Combining Storytelling and Critical Thinking to Improve Information Flow between Geoscience Experts and Local Decision-makers

Abstract:

Storytelling is a powerful tool for science communication. Stories can help capture attention, evoke salient and memorable emotions, and increase persuasion. These characteristics enable stories to overcome motivational deficits in ways that facts alone cannot. However, recent research in the behavioral sciences has shown that these benefits come at a price, namely with reduced message processing. Audiences who hear information embedded in a narrative are less capable of distinguishing quantitative differences, like the difference between a fall of 3 and 30 feet, than audiences who are given the facts alone (e.g. Krause and Rucker 2019). In this project, we examine how best to design the flow of information between experts, who can provide technical estimates of action outcomes, and decision-makers, who carry a responsibility for the broader societal implications, in light of the pros and cons of communicating scientific information in the form of a narrative. Integrating our expertise in nitrogen biogeochemistry and cognitive psychology, we quantify the impact of storytelling on the comprehension and behavioral intentions of local decision-makers who are provided with information about how green infrastructure can be designed to help decrease nitrogen pollution. Our study assesses whether narrative techniques can be complemented with strategic priming and information architecture that will preserve the cognitive advantages of storytelling without compromising the quantitative precision of message processing, retention, and use.