Communicating risk in human-wildlife interactions: How stories and images move minds.

ABSTRACT: Effectively communicating risk is critical to reducing conflict in human-wildlife interactions. Using a survey experiment fielded in the midst of contentious public debate over flying fox management in urban and suburban areas of Australia, we find that stories with characters (i.e., narratives) are more effective than descriptive information at mobilizing support for different forms of bat management, including legal protection, relocation, and habitat restoration. We use conditional process analysis to show that narratives, particularly with accompanying images, are effective because they cause emotional reactions that influence risk perception, which in turn drives public opinion about strategies for risk mitigation. We find that prior attitudes towards bats matter in how narrative mess

SUBMITTER: Guenther SK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7769453 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature