ABSTRACT
Biological research on sea star wasting disease (SSWD) is abundant, but there is little examining the human dimensions of this threat to marine environments. This article explored public emotions and cognitions (attitudes, norms) toward SSWD, and how these concepts are related to knowledge and risk perceptions associated with this threat. Data were from a survey of residents in the coastal and most populated regions of Oregon (n = 507). Respondents were grouped by their risk and knowledge, and shown five images depicting deteriorating conditions associated with SSWD, with questions measuring cognitions and emotions in response to each image. Knowledge about SSWD was quite low, and respondents perceived SSWD as a moderate risk to marine environments and a slight risk to themselves. As both knowledge and risk increased, awareness increased and emotions, attitudes, and norms became more negative, especially as SSWD conditions deteriorated. Implications and explanations of these findings were discussed.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Marissa Solini for giving permission to use her images for the scenarios. Survey respondents are thanked for their participation in the study. Finally, two reviewers and the editorial board are thanked for comments on previous versions of this article. This human subjects research was approved by Oregon State University’s Institutional Review Board (protocol IRB-2020-0746).
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).