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Changing Public Behavior > Themes > Message content

54 Total Findings

Acknowledge landowner interest and concern for the quality of their land.

Adapt language and appearance of notification materials to reflect the diversity of those being notified and the literacy level of the group.

Address each goal – change in attitudes, knowledge, behavior intentions, or behavior – because there is no evidence that changes in one area, such as attitudes, will have an impact on changes in another, such as behavior change.

Address economic benefits:

Address economic benefits: Show that profits will increase as a result of adoption of the practice

Address farmer perception of risk. Acknowledge emotional and political context of a risk message. Statements about potential agricultural chemical risks can fuel public fears. Farmers may not respond to risk messages because they view their own use of chemicals as "voluntary, familiar and controllable" whereas nonfarm consumers would view it as partially familiar, involuntary and uncontrollable.

Address farmers' perceptions of risk. Acknowledge the tendency for farmers to be "adverse to additional risk ". That is, a new practice or technology must not add to current risks, or it must reduce risks to productivity incurred through other practices in order to be viewed favorably

An effective stormwater public education program focuses on building an understanding of wet weather flow issues and garnering support for all facets of the implementation, particularly on-site source controls using targeted communication tactics that promote action and commitment to the implementation of various controls. On-site controls messages can address reduction of pesticide and fertilizer use, promoting source controls such as downspout disconnection, reducing impervious surfaces, importance of stoop and scoop of pet waste, vehicle maintenance, and the connection between roadside catch basins and lake water quality.

Assure that different agencies provide consistent messages

Be aware of the boundary between education and advocacy.

Build student environmental stewardship motivation and competencies by focusing on the characteristics of environmentally responsible behavior:

Carefully determine what is important for students to know and why before presenting classroom activities focusing on a specific water topic

Couple general outreach, information, and communication techniques with financial incentives

Emphasize how easy it is to do the right thing and the impacts of not engaging in pollution prevention.

Emphasize local elements of control.

Explain the exact nature of the water quality problem.

Focus the content for outreach materials on cost savings, such as when and where pollution prevention is as cheap as or cheaper than traditional techniques. Include facts and figures.

Focus training for new farmers on problem-solving and production agriculture skill development

Identify locally-specific or culturally-specific needs or problems related to water conservation and quality. These may not be what an expert would typically expect due to unique cultural or situational needs. For example, in a person-to-person outreach initiative about toxic substances in fish, African-Americans were most interested in risks to their health from eating contaminated fish. Caucasians were most interested in the levels of contamination in the fish.

In communication and outreach about groundwater, address:

In communication and outreach about groundwater, address: evidence that contamination will affect profits

In communication and outreach about groundwater, address:

In communication and outreach about groundwater, present programs or information about health and environmental risks as part of other outreach efforts rather than on their own

In designing outreach to encourage participation in outdoor recreation programs, attend to:

In water conservation programs, there is a need to communicate effectively about the necessity for, effectiveness of, and fairness of the conservation programs.

Include environmental stewardship information shown to be significant in predicting farmer adoption of new practices:

Include environmental stewardship information shown to be significant in predicting farmer adoption of new practices: Substantive local data to support claims that specific BMPs are environmentally effective and economically advantageous as compared to in-place practices

Include environmental stewardship information shown to be significant in predicting farmer adoption of new practices: o Locally specific information about watershed risks. Farmers assess agricultural chemical risks in the context of localized situations

Include information that shows how the message affects landowners personally and what specific actions landowners can take to improve the situation.

Indicate personal risk when risks exist.

Keep the message simple.

Keep the purpose of an event or message similar to the local situation (e.g., documents and videotapes are most effective when clearly tailored to the local landscape).

Link conservation, stewardship, and watershed topics to a particular place on the owner's land.

Link economic risk to over-application of nutrients, a common practice for ensuring maximum yield.

Make a recommendation for action and provide explicit instructions for how to take action without too much investment of time or money.

Make sure that participants know about the initiative and know how to participate.

Phosphorus public information campaigns need:

Phosphorus public information campaigns need:

Provide a Web site for fruit growers that is simple to use, provides up-to-date information, and provides access to information on specific pests.

Provide clear information about goals and plans for land parcels. Provide regular feedback about how well goals and plans have been achieved.

Provide clear information. Accompany findings or data with information

Provide information that has immediate utility to the program.

Provide information that is high quality, explains risks; and is:

Provide information, encouragement and cash incentives to participate in or practice a new technology, but keep in mind that incentives have a weak influence on adoption.

Provide property owners with do-it-yourself kits and coupons for environmentally friendly products

Recognize that audiences are often already aware of important issues. Outreach materials should:

Rely on these outreach components for a conservation initiative:

Segment information content, to address differences in target audience interests.

Stress benefits such as efficiency or better relations with government, for businesses not primarily concerned with public image.

Tailor messages to provide the audience with information that affects them personally.

Tell the audience what actions they can take to improve the situation.

There is a need for the government to reach beyond traditional means of communication and design programs that recognize the unique features of a local community. This can only be done by being interested in the citizens themselves - by learning who the affected citizens are, by listening and responding to citizen concerns and by offering real alternatives to those citizens who may be negatively impacted in some way by government action.

Water and water resource education has a distinct body of knowledge described by topics categorized as concepts, skills, and values or emotions. Water science and management knowledge has been organized by Brody (1995) and others.

When persuading farmers to reduce chemical use:


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