"Fear Won't Do It": Promoting positive engagement with climate change through visual and iconic representations

O'Neill, Saffron J. and Nicholson-Cole, Sophie (2009) "Fear Won't Do It": Promoting positive engagement with climate change through visual and iconic representations. Science Communication, 30 (3). pp. 355-379. ISSN 1075-5470

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Abstract

Fear-inducing representations of climate change are widely employed in the public domain. However, there is a lack of clarity in the literature about the impacts that fearful messages in climate change communications have on people's senses of engagement with the issue and associated implications for public engagement strategies. Some literature suggests that using fearful representations of climate change may be counterproductive. The authors explore this assertion in the context of two empirical studies that investigated the role of visual, and iconic, representations of climate change for public engagement respectively. Results demonstrate that although such representations have much potential for attracting people's attention to climate change, fear is generally an ineffective tool for motivating genuine personal engagement. Nonthreatening imagery and icons that link to individuals' everyday emotions and concerns in the context of this macro-environmental issue tend to be the most engaging. Recommendations for constructively engaging individuals with climate change are given.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	public engagement,climate change,visual representations,icons,fear,saliency,efficacy,sdg 13 - climate action ,/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/climate_action
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Climatic Research Unit
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	26 May 2016 10:00
Last Modified:	14 Jun 2023 12:34
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/59089
DOI:	10.1177/1075547008329201

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