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ABSTRACT
Public understanding of global warming is treated here as an example of a
mass communication issue that has yet to be adequately solved. A new approach
towards communicating this issue focuses specifically on modifying the
language used. Although different in subject, Dr. David Hauser’s approach
tested another pertinent issue—cancer. As cancer is often portrayed as a “battle”
or “fight”, Hauser showed that associating these bellicose words with cancer
metaphors actually has an adverse effect on a patient’s preventative precautions.
Based on the previous research, the aim of this study is to investigate the effects
of different metaphoric word associations on people’s attitudes towards global
warming. To determine the individual’s beliefs and behaviors on the topic,
participants performed a pretest, a reading task, and a post test. It was observed
that people who either had a high average score throughout the survey or jumped
from a lower to higher belief score from the pre to posttest didn’t experience an
increase in their behavior scores. In fact, some experienced a drop in their
behavior scores.
Do bellicose metaphors act as an impetus on a person’s
inclination to be environmentally conservative?
Shaminta Hamidian & Elisabeth Dimitratos
METHODS
BACKGROUND
Metaphoric Implications
Experimental research has shown how theoretical concepts are better
understood with metaphorically related words (Landau & Meier 2010).
Since many conceptual metaphors are learned via linguistic experience,
linguistic framing of abstract concepts through metaphoric expressions also
can activate a metaphoric representation of the abstract concept and
influence reasoning (Gibbs 2014).
A meta-analysis of persuasive messages found that the use of metaphors
reliably increases persuasion when they metaphorically frame a familiar
target early in the message. (Sopory & Dillard 2002).
Establishing a Frame of Thought
● A frame of thought is created by matching similar, often synonymous,
words to a specific mental schema (e.g. bellicose, humanizing, neutral)
(Hauser et al. 2015).
Hauser’s study on cancer metaphors:
Conceptual metaphors that relate cancer to an enemy influence
people’s reasoning about cancer and their willingness to engage
in a variety of preventive behaviors (Hauser et al. 2015).
Hauser used two reading passages that framed cancer as either
bellicose or neutral. This was followed by several open-ended
questions to determine whether the passage induced selflimiting or self bolstering behaviors (Fig 1).
Humanizing:
The powerful impacts of climate change are clear . Our world is warmer than ever before, and people are already feeling the results. However that’s
nothing compared to what is being left for future generations if these trends continue. With the potential rise of up to 160,000 child deaths a year in subSaharan Africa and South Asia directly resulting from climate change, it is children, the most vulnerable children, who will be caught at the centre of the
storm. They will unquestionably carry the greatest burden - both as children and as future adults - and yet they are the least culpable for its damage. It’s time
to stop cultivating this trend. It’s time for an energy evolution. Fossil fuels—coal, oil and natural gas—are major contributors to climate change,
accounting for the vast majority of greenhouse gas emissions.They’re also one of the main culprits polluting the air, water and soil which are so vitally
integrated into our everyday lives. Global temperatures increase, sea levels rise and extreme weather imperils communities and the world. We believe that a
100 percent renewable energy future is not only within reach, it’s our best chance for preserving the planet for mankind.
Fig 4. The above chart details the experimentation
portion of this research. Specifically, the
composition and distribution of this survey are
highlighted above.
Bellicose:
In the battle to combat global warming, the world isn't moving fast enough to stay in the fight. The devastating impacts of climate
change are clear. Our world is warmer than ever before, and people and wildlife are already suffering the consequences. However
that’s nothing compared to what is being left for future generations if these trends continue. It’s time to stop the destruction. It’s time
for an energy evolution. Fossil fuels—coal, oil and natural gas—are major contributors to climate change, accounting for the vast
majority of greenhouse gas emissions.They’re also one of the main toxins polluting our air, water and soil. Global temperatures
increase, sea levels rise and extreme weather threatens communities and the world. Already in the U.S. we’ve seen major hurricanes,
floods, drought and wildfires all linked to climate change, and that’s just in the past few years. We see a different future—one built on
clean, renewable energy. We believe that a 100 percent renewable energy future is not only within reach, it’s our best chance to fight
for the planet.
Fig 5. Bellicose framed passage. Orange highlight indicates original sentence per paragraph. Bolded
words indicate metaphorical differences in paragraphs.
Fig 6. Humanizing framed passage. Orange highlight indicates original sentence per paragraph. Bolded words
indicate metaphorical differences in paragraphs.
Neutral:
The increasing impacts of climate change are clear. Our world is warmer than ever before, and people and wildlife are already dealing with the effects.
However that’s nothing compared to what is being left for future generations if these trends continue. It’s time to stop assisting this trend. It’s time for an
energy evolution. Fossil fuels—coal, oil and natural gas—are major contributors to climate change, accounting for the vast majority of greenhouse gas
emissions.They’re also one of the main substances polluting our air, water and soil. Global temperatures increase, sea levels rise and extreme weather
changes communities and the world. Already in the U.S. we’ve seen major hurricanes, floods, drought and wildfires all linked to climate change, and that’s
just in the past few years. We see a different future—one built on clean, renewable energy. We believe that a 100 percent renewable energy future is not
only within reach, it’s our best chance for maintaining the planet.
Fig 7. Neutral framed passage. Bolded words indicate metaphorical differences in paragraphs.
RESULTS
Condition vs. Belief
Figure 1. Bars denote ±1 standard error of the mean; p = .011 More people exhibited self-limiting behaviors towards enemy framed
metaphors (Hauser et. al 2015). Red circle indicates that more self limiting behaviors occurred in the enemy metaphor frame.
P=.12
Figure 2. Distribution of respondents on awareness to solution path for case of global warming (n total= 483) (Stamm 2000).
● Over 170 nations have agreed on the need to limit fossil fuel emissions to
avoid dangerous human-made climate change, as formalized in the 1992
Framework Convention on Climate Change (Hansen et al. 2013).
○ However, global emissions have actually accelerated and new efforts
are underway to massively expand fossil fuel extraction (Hansen et al.
2013) (Fig. 3).
Figure 3. Log scale graph showing a direct relationship between fossil fuel emissions as year’s progress (Hansen et al. 2013).
PROBLEM
Figure 2: The analogous
structures of alanine (used in
this experiment)
Based on the aforementioned research in fields of both metaphorical
implications and global warming, we hypothesize that bellicose metaphors will act
as an impetus on an individual’s inclination to be environmentally conservative.
TEMPLATE DESIGN © 2008
www.PosterPresentations.com
P=.001
P=.03
P=.02
Portrayal of Public Health:
● Our findings carry implications for public health messages, which now
follow the view that enemy framing of cancer, through evoking fear, would
increase public adherence to beneficial health behaviors.
○ Yet, our studies suggest that enemy metaphoric language for cancer
undermines intention for limitation-related prevention behaviors.
Future research:
● The data derived from this project is applicable in many other
socioeconomic or health care issues:
○ Texting while driving
○ Smoking
○ War on terrorism
● Bellicose ads are used more for the simple reason that, according to this
study, they are the most effective.
P=.03
P=.043
Fig 8.
This graph shows the means of participants results per each frame in regard to the behavioral
statements.
Condition vs. Subject Change in Behavior
Fig 9.
This graph shows the means of participants results per each frame in regard to the belief
statements.
Condition vs. Subject Change in Belief
0 represents no change in
pre to post beliefs
0 represents no change in
pre to post behavior
Fig. 10.
Condition vs.
subject change
shows a decrease in
agreement with
environmentally
conscious
statements of action
between the pre and
post tests.
Data Analysis:
● There seems to be a more significant correlation in beliefs and behaviors in
the neutral frame than in the other two frames.
● There’s a significant correlation between beliefs but NOT behaviors for
bellicose frame
● There’s a more significant correlation between behaviors than beliefs for
humanizing.
● All changes are significant, but those of the bellicose frame are the LEAST
significant in comparison to the others. Neutral is the greatest.
○ Therefore, according to this, bellicose metaphors don’t cause as big of a
decrease in beliefs and behaviors as do other frames.
● Since the p value was less than the standard alpha level (.05), we are able to
reject the null hypothesis (which is that one’s beliefs and behaviors after
reading a passage in either frame will not change).
○ We have enough evidence to support that all three of the frames had a
significant decrease in beliefs and behaviors after participants read the
aforementioned passage.
Participants:
● The sample size of this study was n= 131
○ Had we acquired a larger sample size, we can extrapolate that our data
would have procured more significance.
● Since the groups surveyed varied in demographics, this could have affected
the sample as it was so broad.
● Although we gave the explicit purpose that this study was to assess the
effects of various environmental campaigns, participants may have only
skimmed the passage that created the metaphorical frame.
● Plain information may have bored the readers, causing their beliefs and
behaviors to decrease even more, and humanizing information may have
had some, but less of a profound impact on readers.
Error Analysis:
● The element we used to represent our control was the neutral framed
passage. This was rather inefficient as it posessed a passage and sample
questions as well.
○ A true control would have just been the questions, without the passage.
This would have been the proper basis to qualify our other data on.
● The statements themselves which required participants to either agree or
disagree with were not 100% equal.
○ Equal forms would have matched questions of the same topic and
caliber between the pre and post test.
○ Had we had equal forms, the questions themselves would have shown
more accurate statistical significance between groups.
CONCLUSION
Condition vs. Behavior
Hauser concluded that enemy metaphors created limiting, even
deteriorating, attitudes towards cancer.
Global Warming as a Communicative Issue:
Public understanding of global warming, also known as global climate
change, is treated here as an example of a mass communication issue that
has yet to be adequately solved.
A survey of metropolitan area residents (Fig. 2) found that although people
are aware of this problem in a general sense, “understanding of particular
causes, possible consequences, and solutions is more limited.” (Stamm
2000).
DISCUSSION
Fig. 11
Condition vs.
subject change
shows a decrease
in agreement with
environmentally
conscious
statements of
belief between the
pre and post tests.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Gibbs, R. W. Jr. (2014). Conceptual metaphor in thought and social action.
In M. J. Landau, M. D. Robinson, & B. P. Meier (Eds.), The power of
metaphor: Examining its influence on social life (pp. 17-40). Washington,
DC: APA.
Hansen, J., Kharecha, P., Sato, M., Masson-Delmotte, V., Ackerman, F.,
Beerling, D. J., Zachos, J. C. (2013). Assessing “Dangerous Climate
Change”: Required Reduction of Carbon Emissions to Protect Young
People, Future Generations and Nature. PLoS ONE, 8(12).
Hauser, D. J., & Schwarz, N. (2015). The war on prevention: Bellicose
cancer metaphors hurt (some) prevention intentions. Personality and Social
Psychology Bulletin, 41(1), 66-77.
Lee, S. W., & Schwarz, N. (2012). Metaphor in Judgment and Decision
Making (M. J. Landau, M. D. Robinson, & B. P. Meier, Eds.). American
Psychological Association, 23rd ser.
Sopory, P., & Dillard, J. P. (2002). The persuasive effects of metaphor: A
meta-analysis Human Communication Research, 28, 382-419.
Stamm, K. R., Clark, F., & Eblacas, P. R. (2000). Mass communication and
public understanding of environmental problems: The case of global
warming. Public Understanding of Science, 9, 219-237.