Student Spotlight: Alyssa Croft

Posted by Michael Walsh on

Written by Rodrigo Santa Maria

Public Relations student Alyssa Croft presented “Words in Big Business: How Scienceploitation has Invaded Consumer Society” at the President’s Showcase of Undergraduate Research Excellence on October 10, 2024. The presentation was the culmination of 10 months of work on the project, made possible by an IDEA Grant Croft received last March.

Croft, who is only the seventh student in the School of Communication’s (SCOM) history to be awarded an IDEA grant, focused her research on the use of misleading scientific claims for marketing purposes. She found that scientific jargon, a method of Scienceploitation, affects how people process advertisements, and that people process these jargons differently, depending on how they are presented.

Croft first became interested in research after taking a class with Dr. Patrick Merle, Associate Professor and Director of the School of Communication. Merle was the supervising professor for the project.

“I took a research methods course with Dr. Merle, who offered me opportunities to help with research projects outside of class,” Croft said. “We presented a project at the International Public Relations Research Conference, and soon after, I joined Honors in the Major and applied for an IDEA Grant,” she said. “Dr. Merle has been my guide and mentor throughout the entire process.”

“Alyssa has already demonstrated a high level of interest and knowledge in research,” Merle said. “It has been a real pleasure working with her and discussing methodological questions with her as she designed her experiment.”

Croft will conduct the second part of her study in the spring, focusing specifically on the responses from Hispanic bilinguals and monolinguals. After graduating that semester, she will pursue a master’s degree in Integrated Marketing Communication and hopes to— in the future— work on projects dealing with environmental preservation.

“The School of Communication opened my eyes to the opportunities FSU offers and helped me achieve academically in a way I never thought I could,” Croft said. “I plan to graduate with Honors in the Major, and am beyond thankful that SCOM and Dr. Merle helped me to discover opportunities like these and guided me through the process.”