John Banas

• HON 2973 - The Art & Science of US Humor
• HON 3993 - Conspiracy Theories

Dr. John Banas is a quantitative social scientist who studies persuasion with a primary focus on message strategies that help people resist maladaptive influence such as misinformation and conspiracy theories. He also has a secondary research program that investigates media effects and humor. In theoretical terms, his research mainly investigates inoculation theory, the theory of psychological reactance, and mediated intergroup contact.

Professor Banas’s research appears in top communication (e.g., Human Communication Research, Communication Monographs, Communication Research, Health Communication) and high-quality psychology and interdisciplinary journals (e.g., Journal of Language and Social Psychology, Journal of Media Psychology, PNAS Nexus).

Dr. Banas has received Top Paper Awards from the Health Communication Division (2015, 2019) and Social Cognition Division (2022, 2023) of National Communication Association(NCA), as well as a Top Paper Award from the Computers and Technology Division of the International Communication Association (ICA) in 2022. He has served as Chair of the NCA’s Communication and Social Cognition Division (2017-2018).

Professor Banas has also earned awards for his teaching efforts. He was awarded the University of Oklahoma General Education Teaching Award in 2013, the University of Oklahoma John H. and Jane M. Patten Teaching Award in 2017, and most recently was selected as a Presidential Teaching Fellow for the Honor’s College for the 2023-2024 academic year.

He directs the introductory communication course and teaches classes on persuasion, ,interpersonal relationships, humor, and conspiracy theories.

Banas, J. A., Bessarabova, E., Penkauskas, M., & Talbert. (2023). Inoculating against anti-vaccination conspiracies. Health Communication.

Lees, J., Banas, J. A., Linvill, D., Meirick, P. C., & Warren, P. (2023). The Spot the Troll Quiz game increases accuracy in discerning between real and in authentic social media accounts. PNAS Nexus, 2, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad094

Banas, J. A., Palomares, N. A., Richards, A., Keating, D. M., Rains, S. A., & Joyce, N. (2022). When Machine and Bandwagon Heuristics Compete: Understanding Users’ Responses to Conflicting AI and Crowdsourced Fact-Checking. Human Communication Research, 48, 430-461. https://doi.org/10.1093/hcr/hqac010

Banas, J. A., Dibble, J. L., Bessarabova, E., & Drouin, M. (2021). Simmering on the back burner or playing with fire? Examining the consequences of back burner digital communication among ex partners. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 24, 473-479.​https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2020.0717

Banas, J. A., Bessarabova, E., & Massey, Z. B. (2020).  Reducing prejudice via mediated contact: A meta-analysis. Human Communication Research, 46, 120-160. https://doi.org/10.1093/hcr/hqaa004

Banas, J. A., Bisel, R. S., Kramer, M. W., & Massey, Z. (2019). The serious business of instructional humor outside the classroom: a study of elite gymnastic coaches’ uses of humor during training. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 47, 628–647. https://doi.org/10.1080/00909882.2019.1693052

Richards, A., & Banas, J. A. (2018). The opposing mediational effects of apprehensive threat and motivational threat when inoculating against reactance to health promotion. Southern Communication Journal, 83, 245-255. https://doi.org/10.1080/1041794X.2018.1498909

Banas, J. A., & Richards, A. (2017). Apprehension or motivation to defend attitudes? Exploring the underlying threat mechanism in inoculation-induced resistance to persuasion. Communication Monographs, 84, 164-178. https://doi.org/10.1080/03637751.2017.1307999