How do people process information?

Background

This research plays into a bigger project examining science communication and how it can be designed to best ensure accurate understanding of scientific messages by society. In this experiment, we were specifically looking at emotion in scientific messaging, and how it affects understanding and retention of scientific messages.

Research Questions / Hypotheses

This research aims to determine how people process information that is presented to them, and what characteristics best lead to retention and target message adoption.

Participants

20 participants completed the study. There were no exclusion criteria to participate in the study. Four data records were removed prior to data analysis due to system exclusions (for example inadequate completion time and failure to pass attention checks).

Methods

Participants were presented with textual and visual information in relation to a novel conservation issue in Australia. There were three conditions in the study; one which was neutral, and two which targeted emotions. Each condition included the same key information. Once participants had adequately covered the material, they were asked a series of questions concerning their opinions about the information provided to them. This included their interest in the topic, their support for the cause, and their knowledge of the topic.

Results

Data collection is ongoing. The plan for analysis is to test for significance between groups with one-way Anovas. It is expected that participants in the emotional conditions will demonstrate significantly greater interest in and support for the conservation topic. Contrastingly, it is expected that there will be no significant difference in knowledge of the topic between conditions.

Implications

The knowledge we gain from this project will help us inform scientists how to communicate their research with the public so that the public can access and understand it and counter the effects of mis- and dis-information. This will ultimately allow the general public to understand and participate in the science communication process, and better benefit from the research designed to help solve social problems.