Perception of Climate Change Visuals. A Q-Study in Austria, Germany and Switzerland

Prevalent in mass media worldwide, climate change imagery appears to be similar across countries. Replicating a study from the US, UK and Australia, we analyze whether these images are perceived similarly in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. 75 respondents sorted images with respect to their perceptions of salience and self-efficacy (Q method). They associated images of climate change impacts with salience, while they related imagery of renewable energies and mobility to self-efficacy. Our findings suggest that perceptions of climate change visuals are consistent cross-culturally; meanwhile, frequently-used imagery in media is rarely associated with feelings of salience or self-efficacy.

Runtime: 2014-2015

Funding: German Research Foundation (DFG), Federal Cluster of Excellence “CliSAP”, IKMZ

Participants: Dr. Julia Metag (University of Fribourg), Prof. Dr. Katharina Kleinen-von Königslöw (University of Hamburg), Prof. Dr. Mike S. Schäfer (UZH), Tjado Barsuhn (Universität Hamburg), Tobias Füchslin (UZH)

Total Sum: 8,000 EUR