The Influence of Scary News on Climate Change Perception and Action
Introduction
Climate change is a global issue that requires urgent attention and action. The media plays a vital role in shaping public opinion and motivating individuals to address this problem. A team of researchers from Penn State conducted two studies to explore how repeated exposure to scary news about climate change can impact people’s perception and willingness to take action. In this article, we will delve into their findings and examine the implications of media coverage on climate change.
The Impact of Scary News on Emotions
In their first study, the Penn State researchers exposed participants to three days of negative climate change news. The results showed that this continuous exposure increased fear and decreased hope among the participants. These emotional responses can potentially hinder individuals from taking action to address climate change.
However, in the follow-up study, where participants only read negative climate change headlines in the form of Twitter posts for seven consecutive days, the researchers found that fear peaked after a few days and then subsided. This suggests that prolonged exposure to scary news may lead to emotional numbness or desensitization. Individuals may become accustomed to the gloomy reporting on climate change, which can affect their attitude and motivation to take action.
Perception of Efficacy and Importance
Contrary to what one might expect, the researchers discovered that repeated exposure to threatening news stories increased people’s belief in their efficacy to make a difference. The more individuals were exposed to these stories, the more likely they were to think they could contribute to tackling climate change. This finding challenges the assumption that fear diminishes efficacy beliefs over time.
Moreover, the researchers observed an agenda-setting effect, whereby frequent coverage of climate change in the news heightened the perceived importance of the issue. People tend to view topics covered more frequently as being more significant. Therefore, the media’s role in shaping public perception of climate change cannot be underestimated.
The Power of Fear as a Motivator
Fear, when used effectively, can be a powerful motivator for action. The Penn State researchers found that high-threat headlines, which elicited more fear, increased participants’ intentions to share information about climate change. This suggests that fear appeals can be advantageous in certain circumstances. However, the researchers also noted that people’s responses over time were similar regardless of whether they were exposed to high or low threat news headlines. Simply mentioning climate change in the news activated pre-existing emotions and thoughts associated with the issue.
It is important to note that fear appeals should not be the sole communication strategy when addressing climate change. While fear may grab attention, it is essential to communicate hope and provide solutions. Individuals need to feel empowered and believe that their actions can make a difference.
Unique Insights and Perspectives
While the Penn State researchers shed light on the influence of scary news on climate change perception and action, there are additional factors that can shape public opinion and motivate individuals to take meaningful steps. Some unique insights and perspectives include:
- Psychological Distance: People’s perception of the psychological distance between themselves and climate change can impact their willingness to act. When individuals feel disconnected from the issue, they may be less motivated to take action. Communicating the local and immediate impacts of climate change can bridge this psychological distance and increase engagement.
- Role Modeling: Highlighting the actions of individuals and communities who are already making a positive impact on climate change can inspire others to follow suit. Sharing success stories and showcasing real-world examples can provide tangible evidence that actions do make a difference.
- Tailored Messages: Different segments of the population may respond differently to climate change messages. Tailoring communication strategies to specific audiences can increase relevancy and effectiveness. Understanding the values, beliefs, and interests of different groups can help deliver messages that resonate and drive action.
- Positive Framing: Instead of solely focusing on the negative consequences of climate change, framing the issue in a positive light can enhance motivation. Highlighting the benefits of addressing climate change, such as improved public health, economic opportunities, and a sustainable future, can inspire individuals to take action.
The Importance of Daily Coverage
One notable finding from the research is the significance of daily media coverage. The frequency with which climate change is reported in the news contributes to its perceived importance by the audience. To encourage action and engagement, reporters and strategic communicators should include daily coverage of climate change. By keeping the topic at the forefront of public consciousness, individuals are more likely to recognize its urgency and become motivated to contribute to the solution.
Conclusion
The Penn State research provides valuable insights into the influence of scary news on climate change perception and action. While continuous exposure to negative news can intensify fear, it can also increase individuals’ belief in their efficacy to address the problem. However, it is essential to strike a balance between fear appeals and providing hope, solutions, and positive framing in climate change communication efforts.
By understanding the emotional and psychological responses to climate change messages, it is possible to craft more impactful communication strategies. Tailoring messages to specific audiences, highlighting success stories, and emphasizing the local and immediate impacts of climate change can mobilize individuals to take action. Ultimately, creating a sense of urgency and empowering individuals to believe in their ability to make a difference are key to addressing the challenges posed by climate change.
Summary
The study conducted by Penn State researchers investigated the influence of scary news on climate change perception and action. They found that continuous exposure to negative climate change news increased fear and decreased hope among individuals. However, prolonged exposure led to emotional numbness or desensitization. Despite the initial fear, repeated exposure to threatening stories made people believe they could contribute to addressing climate change. The agenda-setting effect was also observed, with frequent coverage of climate change in the news increasing the issue’s perceived importance by the audience.
The researchers discovered that fear, when used effectively, can be a motivator for sharing information about climate change. However, this approach should be balanced with messages of hope and solutions. Psychological factors such as psychological distance, role modeling, tailored messages, and positive framing can also shape individuals’ perception and willingness to act on climate change.
The study highlights the importance of daily coverage of climate change in the media. By keeping the issue in the public eye, individuals are more likely to recognize its urgency and be motivated to take action. Crafting impactful communication strategies that consider emotional and psychological responses can mobilize individuals and communities to address the challenges of climate change.
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A team of Penn State researchers investigated how seeing scary news about climate change day after day can shape how people feel about the phenomenon and how willing they are to take action to address it.
Christofer Skurka, Jessica Myrick, and graduate student Yin Yang found that seeing bad news about climate change can make people more afraid over time, but it can also encourage the public to think about what society can do to address the problem. They published the results of two separate studies in an article titled “Fan the Flames or Get Burned? Testing Conflicting Hypotheses on Repeated Exposure to Threatening Climate Change Messages,” which appeared in the journal Climate change.
“The public is surrounded by media coverage of climate change, and this message tends to have a negative tone, focusing on the threats that climate change poses to human prosperity and ecological health,” said Skurka, the paper’s lead author and Assistant Professor of Media Studies at the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications. “We know from years of research in the field of communication that media messages can affect our emotions, our beliefs, and in turn, sometimes, our behavior.”
The first study involved exposing participants to three days of negative climate change news. A follow-up study consisted of participants reading negative climate change headlines in the form of Twitter posts for seven consecutive days.
“We found that three days in a row of reading pessimistic news about climate change was associated with more fear and less hope, which can hurt audiences’ attitude that they can do anything to address the problem,” Myrick said. , the Donald P. Bellisario Professor of Health Communication and co-funded faculty member of the Institutes of Energy and Environment. “However, our follow-up study had people watch only the headlines and not the full news for a period longer than seven days in a row. In that study, we found that fear peaked after a few days and then subsided.” kept stable”.
The researchers reported that over time, people who repeatedly saw climate change headlines began to feel that they could do more to affect change and that the issue of climate change was important.
“You’d think that as people are repeatedly exposed to threatening climate news with no solution content, their efficacy beliefs will diminish over time,” Skurka said. “We saw the opposite pattern in our second study. People’s efficacy beliefs increased over time. In other words, the more people were exposed to these threatening news stories every day, the more likely they were to think they could make a difference.” when tackling climate change. change.”
Skurka said one possibility is that as the public grapples with unpleasant feelings about the enormous threat posed by climate change, they may convince themselves that they have control over the situation, which translates into beliefs of greater effectiveness of that your actions will make a difference.
“Our findings suggest that people have grown accustomed to gloomy reporting on climate change and what may be more important in motivating them to take action is that they watch daily coverage,” Myrick said. “This is called an agenda-setting effect, where a topic that is covered more frequently in the news is seen as more important by the people who consume the news.”
According to Skurka, decades of research in communication and psychology show that, in certain circumstances, fear can be motivating.
“We found that people exposed to high-threat headlines, which tended to evoke more fear, generally expressed higher information sharing intentions than people exposed to low-threat headlines, meaning there may be an advantage to evoking fear.” “. Skurka said. “However, people’s responses over time were essentially the same regardless of whether they were shown the high or low threat news headlines. That tells us that when it comes to responses over time to repeated media exposure, simply mentioning climate change in the news activates pre-existing emotions and thoughts associated with climate change.”
Myrick added that this does not mean that fear appeals should be used for all communications about climate change. Instead, the most important factor may be communicating hope and solutions.
“For communication to be more impactful, people need to feel like there’s still something we can do about it to make a difference,” Myrick said. “Hopefully, that should encourage reporters and strategic communicators to include information about climate change solutions in their messages.”
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