THE INFLUENCE OF BALANCED INFORMATION ON ATTITUDES TOWARD NATURAL-RESOURCE ISSUES

Influencing behavior or increasing public knowledge about natural reso urce issues requires an understanding of the effects of communication on public attitudes. This study examines the effects of balanced, two- sided information about a natural resource issue on the direction and strength of public attitudes toward management strategies related to t hat issue, using management of old-growth forests as a case study. Pro cess theories of attitude-formation and attitude-change suggest that i nformation influences attitudes by affecting the nature of cognitions that are elicited. This effect, however, depends in part on how releva nt the public perceives the natural resource issue to be. Results sugg est that, while information about important issues had little influenc e on the direction of attitudes, it did influence the strength with wh ich attitudes were held, moderated by personal relevance of the Issue. Implications suggest the need to understand the nature of attitudes o f the target audience and the target audience's perception of the impo rtance of the natural resource issue when developing a communication p rogram designed to increase knowledge and influence attitudes or behav iors.