TY - JOUR
T1 - Communicating About Renewable Energy With Satire
T2 - The Influence of Gentle and Harsh Humor Tones on Perceived Message Credibility and Information Reliance
AU - Freiling, Isabelle
AU - Cacciatore, Michael A.
AU - Su, Leona Yi Fan
AU - Yeon, Jiyoung
AU - Park, Sohyun
AU - Du, Weiting
AU - Zhang, Jennifer Shiyue
AU - Yeo, Sara K.
AU - Siskind, Sarah Rose
N1 - The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article: This material is based on work supported by a funding incentive seed grant from the University of Utah. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Utah.
PY - 2024/11/13
Y1 - 2024/11/13
N2 - Satire is often used in science communication, but it is unclear how it influences perceptions of message credibility and reliance on the information. We examine how two satire types (gentle, harsh) influence perceived message credibility and information reliance, which we define as using the information in discussions or for attitudinal and behavioral changes. Using a partial mediation model, we found no effects of gentle satire, but harsh satire negatively influenced message credibility, which was positively linked to information reliance. Contrary to previous research, we found that the satire type matters. Practical implications include being cautious when using harsh satire.
AB - Satire is often used in science communication, but it is unclear how it influences perceptions of message credibility and reliance on the information. We examine how two satire types (gentle, harsh) influence perceived message credibility and information reliance, which we define as using the information in discussions or for attitudinal and behavioral changes. Using a partial mediation model, we found no effects of gentle satire, but harsh satire negatively influenced message credibility, which was positively linked to information reliance. Contrary to previous research, we found that the satire type matters. Practical implications include being cautious when using harsh satire.
KW - energy
KW - environmental communication
KW - message credibility
KW - satire
KW - science communication
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85208927261&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85208927261&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/10755470241293361
DO - 10.1177/10755470241293361
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85208927261
SN - 1075-5470
JO - Science Communication
JF - Science Communication
ER -