Images That Engage People With Sustainable Urban Water Management. Issue 2 (April 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Schultz, Tracy; Fielding, Kelly; Newton, Fiona
• Is Part Of: Science communication. Volume 40:Issue 2(2018)
• Page Start: 199
• Page End: 227
• Publication Date: 2018-04
• Subjects: environmental communication -- images -- visual communication -- public engagement -- stormwater management; Social sciences -- Periodicals; Knowledge, Sociology of -- Periodicals; Communication in science -- Periodicals; Communication of technical information -- Periodicals; Communication in medicine -- Periodicals; Information scientifique -- Périodiques; Information technique -- Périodiques; Communication en sciences sociales -- Périodiques; Communication en médecine -- Périodiques; 300.14
• DOI: 10.1177/1075547018760902
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1075-5470

Abstract

This study explored responses to categories of images relevant to an environmental management issue—stormwater management—across three dimensions that influence engagement: emotional response, personal relevance, and topic congruence. Although images of oceans elicited positive emotions, most participants did not perceive such images as relevant to the topic. Images of traditional stormwater infrastructure evoked negative emotions and were perceived as topic congruent but not personally relevant. Images of flooding were ranked highly across all three dimensions. These findings have implications for the development of communication materials that appeal to the broader public.