Mental models of sea-level change: A mixed methods analysis on the Severn Estuary, UK

Thomas, Merryn; Pidgeon, Nicholas Frank; Whitmarsh, Lorraine; Ballinger, Rhoda

doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2015.04.009

Cited by 39 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…There is, however, a growing acknowledgment of the role and value of individual and community knowledge, not just in collecting and compiling scientific data (Lane et al, 2011) but also in improving communications by countering the expert-imposed concept of risk (Lave and Lave, 1991). One psychological approach that has been employed effectively in communicating across a range of risky and controversial geological and hydrological issues is mental models (Lave and Lave, 1991;Maceda et al, 2009;Skarlatidou et al, 2012;Wagner, 2007;Thomas et al, 2015).…”

Section: Communicating Risk Via Mental Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The non-expert misconception of underground rivers was not anticipated at the outset of the research, although it could possibly be expected from anecdotal experience (Kasperson et al, 1988). Common misconceptions like the prevalence of underground rivers expose deeper issues, such as the public's understanding of how water moves through subsurface environment and how water in the subsurface can impact ground stability (Thomas et al, 2015).…”

Section: Water and Instabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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A "mental models" approach to the communication of subsurface hydrology and hazards

Gibson

Stewart

Pahl

et al. 2016

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. Communicating information about geological and hydrological hazards relies on appropriately worded communications targeted at the needs of the audience. But what are these needs, and how does the geoscientist discern them? This paper adopts a psychological "mental models" approach to assess the public perception of the geological subsurface, presenting the results of attitudinal studies and surveys in three communities in the south-west of England. The findings reveal important preconceptions and misconceptions regarding the impact of hydrological systems and hazards on the geological subsurface, notably in terms of the persistent conceptualisation of underground rivers and the inferred relations between flooding and human activity. The study demonstrates how such mental models can provide geoscientists with empirical, detailed and generalised data of perceptions surrounding an issue, as well reveal unexpected outliers in perception that they may not have considered relevant, but which nevertheless may locally influence communication. Using this approach, geoscientists can develop information messages that more directly engage local concerns and create open engagement pathways based on dialogue, which in turn allow both geoscience "experts" and local "non-experts" to come together and understand each other more effectively.

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Section: Communicating Risk Via Mental Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Water and Instabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

A "mental models" approach to the communication of subsurface hydrology and hazards

Gibson

Stewart

Pahl

et al. 2016

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The development of adaptation options is hampered by the fact that experts often have an incomplete view of farmers' perceptions which might have vast implications for effective risk communication, e.g., regarding climate change, and during the participatory design process of adaptation strategies (Thomas et al 2015). These findings imply that an improved, in-depth understanding of the differences in risk perception between farmers and experts is necessary for the design of more effective and successful policies to promote adaptation initiatives.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk perception and decision-making: do farmers consider risks from climate change?

Eitzinger

Binder

Meyer³

2018

Climatic Change

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Small-scale farmers are highly threatened by climate change. Experts often base their interventions to support farmers to adapt to climate change on their own perception of farmers' livelihood risks. However, if differences in risk perception between farmers and experts exist, these interventions might fail. Thus, for effective design and implementation of adaptation strategies for farmers, it is necessary to understand farmers' perception and how it influences their decision-making. We analyze farmers' and experts' systemic view on climate change threats in relation to other agricultural livelihood risks and assess the differences between their perceptions. For Cauca, Colombia, we found that experts and farmers perceived climate-related and other livelihood risks differently. While farmers' perceived risks were a failure in crop production and lack of access to health and educational services, experts, in contrast, perceived insecurity and the unreliable weather to be the highest risks for farmers. On barriers that prevent farmers from taking action against risks, experts perceived both external factors such as the national policy and internal factors such as the adaptive capacity of farmers to be the main barriers. Farmers ranked the lack of information, especially about weather and climate, as their main barrier to adapt. Effective policies aiming at climate change adaptation need to relate climate change risks to other production risks as farmers often perceive climate change in the context of other risks. Policymakers in climate change need to consider differences in risk perception.

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“…Again, using the example of the UK, climate-related sea level rise will eventually affect health in the UK [ 21 , 22 ], but for the UK population, sea level rise is currently an example of a temporally distal pathway. Although many citizens in the UK can conceive some of what sea level rise might mean for their immediate lives, their economy and their health, the full societal impacts seem far down the line and remote [ 23 , 24 ].…”

Section: Proximal and Distal Pathways To Climate-related Health Effecmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scoping the proximal and distal dimensions of climate change on health and wellbeing

et al. 2017

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The impacts of climate on health and wellbeing occur in time and space and through a range of indirect, complicated mechanisms. This diversity of pathways has major implications for national public health planning and influence on interventions that might help to mitigate and adapt to rapidly changing environmental conditions, nationally and internationally. This paper draws upon evidence from public health and adverse impact studies across climate science, hydrology, agriculture, public health, and the social sciences. It presents a conceptual model to support decision-making by recognizing both the proximal and distal pathways from climate-induced environmental change to national health and wellbeing. The proximal and distal pathways associated with food security, migration and mobility illustrate the diverse climate change influences in different geographic locations over different timescales. We argue that greater realization and articulation of proximal and distal pathways should radically alter how climate change is addressed as a national and international public health challenge.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12940-017-0329-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Mental models of sea-level change: A mixed methods analysis on the Severn Estuary, UK

Cited by 39 publications

References 81 publications

A "mental models" approach to the communication of subsurface hydrology and hazards

A "mental models" approach to the communication of subsurface hydrology and hazards

Risk perception and decision-making: do farmers consider risks from climate change?

Scoping the proximal and distal dimensions of climate change on health and wellbeing

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Mental models of sea-level change: A mixed methods analysis on the Severn Estuary, UK

Cited by 39 publications

References 81 publications

A &quot;mental models&quot; approach to the communication of subsurface hydrology and hazards

A &quot;mental models&quot; approach to the communication of subsurface hydrology and hazards

Risk perception and decision-making: do farmers consider risks from climate change?

Scoping the proximal and distal dimensions of climate change on health and wellbeing

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

A "mental models" approach to the communication of subsurface hydrology and hazards

A "mental models" approach to the communication of subsurface hydrology and hazards