New research from LSC’s scimep lab, out this month in the Journal of Nanoparticle Research, examining priming effects shows how a technology is defined can alter public perception.
In the study, LSC alumna Ashley Anderson (Ph.D., ’12) and colleagues find that defining nanotechnology in terms of novel applications boosters public support for the technology but does not motivate individuals to seek more information. On the other hand, definitions which highlight potential risks and benefits can increase likelihood of future information-seeking.
The study is authored by Anderson, now a post-doctoral fellow at George Mason University’s Center for Climate Change Communication, along with LSC doctoral candidate Jiyoun Kim, Professors Dietram A. Scheufele, Dominique Brossard and Associate Professor of Communication Arts Michael A. Xenos.
This material is based upon work supported by grants from the National Science Foundation to the Center for Nanotechnology in Society at Arizona State University (Grant No. SES-0937591) and the UW-Madison Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center in Templated Synthesis and Assembly at the Nanoscale (Grant No. SES-DMR-0832760). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
The full text of the study is available here.