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

本项目探讨不精确的语言（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。在处理这些复杂的问题时，个人和组织必须就如何定义优先级、如何分配资源、采取什么行动以及与谁合作进行决策和沟通。对于不精确的语言和流行语在决策过程中所起的作用，我们了解得还不够。它们可能通过制造歧义而导致混乱，但它们也可能通过增加信任或共同的目标感将不同的利益相关者聚集在一起。由于环境保护和向公正的气候未来过渡等日益紧迫的问题可用的资源有限，因此本研究在告知语言如何影响这种稀缺资源的分配方面发挥了重要作用。通过多种研究，混合方法的方法，本项目检查使用一种不精确的语言-流行语-在环境保护的背景下作为一个案例研究。它审查出版物，并与学术界、非政府组织、国际环境公约和关注保护的主流新闻媒体的行动者进行接触。利用计算文本分析、一系列访谈和实验调查，本项目旨在：(1)开发和部署一个新的流行语定义；(2)确定整个保护部门使用的流行语列表；(3)建立一个不精确语言和流行语的专家心理模型；(4)实证检验流行语对决策的影响。这项研究满足了我们对语言如何在紧急和不确定的环境中影响决策的进一步理解的日益增长的需求，同时为保护界提供了有用的信息。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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.