Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/18182
Title: Preaching to different choirs: How to motivate dismissive, uncommitted, and alarmed audiences to adapt to climate change?
Contributor(s): Hine, Don W  (author)orcid ; Phillips, Wendy J  (author)orcid ; Cooksey, Ray W  (author)orcid ; Reser, Joseph P (author); Nunn, Patrick  (author); Marks, Anthony  (author); Loi, Natasha  (author)orcid ; Watt, Susan E  (author)orcid 
Publication Date: 2016
DOI: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2015.11.002
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/18182
Abstract: People vary considerably in terms of their knowledge, beliefs, and concern about climate change. Thus, an important challenge for climate change communicators is how to most effectively engage different types of audiences. This study aimed to identify distinct audience segments that vary in terms of their values, beliefs, and responses to climate change and determine for each segment which specific message attributes increased motivation to engage in climate adaptation. A sample of 1031 Australian residents (aged 18-66 years) completed an online survey assessing their values, beliefs, and behaviors related to climate change, and recording their responses to a broad range of climate change adaptation messages. Latent profile analysis identified three distinct audience segments: alarmed (34.4%), uncommitted (45.2%), and dismissive (20.3%). Sixty climate change adaptation messages were coded in terms of the presence/absence of six attributes: explicit reference to climate change, providing specific adaptation advice, strong negative emotive content, emphasis on collective responsibility, highlighting local impacts, and underscoring financial impacts. Participants viewed a random sample of six messages and rated the extent to which each message motivated them to seek out more information and immediately respond to the climate change threat portrayed in the message. Multilevel modeling indicated messages that included strong negative emotive content or provided specific adaptation advice increased adaptation intentions in all three audience segments. Omitting any mention of climate change and emphasizing local impacts increased adaptation intentions in dismissive audiences. Implications for tailoring and targeting climate change adaptation messages are discussed.
Publication Type: Journal Article
Source of Publication: Global Environmental Change, v.36, p. 1-11
Publisher: Elsevier Ltd
Place of Publication: United Kingdom
ISSN: 1872-9495
0959-3780
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 050203 Environmental Education and Extension
170113 Social and Community Psychology
Fields of Research (FoR) 2020: 410403 Environmental education and extension
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 960399 Climate and Climate Change not elsewhere classified
960301 Climate Change Adaptation Measures
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2020: 190101 Climate change adaptation measures (excl. ecosystem)
Peer Reviewed: Yes
HERDC Category Description: C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal
Appears in Collections:Journal Article

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