A new approach for evaluating climate change communication

Levine, Adam Seth; Kline, Reuben

doi:10.1007/s10584-017-1952-x

Cited by 55 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…The statements were comparatively less effective at influencing people’s intentions to engage in advocacy, causing only a small increase in intention to engage in consumer advocacy and no change in intention to conduct political advocacy. This finding fits with past research which shows that messages that are effective at increasing concern and cognitive involvement with an issue do not necessarily produce a similar effect that motivates advocacy behavior [47–49]. Moreover, the statements presented to participants only included information about the health threats posed by air pollution; they did not address other factors known to predict engagement in advocacy, such as beliefs about the efficacy of solutions and protective actions [50], perceived norms about the level of activism among one’s peers [51], concerns about identifying as an activist [52], or the set of conditions that make people view civic organizations as open, friendly, and pleasant places to build social relationships while doing advocacy work [53, 54].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Fossil fuels are harming our brains: identifying key messages about the health effects of air pollution from fossil fuels

2019

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Background Previous research suggests that providing generalized information about the health implications of air pollution from fossil fuels may be effective at promoting public support for a transition to cleaner sources of energy. We sought to extend that work by identifying the specific messages about the health implications of air pollution from fossil fuels that are most and least concerning to people, and whether rankings of concern vary among different audiences. We also hypothesized that reading the statements would influence people’s attitudes and behavioral intentions in a manner supportive of a transition to cleaner sources of energy. Methods We conducted a survey with a diverse sample of U.S. adults ( n = 1644) from a non-probability internet panel. Using maximum difference scaling, participants ranked a set of ten statements that revealed which statements were the most and least concerning to them. We also measured attitudes about air pollution and energy use before and after the ranking exercise to assess changes in opinion caused by cumulative exposure to the messages. Results Across all sub-groups examined, participants were most concerned by a message about the neurological impacts of air pollution on babies and children. After the ranking exercise, participants expressed increases in perceived health harm of air pollution and fossil fuels, a desire for more clean energy, and intention to engage in consumer advocacy to support clean energy. Conclusions To our knowledge, this study is the first to assess how people respond to information about the neurological health harms of air pollution from fossil fuels. While efforts to communicate the cardio-pulmonary health harms of air pollution are well established, our study suggests that efforts should now be organized to communicate the neurological effects of air pollution from fossil fuels, especially the neuro-developmental effects on babies and children. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-019-7373-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Fossil fuels are harming our brains: identifying key messages about the health effects of air pollution from fossil fuels

2019

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“…The dependent measures in our study focused on cognitive and affective outcomes, not behavioral ones. One recent study found that messages about the health effects of global warming can increase concern about the issue, while simultaneously depressing engagement in political behaviors to express that concern (Levine & Kline, ). Future research is necessary to identify the conditions under which messages about the health implications of global warming can motivate protective actions to mitigate and adapt to the problem.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Americans Respond to Information About Global Warming's Health Impacts: Evidence From a National Survey Experiment

et al. 2018

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Americans tend to see global warming as a distant threat, but a small body of previous research suggests that information about the health implications of global warming may enhance public engagement with the issue. We sought to extend those findings with a longitudinal study that examined how Americans react to information about eight specific categories of health impacts from global warming. In winter 2017, we conducted a two‐wave survey experiment using a quota sample of American adults (n = 2,254). Participants were randomly assigned to a treatment group who read eight brief essays about different categories of health impacts from global warming or to a control group who received no information. Participants answered questions before reading the essays, immediately after reading each essay and at the conclusion of all essays (treatment participants only), and 2–3 weeks later. Reading the information had small‐ to medium‐sized effects on multiple indicators of participants' cognitive and affective engagement with global warming, especially among people who are politically moderate and somewhat conservative; some of these changes persisted 2–3 weeks later. Some impacts were seen as more novel and worrisome, including illnesses from contaminated food, water, and disease‐carrying organisms. Our findings provide the most definitive evidence to date about the importance of raising awareness about the health impacts of global warming. While participants believed all of the essays as offered valuable information, educational efforts might most productively focus on impacts that are relatively less familiar and more emotionally engaging, such as food‐, water‐, and vector‐borne illnesses.

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“…This will provide practical, actionable information to help climate change communicators to more effectively craft and target their messages. Our focus on understanding community behaviours as well as attitudes also answers the call of Kahan and Carpenter [ 27 ] for more field-based studies, as well as the call of Levine and Kline [ 28 ] to recognize the importance of measuring not just attitudes, but behaviours as well, as these can diverge in unexpected ways.…”

Section: Current Studymentioning

confidence: 65%

Increasing belief but issue fatigue: Changes in Australian Household Climate Change Segments between 2011 and 2016

2018

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Using national Australian samples collected in 2011 (n = 1927) and 2016 (n = 2503), we identified six Australian household segments which we labelled Alarmed, Concerned, Cautious, Disengaged, Doubtful and Dismissive. Between the two periods, we found the proportion of households in the Alarmed and Concerned segments was stable; however there was a decrease (28% to 20%) in the proportion of households in the Doubtful and Dismissive segments and an increase (27% to 33%) in the Cautious and Disengaged segments. We found that a greater proportion of households have personally experienced climate change, and were more likely to believe in human causation and believe that there is a scientific consensus about the issue. However, there was evidence of issue fatigue. Households were less likely to report that they had thought about climate change or talked about it with their friends in 2016 relative to 2011. They were also less likely to pursue certain climate friendly behaviours or reward or punish companies for their climate behaviours. These findings suggest a need to motivate households to maintain efforts to mitigate climate change, particularly the Cautious and Disengaged households that are more amenable to changing their views about this issue.

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A new approach for evaluating climate change communication

Cited by 55 publications

References 32 publications

Fossil fuels are harming our brains: identifying key messages about the health effects of air pollution from fossil fuels

Fossil fuels are harming our brains: identifying key messages about the health effects of air pollution from fossil fuels

How Americans Respond to Information About Global Warming's Health Impacts: Evidence From a National Survey Experiment

Increasing belief but issue fatigue: Changes in Australian Household Climate Change Segments between 2011 and 2016

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