Vaccine Mavens or Health Mavens?

Although topic-focused opinion leaders have been studied for decades, it remains unclear whether they are best conceptualized based on a narrow topic (vaccines) or a broader topic (health). Two studies were conducted to contribute to this discussion. The first (N = 397) examined the issue in terms of vaccine knowledge, tendency to promote vaccines, and trust in science. Results favored the vaccine maven over the health. The second study (N = 400) studied the issue by looking at self-other congruence in terms of perceptions of opinion leadership and advice seeking. Study 2 results were consistent with the validity of both types.