Communicating science-based recommendations with memorable and actionable guidelines

Abstract

For many domains of basic and applied science, a key set of scientific facts is well established and there is a need for public action in light of those facts. However, individual citizens do not consistently follow science-based recommendations, even when they accept the veracity of the advice. To address this challenge, science communicators need to develop a guideline that individuals can commit to memory easily and act on straightforwardly at moments of decision. We draw on research from psychology to discuss several characteristics that will enhance a guideline's memorability and actionability and illustrate using a case study from the US Department of Agriculture's communications based on nutrition science. We conclude by discussing the importance of careful research to test whether any given guideline is memorable and actionable by the intended target audience.cognitive psychology | consumer behavior | social psychology I n many domains of basic and applied science, a key set of scientific facts is well-established, and there is a need for public action in light of those facts. And yet, individual citizens do not consistently follow science-based recommendations, even when they accept the veracity of the advice. The complexity of daily life and the limited capacity of the human mind prevent important science-based recommendations from getting the intended behavior change. To address this challenge, we argue that a specific type of communication tool is needed to promote a scientific field's most important recommendations. In this review paper, we refer to this tool as the memorable and actionable guideline.Because of the cognitive limitations of memory and attention that we review in this article, science-based recommendations must be focused on influencing the moments when key consumer decisions are likely to be made. People do what they do in their daily lives, and communications should be structured so that they can influence particular key moments, whether it is food choices at mealtime, energy use at home in the evening, intervening when you see a friend about to do something dangerous, etc. Recommendations must be memorable at those key moments and must be usable/actionable at those key moments.The challenge of getting people to take action is one that has interested psychologists and communications experts for decades. Research on attitude change demonstrates that persuasive communications need to convince people that the scientific facts are credible and that the science-based recommendations are sound. However, even once the audience is convinced that the facts and recommendations are legitimate, behavior change will not necessarily follow. For example, even though most Americans think it is important to be ready for emergencies, only a minority have taken the necessary actions to be prepared for a disaster (1). Science communicators need to activate people's behaviors to incorporate the science-based recommendations into their lives. Given this major challenge, considerable research in fields ra...

Readability in printed education materials for Chinese patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: a mixed-method design

“…The poor actionability of these materials may be related to the developers because detailing all behaviours into an actionable message is difficult and time consuming, and it is easy to overestimate how easy something is for someone else to do. 52 Second, in the assessment of SAM-C, the graphic category received the lowest score, and all participants emphasised the role of pictures in improving their comprehension and memory of texts. Educational theory suggests that presenting congruent information in multiple formats can help to increase comprehension.…”

Proceedings of a roundtable event ‘Is communicating the concept of nutrient density important?’

“…Research suggests that terminology such as ‘nutrient density’ is used only by limited audiences, and so, there is a need for translation into language understood and preferred by consumers in order to engage them in discussions about diet quality (Bucher et al ). Effective communication of nutrient density may perhaps best be undertaken with the support of behaviour change and communications experts, with a focus on the actionability and memorability of messages, activating people’s behaviour using recognised techniques (such as ease of visualisation, chunking and sequencing information into manageable units, specifying when to act and embedding triggers) (Ratner & Riis ). For example, communication to consumers should consider the fact that information retention is greater after seeing audio/visual materials ( e.g .…”

When descriptive norms backfire: attitudes induce undesirable consequences during disaster preparation

“…Their central assumption was that high-risk perception would promote preparation. However, recent review literature showed that the relationship between risk perception and behavior was weak or even null (Bubeck, Botzen, & Aerts, 2012;Ratner & Riis, 2014;Shreve et al, 2014;Solberg et al, 2010;Wachinger, Renn, Begg, & Kuhlicke, 2013).…”