Assessing Public Perception and Risk Communication of Climate Change Impacts
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22818023Keywords:
risk perception, climate change communication, psychological distance, framing effects, science trust, political polarization, gateway belief model, public engagementAbstract
Public perception of climate change and the design of risk communication strategies mediate the translation of
scientific consensus into concern, policy support, and behavior change, yet the psychological and communication
literatures addressing this translation remain fragmented across disciplines. This review synthesizes three decades
of research spanning psychology, science communication, and political sociology to characterize how individuals
perceive climate risk and how that perception can be shaped by message design. We examine psychological
distance theory, under which climate change is frequently construed as spatially, temporally, and socially remote,
dampening perceived personal relevance despite near-unanimous scientific consensus on anthropogenic
causation. We synthesize evidence on framing effects, showing that gain-versus-loss, health-focused, and
local-impact framings shift engagement differently across audiences, with effects consistently moderated by prior
ideological commitment. We review the gateway belief model linking perceived scientific consensus to shifts in
personal belief and policy support, alongside inoculation-based approaches for building resistance to
misinformation. A recurring theme is the centrality of trust: messenger credibility, particularly of scientists relative to
politicians or media figures, moderates uptake more strongly than message content alone. We further synthesize
evidence on affective versus analytic processing, documenting that fear-based appeals often produce
disengagement or distancing rather than sustained concern, whereas messages pairing efficacy information with
emotional resonance sustain engagement more reliably. Political polarization emerges as a persistent moderator
across nearly every domain reviewed, frequently overriding communication strategy effects. We conclude by
identifying research gaps, including underrepresentation of Global South populations, limited longitudinal evidence
on message durability, and insufficient integration of behavioral outcome measures beyond stated belief and
concern.
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