Framing Climate Change: The Impact of Repeated Exposure to Self- and Social-framing Messages on Climate Change Outcomes and Public Segmentation in China

Abstract

Background and Purpose. Climate change is an urgent global issue, and China, as the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, plays a crucial role in the global response to this challenge (Reuters, 2024; Wang et al., 2016; Xu et al., 2022). Despite increased media coverage and public discussion (Huan, 2024; Pan et al., 2021; Xu et al., 2022; Zeng, 2022), skepticism and negative attitudes toward climate change persist among certain Chinese individuals (Chan et al., 2023; Jia & Luo, 2023; Pan et al., 2022, 2023). This dissertation aims to contribute to developing effective climate change communication strategies in China by examining the effects of repeated self- and social-framing messages and using the Situational Theory of Problem Solving (STOPS) model for public segmentation (Florence et al., 2022; Kim & Grunig, 2011; Tao et al., 2020).Theoretical Frameworks. This dissertation draws from the construal level theory of psychological distance to understand self- and social-framing (Liberman & Trope, 2003; Loy & Spence, 2020; Ma et al., 2023), the inverted U-shaped model to examine the impact of repeated exposures (Berlyne, 1970; Cacioppo & Petty, 1979; Lu et al., 2015; Lu, 2022), and the STOPS model to investigate how the effects of self- and social-framing may vary across different public segments and the potential for proportional changes in public segments after longitudinal repeated exposure (Grunig, 1997; Kim, 2006; Kim & Grunig, 2011). Methods. This dissertation employs a two-part study design. The first part is a pilot study designed to validate the manipulation of climate change messages framed as either self- or social-focused, adapted from leading Chinese news outlets. The main study, formatted as a longitudinal between-subjects experiment, consists of six separate exposures spaced three days apart. In the first session, seven hundred and fifty Chinese residents over 18 years old were randomly assigned to one of three conditions, either containing self- or social-framing messages or a mix of both framing messages six times at three-day intervals. Three hundred and thirty-three participants completed all six sessions and are included in the final sample. Results. The results reveal that repeated exposure to climate change messages enhances their persuasive effects on climate change outcomes, including attitudes, beliefs, and private and public pro-environmental intentions. The overall trends are increasing and do not follow the inverted U-shaped model’s predicted pattern of initial growth followed by a decline. After six exposures, the mixed-framing condition slightly outperforms self- and social-framing conditions, indicating the potential benefits of diversified communication strategies for repeated messaging. The results also reveal that situational activity levels in climate change significantly predict positive and negative communicative behaviors and outcomes, with more engaged publics showing stronger climate change outcomes and positive communicative actions (Grunig, 1997; Kim & Grunig, 2011). Results further suggest that six exposures can shift public segmentation, making more individuals more active in climate change issues (Hine et al., 2014; Leiserowitz et al., 2021; Metag & Schäfer, 2018). Theoretical and Practical Implications. Theoretically, the findings do not support the inverted U-shaped model with theoretical explanations (Berlyne, 1970; Cacioppo & Petty, 1979; Lu et al., 2015; Lu, 2022). Also, this dissertation extends the message convergence theory (Anthon & Sellnow, 2016; Liu et al., 2020) by demonstrating the effectiveness of mixed-framing strategies in repeated exposures. It also addresses research gaps in framing combination (Chen et al., 2020; Florence et al., 2022) and provides new insights into the effectiveness of repeated communication strategies in public segmentation using the STOPS model (Grunig, 1997; Kim & Grunig, 2011). Practically, the findings of this dissertation offer guidance for developing repeated communication strategies, suggesting that journalists can leverage the power of repeated exposure and mixed-framing approaches to enhance the impact of climate change communication coverage. The study also highlights the potential for repeated message exposures to actively change public segment types, enabling journalists to design targeted strategies for shifting individuals from less engaged to more active publics in addressing climate change (Hine et al., 2014; Metag & Schäfer, 2018).