Media uses and social representations of climate change

• Author(s): Cabecinhas, Rosa ; L??zaro, Alexandra ; Carvalho, Anabela
• Date: 2008
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/1822/29916
• Origin: RepositóriUM - Universidade do Minho
• Subject(s): Climate change; Media; Social representations; Attitudes; Risk
• Document Type: Part of book or chapter of book
• Language: English
• Editor(s): Carvalho, Anabela

Description

A survey study with Portuguese participants (N=614) was carried out to investigate the relationship between practices of media consumption, the use of other sources of information, and social representations of climate change. Results show a moderate level of knowledge about climate change, a high level of concern and a high level of perceived risk towards the potential effects of climate change, emotionally negative images associated with climate change, and low frequency of climate-friendly individual behaviour. News media are reported to be the main sources of information on climate change and are positively assessed in terms of credibility. Practices of media consumption are a predictor variable of individual mitigation actions, behavioural intentions, concern about climate change and, in a smaller degree, knowledge about climate change. However, they have little impact on risk perceptions and on the emotional valence of the images associated with climate change.