Media Use,Race and the Environment: The Converging of Environmental Attitudes Based on Self-Reported News Use

Abstract

Using a purposive sample with an even distribution of 299 non-Hispanic Whites, 294 African Americans, 292 Asian Americans and 295 Hispanics, we test a moderated mediation model that examines the relationship between self-reported news media consumption (e.g., non-conservative and conservative) and environmental behavioural intentions. Our study found evidence supporting the mainstreaming hypothesis (converging attitudes) across key variables within the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Our results also reveal non-conservative outlets to be associated with more favourable environmental attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control, while conservative outlets are associated with less favourable levels for two of these three variables. Results also indicate conditional indirect relationships between non-conservative news use on behavioural intentions through our TPB variables, which vary by race/ethnicity.

Keywords

Theory of planned behaviour environmental attitudes media effects race/ethnicity mainstreaming

References

Ajzen

2011. ‘The theory of planned behaviour: reactions and reflections’. Psychology & Health 26 (9): 1113–1127. Crossref.

Ajzen

2002. ‘Perceived behavioral control, self-efficacy, locus of control, and the theory of planned behavior’. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 32 (4): 665–683. Crossref.

Ajzen

1991. ‘The theory of planned behavior’. Organizational Behaviour and Human Decision Processes 50 (2): 179–211. Crossref.

Ansolabehere

and Schaffner

B.F.

. 2014. ‘Does survey mode still matter? Findings from a 2010 multi-mode comparison’. Political Analysis 22 (3): 285–303. Crossref.

Arbuckle

M.B.

and Konisky

D.M.

. 2015. ‘The role of religion in environmental attitudes’. Social Science Quarterly 96 (5): 1244–1263. Crossref.

Armitage

C.J.

and Conner

. 1999. ‘The theory of planned behaviour: assessment of predictive validity and perceived control’. British Journal of Social Psychology 38 (1): 35–54. Crossref.

Bandura

1997. Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control. New York: Freeman.

Bozeman

J.F.

, Bozeman

and Theis

. 2019. ‘Overcoming climate change adaptation barriers: a study on food–energy–water impacts of the average American diet by demographic group’. Journal of Industrial Ecology 24 (2): 383–399. Crossref.

Bullard

R.D.

2000. Dumping in Dixie: Race, Class, and Environmental Quality (3rd ed.). Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Crossref.

10.

Calzo

J.P.

and Ward

L.M.

. 2009. ‘Media exposure and viewers' attitudes toward homosexuality: evidence for mainstreaming or resonance?’ Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 53 (2): 280–299. Crossref.

11.

Carvalho

2010. ‘Media(ted)discourses and climate change: a focus on political subjectivity and (dis)engagement’. WIREs Climate Change 1 (2): 172–179.

12.

Ceschi

, Dorofeeva

, Sartori

, Dickert

and Scalco

. 2015. ‘A simulation of householders' recycling attitudes based on the theory of planned behavior’. In Bajo

(eds), Trends in Practical Applications of Agents, Multi-Agent Systems and Sustainability. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol. 372, pp. 177–184. Cham: Springer.

13.

Chan

and Lau

L.B.Y.

. 2002. ‘Explaining green purchasing behavior: a cross-cultural study on American and Chinese consumers’. Journal of International Consumer Marketing 14 (2/3): 9–40. Crossref.

14.

Chaudhary

, Warner

L.A.

, Lamm

A.J.

, Israel

G.D.

, Rumble

J.N.

and Cantrell

R.A.

. 2017. ‘Using the theory of planned behavior to encourage water conservation among extension clients’. Journal of Agricultural Education 58 (3): 185–202. Crossref.

15.

Chen

M.F.

2016. ‘Extending the theory of planned behavior model to explain people's energy savings and carbon reduction behavioral intentions to mitigate climate change in Taiwan–moral obligation matters’. Journal of Cleaner Production 112 (2): 1746–1753. Crossref.

16.

Chong

, Teng

K.Z.S.

, Siew

S.C.A.

and Skoric

. 2012. ‘Cultivation effects of video games: a longer-term experimental test of first- and second-order effects’. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 31 (9): 952–971. Crossref.

17.

Cohn

2015. ‘Future immigration will change the face of America by 2065’. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/10/05/future-immigration-will-change-the-face-of-america-by-2065/ (accessed 5 August 2020).

18.

Davis

L.E.

, Ajzen

, Saunders

and Williams

. 2002. ‘The decision of African American students to complete high school: an application of the theory of planned behavior’. Journal of Educational Psychology 94 (4): 810–819. Crossref.

19.

Davis

J.L.

, Le

, Coy

A.E.

, Rickert

, Regan

and Ridgeway

. 2015. ‘Commitment to the environment: the role of subjective norms in college and community samples’. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 45 (10): 568–583. Crossref.

20.

Elias

2019. ‘The impact of media use, identity, and pro-environmental orientations on racial/ethnic groups' attitudes toward Ecobranding’. Howard Journal of Communications 31 (1): 99–118. Crossref.

21.

Elias

, Dahmen

, Morrison

and Morris

. 2018. ‘Understanding climate change inactivity across Hispanic, African American, and Anglo racial/ethnic groups’. Howard Journal of Communications 30 (1): 38–56. Crossref.

22.

Feldman

, Hart

P.S.

and Milosevic

. 2017. ‘Polarizing news? Representations of threat and efficacy in leading US newspapers' coverage of climate change’. Public Understanding of Science 26 (4): 481–497. Crossref.

23.

Feldman

, Maibach

E.W.

, Roser-Renouf

and Leiserowitz

. 2012. ‘Climate on cable: the nature and impact of global warming coverage on Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC’. The International Journal of Press/Politics 17 (1): 3–31. Crossref.

24.

Feldman

, Myers

T.A.

, Hmielowski

J.D.

and Leiserowitz

. 2014. ‘The mutual reinforcement of media selectivity and effects: testing the reinforcing spirals framework in the context of global warming’. Journal of Communication 64 (4): 590–611. Crossref.

25.

Gerbner

, Gross

, Morgan

, Signorielli

and Shanahan

. 2002. ‘Growing up with television: cultivation processes’. In Bryant

and Zillmann

(eds), Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research (2nd ed.), pp. 43–67. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

26.

Gifford

2011. ‘The dragons of inaction: psychological barriers that limit climate change mitigation and adaptation’. American Psychologist 66 (4): 290–302. Crossref.

27.

Greenberg

M.R.

2005. ‘Concern about environmental pollution: how much difference do race and ethnicity make? A New Jersey case study’. Environmental Health Perspectives 113 (4): 369–374. Crossref.

28.

Gunther

A.C.

1998. ‘The persuasive press inference: effects of mass media on perceived public opinion’. Communication Research 25 (5): 486–504. Crossref.

29.

Han

, Hsu

L.T.

and Sheu

. 2010. ‘Application of the theory of planned behaviour to green hotel choice: testing the effect of environmental friendly activities’. Tourism Management 31 (3): 325–334. Crossref.

30.

Hayes

2005. Statistical Methods for Communication Science. Mahwah, NJ, US: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.

31.

Hayes

A.F.

2017. Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis: A Regression-based Approach. New York, NY: Guilford Publications.

32.

Hmielowski

J.D.

, Feldman

, Myers

T.A.

, Leiserowitz

and Maibach

. 2014. ‘An attack on science? Media use, trust in scientists, and perceptions of global warming’. Public Understanding of Science 23 (7): 866–883. Crossref.

33.

S.S.

, Liao

and Rosenthal

. 2015. ‘Applying the theory of planned behavior and media dependency theory: predictors of public pro-environmental behavioural intentions in Singapore’. Environmental Communication 9 (1): 77–99. Crossref.

34.

Krumpal

2013. ‘Determinants of social desirability bias in sensitive surveys: a literature review’. Quality and Quantity 47: 2025–2047. Crossref.

35.

Latkin

C.A.

, Edwards

, Davey-Rothwell

M.A.

and Tobin

K.E.

. 2017. ‘The relationship between social desirability bias and self-reports of health, substance use, and social network factors among urban substance users in Baltimore, Maryland’. Addictive Behaviors 73: 133–136. Crossref.

36.

Leiserowitz

and Akerlof

. 2010. Race, Ethnicity and Public Responses to Climate Change. New Haven, CT: Yale Project on Climate Change.

37.

Mancha

and Yoder

C.Y.

. 2015. ‘Cultural antecedents of green behavioural intent: an environmental theory of planned behaviour’. Journal of Environmental Psychology 43: 145–154. Crossref.

38.

Masud

M.M.

, Al-Amin

A.Q.

, Junsheng

, Ahmed

, Yahaya

S.R.

, Akhtar

and Banna

. 2016. ‘Climate change issue and theory of planned behaviour: relationship by empirical evidence’. Journal of Cleaner Production 113: 613–623. Crossref.

39.

Masuoka

2016. Multiracial Identity and Racial Politics in the United States. New York: Oxford University Press.

40.

Matthes

, Nanz

, Heiss

and Stubenvoll

. 2019. ‘Processing News on Social Media. The Political Incidental News Exposure Model (PINE)’. Paper presented at the Communication Theory and Methodology Division of the Annual Convention of the Association for Education and Journalism and Mass Communication, Toronto, Canada, August 2019.

41.

McGuire

W.J.

1986. ‘The myth of massive media impact: savagings and salvagings’. In Comstock

, (ed.) Public Communication and Behaviour, Vol., 1, pp. 173–257. New York: Academic Press.

42.

Morgan

, Shanahan

and Signorielli

. 2015. ‘Yesterday's new cultivation, tomorrow’. Mass Communication and Society 18 (5): 674–699. Crossref.

43.

NOAA. 2018. ‘New federal climate assessment for US released’. Retrieved 2 August 2020 from https://www.noaa.gov/news/new-federal-climate-assessment-for-us-released.

44.

O'Neill

and Nicholson-Cole

. 2009. “‘Fear won't do it”: promoting positive engagement with climate change through visual and iconic representations’. Science Communication 30 (3): 355–379. Crossref.

45.

Paulhus

D.L.

1984. ‘Two-component models of socially desirable responding’. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 46 (3): 598–609. Crossref.

46.

Pisano

and Lubell

. 2017. ‘Environmental behavior in cross-national perspective: a multilevel analysis of 30 countries’. Environment and Behavior 49 (1): 31–58. Crossref.

47.

and Ploeger

. 2019. ‘Explaining consumers' intentions towards purchasing green food in Qingdao, China: the amendment and extension of the theory of planned behavior’. Appetite 1 (133): 414–422. Crossref.

48.

Schuldt

J.P.

and Pearson

. 2016. ‘The role of race and ethnicity in climate change polarization: evidence from a US national survey experiment’. Climate Change 136 (3-4): 495–505. Crossref.

49.

Shanahan

, Morgan

and Stenbjerre

. 1997. ‘Green or brown? Television and the cultivation of environmental concern’. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 41 (3): 305–323. Crossref.

50.

Shrum

L.J.

2009. ‘Media consumption and perceptions of social reality’. In Bryant

and Oliver

M.B.

(eds), Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research (3rd ed.), pp. 50–73. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

51.

Spartz

J.T.

, Yi-Fan Su

, Griffin

, Brossard

and Dunwoody

. 2017. ‘YouTube, social norms and perceived salience of climate change in the American mind’. Environmental Communication 11 (1): 1–16. Crossref.

52.

Stroud

N.J.

2011. Niche News. New York: Oxford University Press.

53.

Trop

and Roos

L.L

Jr . 1971. ‘Public opinion and the environment’, in Roos

L.L.

Jr. (ed.). The Politics of Ecosuicide, pp. 52–63. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

54.

Wheeler

S.A.

, Gregg

and Singh

. 2019. ‘Understanding the role of social desirability bias and environmental attitudes and behaviour on South Australians' stated purchase of organic foods’. Food Quality and Preference 74: 125–134. Crossref.

55.

Yanovitzky

and Stryker

. 2001. ‘Mass media, social norms, and health promotion efforts: a longitudinal study of media effects on youth binge drinking’. Communication Research 28 (2): 208–239. doi: 10.1177/009365001028002004.

56.

Zamith

, Pinto

and Villar

M.E.

. 2013. ‘Constructing climate change in the Americas: an analysis of news coverage in US and South American newspapers’. Science Communication 35 (3): 334–357. Crossref.