DDRIG in DRMS: Communicating Controversial Risk Issues - Effects of Inoculation Messages on Selective Exposure to Counterattitudinal Messages and Subsequent Persuasive Outcomes

围绕有争议的风险和政策问题的公共沟通通常以竞争性信息为特征，不同的信使竞相以他们认为会使公众和政策制定者的观点有利于他们的利益的方式来框定这些风险问题。接种是一种由来已久的说服理论，描述了风险问题的框架和反应。先前的研究表明，接种信息可以抵抗另一种相互竞争的信息的说服。这项研究通过测试人们在接种后接近或避免竞争信息的倾向来扩展接种理论。如果接种信息使人们更有可能主动寻找竞争信息，与其他不鼓励人们探索竞争信息的消息策略相比，他们可能更容易受到竞争信息的说服。这项研究测试并扩展了接种理论，目的是帮助风险传播者和政策制定者更好地理解人们如何处理以竞争和争议为特征的信息。在检验接种理论时，研究人员正在研究两个以竞争和争议为特征的问题--枪支暴力和核能。本研究(N=1,500)采用2(说服性策略-接种VS单边)×2(发出方向-正反)×2(预先存在的态度方向-正反)的被试间实验设计，外加偏移量控制条件。它测试了阅读接种信息的人在选择性地接触反接种信息或攻击信息以及随后的有说服力的结果方面与其他人有何不同。它进一步探索了在初始态度立场与接种信息倡导的立场一致或不一致的人中，这些影响可能会如何不同。这项研究为风险传播者提供了关于如何在当今高选择的媒体环境中更好地使用接种策略与受众进行沟通的理论指导。调查结果还揭示了风险信息在公众中的影响，这些公众持有针对有争议的风险问题的广泛现有问题头寸。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。

Public communication surrounding controversial risk and policy issues is often characterized by competitive messaging, whereby different messengers compete to frame these risk issues in ways that they believe will shift public and policymaker opinions in favor of their interests. Inoculation is a long-standing persuasion theory that describes framing and responses to risk issues. Prior research suggests that inoculation messages can confer resistance to persuasion by another competing message. This study expands inoculation theory by testing people’s tendency to approach or avoid competing messages after being inoculated. If an inoculation message makes people more likely to proactively seek out competing information, they might be susceptible to persuasion from competing information compared to other messaging strategies that do not encourage people to explore competing information. This research tests and extends inoculation theory with the goal of helping risk communicators and policymakers to better understand how people process messages characterized by competition and controversy. In examining inoculation theory, the researchers are studying two issues that are characterized by competition and controversy – gun violence and nuclear energy. This research (N = 1,500) features a 2 (persuasive strategy – inoculation vs. one-sided) by 2 (issue direction – pro or con) by 2 (preexisting attitude direction – pro or con) between-subject experimental design, plus an offset control condition. It tests how people who read an inoculation message differ from other people in their selective exposure to counter messages or attack messages and subsequent persuasive outcomes. It further explores how these effects may differ among people whose initial attitudinal position is either consistent or inconsistent with the inoculation message advocated position. This research offers risk communicators theory-informed guidance on how to better employ an inoculation strategy to communicate with audiences in today’s high-choice media environment. Findings also shed light on the effects of risk messages among members of the public who hold a wide range of preexisting issue positions for controversial risk issues.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.