The Influence of Efficacy, Framing, and Political Orientation on Selective Perception and Selective Exposure: The Case of Atmospheric Change

科学传播者一直面临的一个问题是如何最好地讨论有争议的科学问题。由于选择性接触和选择性感知产生的偏见，沟通变得特别困难-个人倾向于以加强先前持有的价值观和信仰的方式选择性地看待和解释信息。其结果是，试图就科学问题进行沟通往往会放大政治两极分化，而无法刺激采取行动来减轻或适应相关风险。大气层变化的情况尤其普遍存在通信问题。本研究主要借鉴了扩展的平行过程模型（EPPM），它强调有效性在有效的风险沟通中的作用，以及关于框架过程的文献，以调查媒体如何讨论控制科学问题，以及什么样的叙述可能有效地克服选择性感知和选择性曝光。通过对媒体内容的分析和一系列的实验，该项目：1）确定印刷，电视和在线新闻媒体如何主题框架的控制科学问题，并讨论了努力解决这个问题的有效性，2）调查如何EPPM可能适用于政治问题，重点是政治取向如何缓和效能描述的变化对个人对该问题的看法的影响，（3）探讨了媒体气候变化框架和效能描述的变化如何导致不同政治取向的个体对媒体报道进行选择性关注。这个项目将扩大我们对新闻媒体如何代表争议性科学问题的理解，并测试在选择和处理科学信息时克服个人偏见的策略。它将通过增加我们对如何使用EPPM和框架理论来开发在广泛受众中产生共鸣的信息的知识来推进风险沟通理论，并在这样做的过程中，将在多个学科之间建立新的联系。除了其理论贡献，这项研究将提供新的方法，从业者可以用来创建科学的消息，更有效地沟通控制科学问题。

A persistent problem for science communicators is how best to discuss controversial science issues. Communication is made especially difficult due to biases that arise through selective exposure and selective perception - individuals tend to selectively view and interpret messages in ways that reinforce previously held values and beliefs. The result is that attempts to communicate about science issues often amplify political polarization, and fail to spur action to mitigate or adapt to the relevant risks. The case of atmospheric change has been particularly rife with communication problems. This research draws primarily from the extended parallel process model (EPPM), which emphasizes the role of efficacy in effective risk communication, and the literature on framing processes to investigate how the media has discussed controversal science issues and what kinds of narratives may be effective in overcoming selective perception and selective exposure. Through a media content analysis and a series of experiments the project: 1) identifies how print, television, and online news media have thematically framed the controversal science issues and discussed the efficacy of efforts to address the issue, 2) investigates how the EPPM may be applied to politically charged issues, with a focus on how political orientation may moderate the impacts of changes in descriptions of efficacy on individuals' perceptions of the issue, and 3) explores how changes in media climate change frames and descriptions of efficacy, respectively, may cause individuals with varying political orientations to pay selective attention to media stories.Using atmospheric change as a case study, this project will expand our understanding of how the news media represent controversal science issues and test strategies for overcoming individual biases in the selection and processing of science messages. It will advance risk communication theory by increasing our knowledge of how to use the EPPM and framing theory to develop messages that resonate across broad audiences and, in so doing, will make novel connections across multiple disciplines. In addition to its theoretical contributions, this research will provide new methods that practitioners may use to create scientifically informed messages that more effectively communicate controversal science issues.