Framing Responsibility in Online News About Climate Change

• In Event: Science, Media, and Public

Abstract

This paper explores the effect of responsibility attributions in online news about climate change in two experimental studies. Climate communication is a relevant topic for responsibility frames in the news, since the reader is directly affected by the problem and also asked to engage in climate mitigation. In Study 1 responsibility attributions in an online news article (individual responsibility, political responsibility and non-point responsibility) are manipulated. Paradoxically, an individual responsibility frame does not affect perceptions of individual responsibility but decreases norm perceptions. Study 2 specifies the effect of individual responsibility attributions. Combining an individual responsibility frame with information about climate friendly engagement of others (descriptive norm) in user comments increases intentions for climate friendly behavior through perceptions of individual responsibility and social norms. In contrast, information about others' disengagement negatively affects intentions for climate friendly behavior.

Authors

• Anja Kalch

• Helena Bilandzic, Augsburg U

• Andrea Sappler, Augsburg U

• Sarah Stellinger, Augsburg U