Data from: Applying fear appear to explain message framing in climate change communication: When are loss frames more effective?

This study investigated how three different goal frames (gain, non-loss, loss) with and without efficacy statements affect support and willingness to pay for climate change mitigation policy. Addressing the goal framing literature’s difficulty establishing a theoretical framework with consistent findings, we propose the extended parallel process model of fear appeals as an alternative framework for goal framing. We then test multiple fear appeal mediators in a carefully-controlled experiment (N = 900) which avoids four common framing confounds possibly underlying the literature’s inconsistent findings. In line with fear appeal theory’s central tenet that effective messages increase threat and efficacy together, a more-threatening loss frame paired with an efficacy statement produced greater support and willingness to pay for climate policy than less-threatening positive (gain or non-loss) frames or a loss frame without an efficacy statement. Differences in policy support were mediated by five fear appeal variables (fear, threat, hope, collective efficacy, and message processing) in a pattern predicted by the extended parallel process model, providing further evidence that fear appeal theory offers a valid framework to understand goal framing. Despite concern that climate change communication focused on fear and threat of negative outcomes (i.e., losses) will disengage audiences, it does not appear the opposite focus on hope and benefits of positive outcomes (i.e., gains or non-losses) is a better alternative. Instead of these dichotomous approaches, our findings suggest an integrative approach using more-threatening loss framing coupled with efficacy statements to bolster hope and efficacy may best maximize support for climate change policy.

本研究探究了三种不同的目标框架（获益框架、非损失框架、损失框架），分别搭配或不搭配效能陈述（efficacy statement），对气候变化减缓政策的支持度与支付意愿产生的影响。针对当前目标框架研究领域难以构建具备一致研究结论的理论框架这一问题，本研究提出将恐惧诉求（fear appeal）扩展平行过程模型（extended parallel process model of fear appeals）作为目标框架研究的替代理论框架。随后，本研究在一项严格控制变量的实验（样本量N=900）中对多种恐惧诉求中介变量进行检验，该实验规避了可能导致现有研究结论不一致的四类常见框架混淆问题。契合恐惧诉求理论的核心要义——有效的信息需同时提升威胁感知与效能感知：相较于威胁性更低的积极框架（获益或非损失框架）或未搭配效能陈述的损失框架，高威胁性损失框架搭配效能陈述可提升公众对气候变化政策的支持度与支付意愿。政策支持度的差异由五类恐惧诉求变量（恐惧情绪、威胁感知、希望感、集体效能感与信息加工过程）介导，且符合扩展平行过程模型的预测模式，这进一步证实恐惧诉求理论可作为理解目标框架效应的有效理论框架。尽管学界担忧，聚焦负面结果（即损失）的恐惧与威胁感知的气候变化传播会令受众产生疏离感，但现有研究结果表明，转向聚焦正面结果（即获益或非损失）的希望与收益导向的传播并非更佳替代方案。相较于上述两类二元对立的研究路径，本研究结果表明，采用整合式路径——将高威胁性损失框架与效能陈述相结合以强化希望感与效能感知——或可最大化提升公众对气候变化政策的支持度。