DDRIG in DRMS: Exploring the Spread, Use, and Impact of Imprecise Language on Decision Making

这个项目探讨了不精确的语言(如流行语)在集体行动和决策中的传播、使用和影响，并特别关注环境保护问题。在处理这些复杂问题时，个人和组织必须就如何定义优先事项、如何分配资源、采取哪些行动以及与谁合作做出决策并进行沟通。对于不精确的语言和流行语在这一决策过程中所起的作用，我们知之甚少。它们可能会造成模棱两可，导致混乱，但也可能通过增加信任或共同的目的感，将不同的利益相关者聚集在一起。由于在日益紧迫的环境保护问题和向公正的气候未来的过渡中可用的资源有限，本研究在揭示语言如何影响这种稀缺资源的分配方面发挥了重要作用。通过多项研究、混合方法，本项目以环境保护为例，考察了一种不精确的语言--流行语--的使用情况。它审查出版物，并与学术界、非政府组织、国际环境公约和专注于保护的主流新闻媒体的行为者接触。利用计算机文本分析、一系列访谈和一项实验调查，该项目试图：(1)开发和部署流行语的新定义，(2)确定整个保护部门使用的流行语列表，(3)建立不精确语言和流行语的专家心理模型，以及(4)经验性地测试流行语对决策的影响。这项研究满足了我们日益增长的需求，以加深我们对语言如何在具有紧迫性和不确定性的背景下影响决策的理解，同时为保护社区提供有用的信息。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project explores the spread, use, and impact of imprecise language (such as buzzwords) on collective action and decision-making, with a specific focus on environmental conservation issues. When navigating these complex issues, individuals and organizations must make decisions and communicate about how priorities are defined, how resources are allocated, what actions are to be taken, and with whom to cooperate. Not enough is known about the role that imprecise language and buzzwords play in this decision-making process. They may lead to confusion by creating ambiguity, but they may also bring diverse stakeholders together by increasing trust or a shared sense of purpose. Because there are limited resources available for the increasingly urgent issues of environmental conservation and a transition to a just climate future, this research serves an important role in informing how language may influence the allocation of such scarce resources.Through a multi-study, mixed methods approach, this project examines the use of one type of imprecise language – buzzwords – within the context of environmental conservation as a case study. It examines publications and engages with actors from academia, non-governmental organizations, international environmental conventions, and mainstream news media focused on conservation. Utilizing a computational text analysis, a series of interviews, and an experimental survey, this project seeks to: (1) develop and deploy a novel definition of buzzwords, (2) identify a list of buzzwords used across the conservation sector, (3) build an expert mental model of imprecise language and buzzwords, and (4) empirically test the impact of buzzwords on decision-making. This research meets a growing need to further our understanding of how language influences decision-making in contexts characterized by urgency and uncertainty, while providing useful information to the conservation community.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.