Care, competency, or honesty? Framing emergency preparedness messages and risks for nuclear energy in Singapore

Shirley S. Ho*, Nuri Kim, Jiemin Looi, Alisius D. Leong

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

12 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

It is imperative to provide emergency preparedness messages so that the public can react appropriately to potential nuclear crises. Considering the mass media's extensive audience outreach, this study investigates how emergency preparedness message frames and the type of communication channels can influence individuals’ trust in government, risk perceptions, and acceptance of nuclear energy development in a neighboring country. A 4 (Emergency preparedness message frame: competence vs. care vs. honesty vs. control) × 2 (Communication channel: social media vs. traditional media) between-subjects factorial experiment was conducted online with 600 participants. Messages centered on care influenced participants’ trust in government the most. Messages disseminated through traditional media impacted participants’ trust in government more than social media. Participants’ trust in government and risk perceptions mediated the relationship between message frames and the types of communication channel on their acceptance of nuclear energy development in a neighboring country. Theoretical implications, practical implications, and directions for future research are discussed.
Original languageEnglish
Article number101477
Number of pages19
JournalEnergy Research and Social Science
Volume65
Early online date29 Feb 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2020

User-Defined Keywords

  • Framing
  • Cognitive miser model
  • Communication channel
  • Trust
  • Nuclear energy
  • Risk perceptions

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