Delineating Antecedents and Outcomes of Information Seeking Upon Exposure to an Environmental Video Opposing Single-Use Plastics

ABSTRACT

As environmental threats mount around the world, advocacy groups are exploring novel ways to reach the populace and spur them into action. The current study employs an experimental design with a control condition and a group that watched a pro-environmental video to test the risk information seeking and processing (RISP) model. A short environmental advocacy video demonstrated the ability to engage viewers in combatting the problem of single-use plastic overproduction by increasing risk perception, generating negative affect, encouraging information seeking, and fostering pro-environmental civic participation intentions. The present study contributes important theoretical insights to the RISP model and provides meaningful practical applications in the fight to protect our planet.

KEYWORDS:

• RISP model
• risk communication
• environmental communication
• information seeking
• environmental civic participation

Disclosure statement

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