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A "mental models" approach to the communication of subsurface hydrology and hazards
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| Title | A "mental models" approach to the communication of subsurface hydrology and hazards |
| Author |
Gibson, Hazel
|
| License |
CC Attribution 3.0 Germany: You are free to use, adapt and copy, distribute and transmit the work or content in adapted or unchanged form for any legal purpose as long as the work is attributed to the author in the manner specified by the author or licensor. |
| DOI | 10.5446/21332 |
| Publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| Release Date | 2016 |
| Language | English |
| Production Place | Plymouth |
Content Metadata
| Subject Area | Earth Sciences |
| Abstract | Communicating information about geological and hydrological hazards relies on appropriately worded communications targeted at the needs of the audience. But what are these needs, and how does the geoscientist discern them? This paper adopts a psychological "mental models" approach to assess the public perception of the geological subsurface, presenting the results of attitudinal studies and surveys in three communities in the south-west of England. The findings reveal important preconceptions and misconceptions regarding the impact of hydrological systems and hazards on the geological subsurface, notably in terms of the persistent conceptualisation of underground rivers and the inferred relations between flooding and human activity. The study demonstrates how such mental models can provide geoscientists with empirical, detailed and generalised data of perceptions surrounding an issue, as well reveal unexpected outliers in perception that they may not have considered relevant, but which nevertheless may locally influence communication. Using this approach, geoscientists can develop information messages that more directly engage local concerns and create open engagement pathways based on dialogue, which in turn allow both geoscience "experts" and local "non-experts" to come together and understand each other more effectively. |
| Keywords |
geoscience communication geocognition mental models subsurface hydrology flooding perception communication |
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