Let’s Focus In: A Guide to Eye Tracking Technology in Agricultural Communications Research

Communicating with the public about the agricultural industry often presents challenges in learning how to convey messages that are deemed as salient to various types of people. Media is understood through complex cognitive processes that result in varying attitudes throughout interaction with a stimulus, thus requiring methods that go beyond traditional self-report measures. The majority of agricultural communication research has encompassed quantitative and qualitative research, which often does not account for changes throughout media consumption. Eye tracking is an underutilized resource in agricultural communication that can be used to yield further insight into areas of interest that elicit visual attention and can signal further processing of information. This professional development paper examines the contributions of eye tracking research in agricultural communication and provides an overview of strategies for implementation in both research and practice

Examining the Impact of Disaster Experience with Winter Storm Uri and Climate Change Risk Perceptions on Support for Mitigation Policy

In February 2021, Winter Storm Uri swept across the central and eastern United States bringing extreme cold, widespread power outages, and rolling blackouts throughout Texas. This storm prompted climate change to emerge as a major topic of controversy and conversation with scientists and the public alike, and many began to think about the impacts of climate change. Risk communication experts have suggested prior disaster experience is a key mechanism of understanding how risk perceptions are shaped, and ultimately, on how individuals arrive at a judgment, evaluation, or attitude toward information and situations. Drawing from risk communication scholars, we examined the role of prior disaster experience, risk perceptions of climate change, and individual characteristics on its relationship with support for climate change mitigation policy. To do so, we sourced a Qualtrics public opinion panel of residents who lived in Texas during Winter Storm Uri (n = 486) to answer a series of questions related to prior disaster experience, their climate change risk perceptions, and their support of climate change mitigation policy. We conducted two hierarchical regression models to examine how prior disaster experience and climate change risk perceptions predicted support for policy. We found the inclusion of prior disaster experience provided a significant change in the respondents support for climate change mitigation policy. Although academic conversations in agricultural communications have started to explore the varying opinions of climate change, there is much more research needed in this area to fully explore the dynamic and complex phenomena of climate change

Looking Local: An Exploration of Texas Residents’ Perceptions of the GO TEXAN Certification Program to Develop Brand Positioning Strategies

State agricultural certification programs allow consumers to knowingly purchase products grown or produced in their state. However, consumers may not be aware of or understand the concept behind these certification programs. This study examined Texas residents’ awareness and perceptions of one state agricultural certification program, GO TEXAN. To position a brand and develop key messages, communicators must be aware of how the audience views the brand, its key qualities and characteristics, and the information channels to distribute the messages. To do so, we distributed a survey instrument embedded in Qualtrics to a panel of Texas residents. We found respondents were generally unaware of the GO TEXAN certification program; however, the results of this study provide evidence of the consumers preferred products and qualities of GO TEXAN’s certified products. We suggest communicators use elements of brand positioning to develop strategic key messages that are relevant to target audiences. Specifically, messages should be developed with key frames highlighting product freshness, flavor, taste, and purchase convenience. Communication efforts should be developed to provide emphasis to these attributes on the product label, at farmers markets, and at places of purchase. Further, we recommend future research should explore how types of key messages impact brand awareness, loyalty, and willingness to purchase

A Statistical Approach to Classification: A guide to hierarchical cluster analysis in agricultural communications research

Classification, the sorting of similar objects or organisms into groups based on shared qualities and characteristics, is how we make sense of the world. As the field of agricultural communication and our understanding of media effects becomes more complex, it is important to have approaches that allow for a valid and reliable method of classifying units of analysis — whether they are texts, people, or other artifacts — into groups based on theoretically sound variables. This paper discusses one method of classification, the hierarchical cluster analysis, and how this method may be applied by 1) Developing Variables for Study, 2) Choosing a Sample, 3) Removing Unnecessary Variables, 4) Running the analysis, and 5) Interpreting Clusters. This professional development paper suggests this method could have positive implications for agricultural and science communication research including increased validity and reliability, rigorous development, and deeper understanding of mass communication theory. In addition, we provide recommendations for future research such as audience segmentation in agricultural and science communication research

Visualizing Values: A Content Analysis to Conceptualize Value Congruent Video Messages Used in Agricultural Communications

Visual messaging is becoming the new avenue to connect with consumers. The majority of the American public is not connected with agriculture and often questions procedures, practices, and tactics within the industry. Practitioners and researchers have suggested value congruent messages, a type of emotional appeal, may increase attention to agricultural messages. However, limited research has been conducted to define and investigate value congruent messages in agricultural communications. The purpose of this study was to describe the presented messages in videos used in one agricultural advocacy effort, CommonGround’s “Nothing to Fear Here” campaign. This content analysis described the video’s message content and use of value congruent messages. Schwartz Theory of Basic Human Values (2012) was used to identify the values present in each video within the campaign. The values of benevolence, security, self-direction, universalism, and hedonism were common values displayed in the campaign. Message sensation value was calculated, and it was found the videos had moderate levels of emotional arousal. The primary characters in the videos were mothers, farmers, and children. More research should be conducted to explore how the value congruent messages and message sensation value interact to increase a receiver’s level of attitude change after viewing the message

Show Me and What Will I Remember? Exploring Recall in Response to NWS Tornado Warning Graphics

It is critical that organizations deliver timely, effective communication about potential risks and life-saving information. The National Weather Service (NWS) developed a suite of messages known as “experimental graphic products” to be automatically distributed through their local official Twitter accounts at the onset of fast-moving, severe weather events such as tornadoes. However, recent research has suggested messages need to be carefully constructed for audiences to place attention to the content, remember the content, and later act in response to the content. The purpose of this study is to explore what people recall of the NWS Twitter message. We used an online survey instrument, distributed via Qualtrics, to investigate participant responses to three open-ended questions about the message. We performed a quantitative analysis to summarize the frequency of message features recorded by participants, and a qualitative analysis to identify themes that provide a deeper description of what was recalled. We found that participants encoded the hazard type, the time the message was sent and would expire, and the types of impacts that might occur. Graphic design cues elicited attention as they “stood out” to the participants. When asked about importance and what they would tell others, respondents described protective action, indicating participants may have activated prior knowledge of the threat, as it was not included in the message. Risk, disaster, and science communicators can draw guidance about communicating during a disaster. It provides a lens for researching message construction, and the importance of communicating protective action guidance during severe weather events

An Exploratory Study of Risk Experience and Personal Values on Support for Climate Change Policies

In 2020 Oregon suffered one of the worst wildfire seasons on record that included a higher percentage of burned forest area, the destruction of residential areas, and significant risk to human health. The level of wildfire intensity was largely attributed as an effect of climate change, and future Oregon wildfire seasons are predicted to grow in intensity, acreage burned, and total duration. Public policy can be a tool to help to mitigate the effects of climate change, but successful policy implementation relies on public support. Therefore, this study sought to explore two factors that may influence support for climate change policy: risk experience and personal values. Oregon residents’ perceptions of and experiences during the 2020 Oregon wildfire season were assessed. Results indicated the value of universalism had a significant and substantial association with support for climate change policy, and power, achievement, stimulation, self-direction, and benevolence had significant low associations. Participants’ risk experience with wildfires accounted for little total variance in regard to support for climate change policy

An Experimental Study Investigating the Type of Data Visualizations Used in Infographics on Participant Recall and Information Recognition

The concept of agricultural sustainability, specifically sustainable beef production, is not well established, and much misinformation frames this conversation. One way agricultural communicators can educate the public on this controversial topic is through infographics. Scholars have suggested recall, or the mental process of retrieving information from the past, as a technique to understand what someone has comprehended when exposed to new information. The Limited Capacity Model of Motivated Mediated Message Processing (LC4MP) provides insight into human information processing and recall, and it guided this study’s development. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect various types of data visualizations used in infographics about agricultural topics have on college students’ knowledge and ability to recall attributes from the data visualizations. An experimental study was conducted where participants viewed one of three infographics with embedded data visualizations and answered questions to understand their recall of information, design elements, and information recognition. The results show pictographs were significantly more effective in participant information recognition and the free and cued recall of design; however, it was not significant for free and cued recall of information. These findings add to the agricultural communication literature as they show how the type of data visualization can impact how viewers encode, store, and retrieve information. The researchers suggest agricultural communicators implement pictographs more frequently in infographic communications strategy. Additionally, agricultural communicators must begin to train students on the use of data visualization techniques in classroom settings

Time Well Spent: Exploring the Role of Attitude and Topic Importance on Selective Exposure to Agricultural Messages

New digital technologies, such as Web 3.0 and algorithms, allow social media users to customize their feeds, creating their own information bubble, which tends to align with prior beliefs and/or attitude. This action of seeking information that emphasizes or confirms pre-existing beliefs is called confirmation bias, which is often expressed through selective exposure. Although previous studies have explored selective exposure in the context of political and health communications, limited research has been completed related to this phenomenon in agricultural communications. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the effects of attitude and topic importance on selective exposure to different agricultural messages. Using a quasi-experimental design, this study used a Qualtrics questionnaire to collect data from undergraduate students in a laboratory setting. Participants provided their attitudes and topic important for two agricultural issues. A fictional Twitter feed was created that linked to four blog posts that served as the message stimuli. To determine selective exposure, we recorded how many blog posts they selected and how long they spent on each message. The results indicated that participants had varying attitudes of the two agricultural topics but had equal views of importance. No significant difference in time spent on the messages on was found. The results indicated that the process of selective exposure is a complex construct that involves many factors. Additional research in this area will help agricultural communicators develop more effective message strategies and understand the role of confirmation bias in information processing