Communication, cognitive processing, and public knowledge about climate change

ABSTRACT

This study advances the cognitive mediation model (CMM) by examining the factors behind acquiring knowledge about climate change. Based on a nationally representative survey of Singaporeans (N = 1,083), this study supported the original CMM. The extended CMM showed that surveillance gratification was positively associated with traditional and online media attention, while social utility was positively associated with online media attention. While attentions to traditional and online media were positively associated with elaboration, online media attention was positively associated with selective scanning. Elaboration was positively associated with knowledge. Implications for theory and practice were discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Cognitive mediation model
• traditional media
• online media
• information processing
• motivation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Shirley S. Ho (PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2008) is Associate Professor and Associate Chair (Faculty) in the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information at Nanyang Technological University. Her research focuses on cross-cultural public opinion dynamics related to science and technology, with potential health or environmental impacts. Specifically, her work emphasizes the roles of values, social media and other emerging modes of communication in shaping public attitudes toward science and technology. Her work has appeared in Communication Research, Nature Nanotechnology, and Science Communication.

Xiaodong Yang (PhD, Nanyang Technological University, 2017) is Associate Researcher in the School of Journalism and Communication at Shandong University, China. Her research focuses on environmental communication, health communication and science communication. Her prior works have been published in Mass Communication and Society, Science Communication, and International Journal of Communication.

Notes

1. Our sample demographics are similar in terms of age and gender distribution to the characteristics of the 2010 Singapore population census (Singapore Department of Statistics, 2011). The median age in our sample was 42 years as compared to 37.4 years in the census. 45% of the respondents in our sample were female while 50.6% were female in the census. There were some differences in the variables of education and household income. The median education level attained in the census was secondary education while the media education level of our respondents was ‘Diploma’. The median household income reported in the Singapore census was $5000, but ‘$3001–4000’ among our respondents. These differences are not of major concern, as we treat them s control variables in our study.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a grant from Nanyang Technological University HASS Incentive Scheme [grant number M4080206], and a grant from the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication & Information [grant number M4081082].