Deciphering Discord: How Conflicting Information and Political Ideology Shape Public Attitude Toward PFAS Regulation

Abstract

Per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) contamination is an emerging environmental and health risk facing the world. This study examines the impact of conflicting information on Americans’ attitude toward PFAS regulation and intention to engage in mitigation behaviors through a one-way, between-subjects experiment. Participants were 1,062 U.S. adults recruited from CloudResearch. Results showed that compared to participants exposed to consistent information, those exposed to conflicting information displayed less favorable attitude toward existing regulation, which led to lower intention to support related policies and to engage in mitigation behaviors. Political ideology moderated these relationships, with stronger experimental effects among conservatives. These findings underscore the importance of conveying consistent risk messages, especially when multiple stakeholders are involved.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

¹ It is important to point out that the conflict portrayed in the message has to do with whether the MCLs proposed in the NPDWR are detectable based on existing technology. Therefore, the scientist is not necessarily advocating for more conservative or stringent regulation, which is typically the case for environmental issues.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.