Mental Model Education Shows Strong Potential to Reduce Misconceptions About mRNA Vaccines

Researchers at the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) at the University of Pennsylvania have released new findings showing that a “mental model” method of teaching scientific concepts can significantly reduce incorrect beliefs about mRNA vaccines, including the widespread misconception that these vaccines can alter a person’s DNA. The results come from two preregistered randomized experiments and were recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

This research arrives at a time when confusion and misinformation about mRNA technology remain common, especially surrounding concerns that stray DNA fragments in vaccines could integrate into human DNA. These ideas have been promoted by critics such as Florida State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, and they have even shaped proposed state legislation in places like Tennessee and Minnesota. One Tennessee update broadened the state’s legal definition of “drug” to include food containing vaccines or vaccine materials, while a Minnesota bill attempted to classify mRNA injections as weapons of mass destruction. These fear-driven policy attempts reflect how deeply misconceptions have penetrated public understanding.

The APPC team—led by Kathleen Hall Jamieson, with collaborators Laura A. Gibson, Shawn Patterson Jr., and Patrick E. Jamieson—set out to determine whether a more proactive and educational approach could help people understand how mRNA technology actually works, and why the idea of DNA alteration is scientifically implausible.

Understanding the Mental Model Approach

Mental models are the internal representations people use to understand how things in the world function. Instead of relying on strict logical reasoning or fact-checking statements, many individuals form opinions by leaning on these simplified internal explanations. Because of this, presenting new scientific information in a structured, visual, and intuitive format can help people recognize incorrect claims without those claims needing to be repeated.

The researchers tested two types of mental models:

The Bypassing Model – This model presents a clear, graphic explanation of how mRNA vaccines function inside the body. It covers how the vaccine’s mRNA instructs cells to produce harmless viral proteins that stimulate immunity, and it provides evidence of vaccine safety. Crucially, it does this without referencing the misleading claim that mRNA vaccines can alter DNA. Instead, it supplies a coherent, detailed knowledge structure that helps people naturally dismiss false ideas when they encounter them later.
The Foreclosing Model – This model directly explains how human cells protect themselves from foreign DNA fragments through mechanisms that deactivate or destroy them. To illustrate this, the researchers created a 105-second animation showing cellular processes that shield DNA inside the nucleus, making the idea of DNA integration unscientific. This approach allows people to override existing misconceptions by understanding why the feared scenario cannot occur.

Both models aim to equip people with accurate conceptual frameworks rather than simply telling them that a claim is wrong.

What the Experiments Found

The two experiments involved 1,540 and 2,038 respondents, respectively. Participants were exposed to various combinations of misleading claims, visual or textual mental models, or both. Across both studies, a clear pattern emerged:

People who viewed the mental models—whether before or after seeing the misleading claims—were more likely to answer questions correctly and base their judgments on scientific evidence. Those who saw only the misinformation were more vulnerable to misinterpreting how mRNA vaccines function.

This means the mental model interventions were effective both preventively and reactively:

When shown before misinformation, they helped people avoid adopting the misconception in the first place.
When shown afterward, they helped people override false beliefs they had just been exposed to.

Jamieson and her colleagues view this as a promising alternative to traditional fact-checking, which often repeats the incorrect claim in the process of debunking it. That repetition can inadvertently spread the misinformation to audiences who might not have encountered it otherwise.

The study’s findings also suggest that incorporating mental model education into middle school, high school, or college science curricula could strengthen public understanding long before misinformation has a chance to take root.

Why DNA-Alteration Fears Lack Scientific Support

The study addresses misconceptions that mRNA vaccines change DNA. Experts widely agree that this scenario is biologically impossible for several reasons:

The vaccine’s mRNA stays in the cytoplasm, not the nucleus where DNA is stored.
mRNA molecules are short-lived and degrade quickly after use.
They lack the enzymes required for DNA integration, such as reverse transcriptase.
Residual DNA fragments from manufacturing—if present at all—are extremely small and are rapidly neutralized by cellular defense systems.

Authorities like the CDC and former FDA biologics director Peter Marks have consistently stated that mRNA vaccines cannot interact with or change human genes.

mRNA Technology and Its Expanding Medical Applications

Beyond COVID-19, mRNA research is being applied to a wide range of significant health challenges. The same technology platform is now being used to develop vaccines or treatments for:

Melanoma
Pancreatic cancer
Influenza
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)
Bird flu
HIV
Dengue virus
Lyme disease

Because mRNA manufacturing is flexible and fast, it has become one of the most important innovations in modern biomedical science.

As these new treatments roll out, public understanding will be crucial. The APPC team’s mental model approach could play an important role in building trust and confidence in these technologies.

The Bigger Picture: Improving How We Communicate Science

One of the most important takeaways from this research is that how scientific information is communicated matters just as much as what is being said. Traditional fact-checking, while valuable, struggles when the misinformation has already gained momentum or when the debunking process inadvertently amplifies the false claim.

The mental model approach avoids that trap by focusing on education rather than correction, building a durable base of understanding that allows people to reason through new or misleading claims on their own. This approach could be expanded beyond vaccine communication to many other areas of science where misconceptions spread easily.

The researchers emphasize that future studies should explore how these models can be integrated into classroom teaching, public health messaging, and digital information platforms to create a more misinformation-resilient public.

Additional Context About mRNA Vaccines

Here are some extra insights to help readers better understand mRNA technology and its significance:

mRNA vaccines do not contain live virus, so they cannot cause infection.
The technology allows for rapid updates if a virus mutates, making it extremely useful for fast-moving diseases.
mRNA vaccines have been studied for decades, even before COVID-19, particularly for cancer immunotherapy.
Large-scale global trials during the pandemic provided unprecedented real-world safety and effectiveness data.
The delivery systems used—such as lipid nanoparticles—help protect the fragile mRNA and guide it into cells, a breakthrough that made the technology viable.

These advances show why scientists view mRNA as a platform technology with transformative potential across many fields of medicine.

Research Reference

Using a Mental Model Approach to Undercut the Effects of Exposure to mRNA Vaccination Misconceptions: Two Randomized Trials
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2517067122