How do you get people to evacuate before a hurricane strikes? How do you get people to lower their carbon emissions? How do you get people to understand climate change?
The most common approach is to feed the public more information. A more informed citizenry is more likely to react in the “right” way, correct? Social scientists say collective decision-making is much more complicated than that; how people feel about a risk is just as important as how much they know.
Other important factors also influence the decision maker, such the opinions shared by friends and family, issues of mobility and transportation, and the cost and benefit of different options. With these considerations, it is no wonder that human behavior is so difficult to predict.
Risk Communication
Even though eliciting widespread change is difficult, it can be done. Social scientists compiled the following best management practices for community leaders to consider when trying to use risk-related information to change behavior.
- Start small – consider beginning a campaign by initially targeting a very specific behavior displayed by a very specific audience. Small-scale, localized efforts may be more likely to succeed and can be helpful in setting the stage for more comprehensive and far-reaching campaigns.
- Use social norms to your advantage – people are profoundly influenced by the behavior of those around them. Begin the campaign by targeting an audience whose behavior may be relatively easy to change, and allow that group’s behavior to diffuse throughout the broader community.
- Know your audience – do what’s necessary to understand audience perceptions, decision-making processes, and social and cultural norms. Work to uncover what prevents and promotes the behavior that is being cultivated. Knowing the audience will aid in designing an effective message and identifying a trusted messenger to deliver that message.
- Present easy-to-understand and repetitive information – craft the message to be as brief and as vivid as possible. Recognize that it will need to be delivered repeatedly, through a variety of media and communication channels, in order to change behavior.
- Use a positive approach – provide the audience with a specific action to take, and design a message that taps into their existing skills, roles, or desires. Messages suggesting a familiar or easy-to-do action can be more effective at grabbing an audience’s attention and promoting action.
- Evaluate your success – evaluate the campaign mid-course and make any needed improvements. Also evaluate the campaign when it is over to understand whether campaign goals were met. This information can be used to increase the effectiveness next time.
For coastal resource management programs that need help with social science-related tasks, the NOAA Coastal Services Center’s Human Dimensions program offers technical assistance and many how-to guides. Contact csc.info@noaa.gov to learn more or visit www.csc.noaa.gov/publications/.
