, Y. (2011).Why do better looking congresspersons receive more television
coverage? Political Communication, 28(4), 440-463. https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2011.617719
Tsfati, Y., Markowitz, D., & Waismel-Manor, I. (2010). Exploring the association between Israeli legislators'
physical attractiveness and their television news coverage. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 15(2),
155-174. https://doi.org/10.1177/1940161209361212
Audience engagement:
Or, S., Meir, N., Ron, D., Livio, O., Tsfati, Y., & Tal-Or, N. (2023). The Impact of testimony journalism on
audience engagement: An experimental investigation of the effects of point of view. Journalism Studies, 24(5), 573-593.
https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2023.2173957
Tsfati, Y., Cohen, J., Dvir Gvirsman, S. Tsuriel, K., Waismel-Manor, I., & Holbert, L. (2022). Political para-social
relationship as a predictor of voting preferences in the Israeli 2019 elections. Communication Research, 49(8), 1118-1147.
https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502211032822
Mor, N., Davidson, R., & Tsfati, Y. (2022). Stated professional orientation, identity, and technical proficiency of
journalists as predictors of the success of journalism crowdfunding campaigns. Journalism, 14648849221146076.
https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849221146076
Davidson, R., & Tsfati, Y. (2019). The contribution of supply and demand factors to the reproduction of
hierarchies online: The case of crowdfunding of scientific research. Public Understanding of Science, 28(8),
868-882. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662519876535
Walter, N., & Tsfati, Y (2018). Interactive experience and identification as predictors of attributing
responsibility in video games. Journal of Media Psychology, 30(1), 3-15. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000168
Tal Or, N., & Tsfati, Y. (2018) Does the co-viewing of sexual material affect rape myth acceptance? The role of
the co-viewer's reactions and gender. Communication Research, 45(4), 577-602. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650215595073
Tal-Or, N., & Tsfati, Y. (2016). When Arabs and Jews watch TV together: The joint effect of the content and
context of communication on reducing prejudice. Journal of Communication, 66(4), 646-668. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12242
Other media effects:
Damstra, A., Vliegenthart, R., Boomgaarden, H., Glüer, K., Lindgren, E., Stromback, J., & Tsfati, Y. (2023).
Knowledge and the news: An investigation of the relation between news use, news avoidance and the
presence of (mis)beliefs. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 28(1), 29-48.
https://doi.org/10.1177/19401612211031457
Tsfati, Y., Cohen, J., Dvir Gvirsman, S. Tsuriel, K., Waismel-Manor, I., & Holbert, L. (2022). Political para-social
relationship as a predictor of voting preferences in the Israeli 2019 elections. Communication Research, 49(8), 1118-1147.
https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502211032822
Tal-Bloom, R., Tsfati, Y., & Weimann, G. (2018). The association between exposure to crisis-event framing,
psychological-capital and subjective well-being. Media Frames, 17, 20-49. (Hebrew)
Tal Or, N., & Tsfati, Y. (2018) Does the co-viewing of sexual material affect rape myth acceptance? The role of
the co-viewer's reactions and gender. Communication Research, 45(4), 577-602. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650215595073
Tal-Or, N., & Tsfati, Y. (2016). When Arabs and Jews watch TV together: The joint effect of the content and
context of communication on reducing prejudice. Journal of Communication, 66(4), 646-668. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12242
Kligler-Vilenchik, N., Tsfati, Y., & Meyers, O. (2014). Setting the collective memory agenda: Examining
mainstream media influence on individuals’ perceptions of the past. Memory Studies, 7(4), 484-499.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1750698014523443
Kremerman, L., Cohen, J., & Tsfati, Y. (2012) Examining the association between exposure to violent
media and aggressive political opinions in the Israeli context. Communication Reports, 25(2), 88-99.
https://doi.org/10.1080/08934215.2012.719462
Tsfati, Y., Tukachinsky, R., & Peri, Y. (2009). Exposure to news, political comedy and entertainment
talk shows, concern about security and political mistrust. The International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 21(4), 399-423.
https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/edp015
Tsfati, Y. (2003). Debating the debate: the impact of exposure to debate news coverage and its
interaction with exposure to the actual debate. The Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, 8(3), 70-86.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1081180x03008003005
Research workshops:
Measuring Communication Concepts: Conceptualization and Data Collection, Haifa, March 2023
New Frontiers in Selective Exposure Research, Haifa, October 2015