A145.
Gustafson,
A. & Rice, R. E. (2019).
The effects of uncertainty frames in three science communication topics. Science
Communication, 41(6),
679-706.
While
uncertainty is central to science, many fear negative effects of
communicating
scientific uncertainties to the public, though research results about
such
effects are inconsistent. Therefore, we test the effects of four
distinct
uncertainty frame types (deficient, technical, scientific, consensus)
on three
outcomes (belief, credibility, behavioral intentions) across three
science
issues (climate change, GMO food labeling, machinery hazards) with an
experiment using a national sample (N = 2,247) approximating
U.S. census
levels of age, education, and gender. We find portraying scientific
findings
using uncertainty frames usually does not have significant effects,
with an
occasional exception being small negative effects of consensus
uncertainty.
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