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What’S In Your Body Of Water? Reducing The Psychological Distance Of Pharmaceutical Pollution Through Metaphor In Risk Communication, Alexandra Z. Millarhouse

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Aquatic pharmaceutical pollution poses ecotoxicological risks to the environment and human health. Consumer attitudes and behavior represent a significant source of pharmaceutical compounds found in water. Thus, understanding public perceptions of aquatic pharmaceutical pollution and developing effective risk communication techniques are critical to engaging society in the type of widespread change necessary for addressing the presence of pharmaceuticals in water. This mixed-methods study applies conceptual metaphor theory in conjunction with construal level theory of psychological distance to assess how metaphoric framing affects perceptions of aquatic pharmaceutical contamination across four principal dimensions of psychological distance (geographic, social and temporal distance and …