AUTHOR=Wang Xiaopei , He Renyi 

TITLE=Supporting Vaccination on TikTok During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Vaccine Beliefs, Emotions, and Comments

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.938377

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2022.938377

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<p>TikTok has been one of the most important social media platforms where pandemic-related information converged and has been disseminated. However, how vaccination-related visual content, particularly pro-vaccine videos, influences audiences remains unclear. Using Betsch et al.’s 5C model and Ekman’s basic emotion model, we identified 200 trending videos under the hashtag #vaccine on TikTok, and examined the types of vaccine-related beliefs and emotions expressed in videos and the relationship between beliefs, emotions, and supportive comments. Confidence and joy were the most frequently expressed belief and emotion, respectively; confidence (<italic>B</italic> = 14.84, <italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05), surprise (<italic>B</italic> = 11.29, <italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05), and sadness (<italic>B</italic> = 37.49, <italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.01) predicted the number of supportive comments. This study expands the 5C framework of vaccine hesitancy into the analysis of pro-vaccine content on social media and offers detailed insights into the specific type of beliefs and emotions and their effects. Practical implications regarding how to address vaccine hesitancy are discussed.</p>