Transcript PHASE ONE Qualitative Interviews

Dynamics of Communicating Climate
Change Information
Hebba Haddad
Centre for Sport, Leisure and Tourism, Capacity Building Centre Showcase event
8th June 2011
Dynamics of Communicating Climate Change
Information
• Started October 2009
• SLT CBC Cluster themes
– Travel, transport and sustainability
– Environment and Landscape
• Supervision team University of Exeter, School of Psychology
– Dr Anna Rabinovich and Dr Thomas Morton
• Met Office contact points
– Sarah Tempest, Andy Yeatman (Met Office, Communications)
– Dr Debbie Hemming (Met Office Hadley Centre)
PhD Aims
• Managing uncertainty is the critical challenge to climate change
communication:
– Aim to critically examine the role of the informer, information and informed in
the communication of climate change information
• Investigate how scientists and science communicators approach
uncertainty and the process of communication itself
• Investigate how audiences respond to climate change
communications as a function of message content and their own
motivations
• Examine this in the context of sustainable behaviour
Mixed-Methodology
PHASE ONE
Qualitative Interviews
Aim: To get a better
understanding of the role of
scientists and climate science
communicators in process of
(public) communication of
climate science
PHASE TWO
Quantitative surveys
Aim: Pilot and test themes
from Phase One
Two studies amongst publics
Interviews with climate
scientists and climate science
communicators
PHASE THREE
Qualitative? Quantitative?
Aim: Build on previous two
Phases
Questionnaires? Interviews?
Focus groups? Experimental
work?
Indicative findings
Qualitative interviews
• Semi-structured interviews with 14 participants (9 scientists, 5
Communicators)
• Agreement that key role is to inform rather than influence behaviour
change
• Climate scientists and climate science communicators work on
different communication models
– Scientists focus on an ‘informational’ (deficit) model
– Communicators focus on a more ‘relational’ model
• Perceived barriers to communication with publics
– Scientists need to communicate uncertainties and jargon (Comms)
– Audience’s lack of understanding of science (Scientists)
Indicative findings
Experimental study
• 152 Exeter students were presented with a website for scientific
organisation. Varied:
– Uncertainty in climate change predictions (lower versus higher)
– Presentational style (open versus corporate)
• Measured perceptions of the organisation (e.g., trustworthiness);
willingness to engage with the message; behavioural intentions
Indicative findings
Experimental study
• Presentational style influenced perceived trustworthiness
– Open style conveyed higher trust/ honesty/ morality
• Presentational style modified the effects of uncertainty on engagement and
behaviour:
When uncertainty is
high, an open
communication style
facilitates action (and
engagement)
(Preliminary) Implications
• Scientists and communicators approach communication differently:
– Scientists focus on informational aspects
– Communicators focus on relational aspect
• Relational processes shape how audiences respond to informational
content of climate change messages
– i.e. the two interact
• Addressing the barrier of uncertainty may not always involve resolving
uncertainty itself:
– Understanding communication processes and how these shape audience
motivations is key
Thank you for listening
• Research presented here was conducted during an ESRC Studentship
under its Capacity Building Clusters Award (RES-187-24-0002) in
partnership with the Met Office
• For more information about this project and the work of the Centre for
Sport, Leisure and Tourism research, see
www.exeter.ac.uk/slt/ourresearch/communicatingclimatechange
• Hebba Haddad, [email protected]