Schuldt Jonathon P, McComas Katherine A, Byrne Sahara E
Department of Communication, Cornell University, Mann Library Building, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
Department of Communication, Cornell University, Mann Library Building, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2016 Mar 5;371(1689). doi: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0214.
As anthropogenic stressors threaten the health of marine ecosystems, there is a need to better understand how the public processes and responds to information about ocean health. Recent studies of public perceptions about ocean issues report high concern but limited knowledge, prompting calls for information campaigns to mobilize public support for ocean restoration policy. Drawing on the literature from communication, psychology and related social science disciplines, we consider a set of social-cognitive challenges that researchers and advocates are likely to encounter when communicating with the public about ocean health and emerging marine diseases--namely, the psychological distance at which ocean issues are construed, the unfamiliarity of aquatic systems to many members of the public and the potential for marine health issues to be interpreted through politicized schemas that encourage motivated reasoning over the dispassionate consideration of scientific evidence. We offer theory-based strategies to help public outreach efforts address these challenges and present data from a recent experiment exploring the role of message framing (emphasizing the public health or environmental consequences of marine disease) in shaping public support for environmental policy.
由于人为压力源威胁着海洋生态系统的健康，因此有必要更好地了解公众如何处理和回应有关海洋健康的信息。最近关于公众对海洋问题看法的研究表明，公众关注度高但知识有限，这促使人们呼吁开展宣传活动，以动员公众支持海洋恢复政策。借鉴传播学、心理学及相关社会科学学科的文献，我们考虑了研究人员和倡导者在与公众交流海洋健康和新出现的海洋疾病时可能遇到的一系列社会认知挑战，即公众理解海洋问题时的心理距离、许多公众对水生系统的不熟悉，以及海洋健康问题可能通过政治化模式进行解读的可能性，这种模式鼓励基于动机的推理而非对科学证据进行冷静的考量。我们提供基于理论的策略，以帮助公众宣传工作应对这些挑战，并展示来自最近一项实验的数据，该实验探讨了信息框架（强调海洋疾病对公众健康或环境的影响）在塑造公众对环境政策支持方面的作用。
