Resonance of Wastewater

These data are supplementary materials to an article that addresses the critical question of why climate change messages are often rejected by certain social groups, and explores the challenging question of how to promote environmentally friendly behaviour through better communication. Unlike previous studies that take a linear approach to media influence, this study examines the socio-cultural cognitive dynamics in responses to environmental information. It integrates theories from connectionist neuropsychology, cognitivist anthropology, cultural sociology and Bourdieu's practical reason. An experiment was conducted to test the theory. A basic information text and three newspaper-like articles were randomly assigned to a panel of 1,040 participants. A mixed methods approach was used to test the cognitive resonance of these articles. Results show that the interpretations of the news articles depend on the interaction between media frames and participants' prior cognitive representations, with cognitive and affective predispositions of their social group playing an important role. The study also provides insights into the effects of fear appeals in environmental communication.