Public Perception, Understanding, and Values By: M. Granger Morgan

1. Public Perception, Understanding, and ValuesBy: M. Granger Morgan Summary by: Hai Nguyen Critique by: Thach Du

2. Key points • Why do public perceptions matter? • Difficulty in measuring public perception, understanding and values • Improved methods for studying public understanding, perceptions, and values • Developing risks communication materials • Some hypothesis about public perceptions and values as they relate to Industrial Ecology

3. Why do public perceptions matter? • If an organization wants to make changes that causes less loading on the environment and the changes require modifying public policy or behavior • Ex • The government wants to increase certain taxes that would help decrease pollution to the environment • Public needs to be polled

4. Difficulty in measuring public understanding, perception, and values • Problems with standard method of surveying • How much do respondents know about the particular subject • Determines response (Example) • How the question is framed • Care must be taken about how questions are asked (Example)

5. Improved methods for studying public perception, understanding, and values • Traditional approach • Organization wants to put together a risk communication brochure • Radiation health expert, public relations or communications firm, lay audience • Problems with traditional approach • How much does the public(lay people) know about the subject that the brochure explains • Public needs to know certain minimum amount of information to make decisions

6. Improved methods for studying public perception, understanding, and values contd • New National Science Foundation Approach • Open minded elicitation about peoples beliefs about risk that could bring out correct and incorrect beliefs • Design and use a survey based on information uncovered by the interviews • Use information gathered from interviews and surveys to make a appropriate risk communication brochure

7. Developing risk communication materials • When decisions that could cost billions of dollars to solve a environmental problem are considered, society needs to be informed about the subject to make accurate decision

8. Developing risk communication materials cont • Brochure by author and colleagues at Carnegie Mellon University • Brief overview of the subject and a list of corrections of common misunderstandings • Describe the environmental hazard • What could happen • What could be done • Discussion of environmental hazard in detail

9. Developing risk communication materials cont • When the brochure from the author and colleagues distributed to a test group, people admitted they were lost after the second part

10. Hypotheses about public perception and values as they pertain to Industrial Ecology • Public supports improving the environment but sees the issue in moral terms • Good vs. Bad • Public sees energy conservation as morally correct, a way to save money, and requires sacrifice • Public sees protection of environment as a sacrifice and does not see alternate methods

11. Hypotheses about public perception and values as they pertain to Industrial Ecology contd • Public does not see taxes as a solution for solving environmental problems

12. “Public Perception, Understanding, and Values” by Granger Morgan • Critique: Ty Du • Paper’s weakness • Paper’s strength • Conclusion

13. Paper’s Weakness • Difficult to measure public perception • Sample population of the survey

14. Paper’s Strength • Public needs to be educated before polling • People with education are not educated

15. Conclusion • Public perception is vital before introducing any change to public policy. • To understand public perception, we must educate the public first. • Thank goodness, seminar is over

16. Questions? • ?