A scoping review into the impact of animal imagery on pro-environmental outcomes

Abstract

With the recognition that most global environmental problems are a result of human actions, there is an increasing interest in approaches which have the potential to influence human behaviour. Images have a powerful role in shaping persuasive messages, yet research on the impacts of visual representations of nature is a neglected area in biodiversity conservation. We systematically screened existing studies on the use of animal imagery in conservation, identifying 37 articles. Although there is clear evidence that images of animals can have positive effects on people's attitudes to animals, overall there is currently a dearth of accessible and comparable published data demonstrating the efficacy of animal imagery. Most existing studies are place and context-specific, limiting the generalisable conclusions that can be drawn. Transdisciplinary research is needed to develop a robust understanding of the contextual and cultural factors that affect how animal images can be used effectively for conservation purposes.

Evaluating the impact of the documentary series Blue Planet II on viewers' plastic consumption behaviors

“…This finding is counter to common assertions that the series' messaging created a “Blue Planet Effect” in reducing plastic consumption behaviors (Hunt, 2017), but is the first to use a robust experimental design as well as measure of observed behavior to test this hypothesis. Currently, there are few robust evaluations of nature documentaries (Thomas‐Walters et al, 2019), but the best available evidence broadly supports our main findings. For example, Nolan (2010) found that despite the documentary An Inconvenient Truth increasing viewer's concerns about global climate change, this did not lead to a sustained adoption of behaviors to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.…”

“…As marine plastics become a highly salient issue, individuals may also over‐report pro‐environmental behaviors to comply with subjective social norms (Pahl & Wyles, 2017). It is therefore important that assessments of Blue Planet II use a meaningful measure of behavior and a robust experimental design to promote evidence‐based evaluation and understand the true impact of this series (Thomas‐Walters, McNulty, & Veríssimo, 2019; Veríssimo, 2013).…”

“…In recent years, there has been an increasing focus across conservation organizations of using media‐based intervention to encourage pro‐environmental behaviors, in response to the growing disconnect toward environmental problems in urban population with limited access to nature (Thomas‐Walters et al, 2019). Documentary film has historically been used as a tool for promoting social change (Karlin & Johnson, 2011), and wildlife documentaries have been highlighted as a potential avenue for creating pro‐environmental change, as they are able to articulate often complex ideas about environmental issues to a wide‐reaching audience (Janpol & Dilts, 2016).…”

Coloring and size influence preferences for imaginary animals, and can predict actual donations to species‐specific conservation charities

“…Preference based studies have informed flagship species choices for conservation campaigns (e.g., Veríssimo et al, 2014), and investigated preferred aesthetic species characteristics (e.g., Garnett, Ainsworth, & Zander, 2018;Macdonald et al, 2015). However, as these studies and others investigate preferences for real animals (see Thomas-Walters, Mcnulty, & Veríssimo, 2019 for a review of pro-environmental research on animal imagery), the results could be confounded by other unmeasured variables, such as prior knowledge or experience of species, rather than the variables presented in the studies (Montgomery, 2002). If aesthetics are the most important characteristic for flagship species (the "Cinderella species theory"), new flagship species should have similar aesthetic characteristics to previously successful flagship species (Smith et al, 2012).…”

Challenges in the impact evaluation of behaviour change interventions: The case of sea turtle meat and eggs in São Tomé

“…In recognition of this, there has been a large‐scale movement towards the synthesis of scientific results through tools such as systematic reviews or repositories like Conservation Evidence (http://www.conservationevidence.com; Dicks et al., 2014; Sutherland & Wordley, 2017). However, these are only as useful as the studies they draw on, which are often of poor quality or have a narrow focus (see, for example: Baylis et al., 2016; Josefsson et al., 2020; Thomas‐Walters et al., 2019; Veríssimo & Wan, 2018). A rigourous impact evaluation should provide credible evidence by using an appropriate counterfactual to establish causal attribution (Adams et al., 2019; Ferraro, 2009).…”