Role of Affect in Public Support and Opposition to Wolf Management

Individuals process information through two systems: the experiential system, containing affect and emotion, and the analytic system, containing logic and normative rules. Both are involved in decision making, and expected to help explain choices to support or oppose wildlife-related policies. In th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Human dimensions of wildlife 2012, Vol.17 (1), p.44-57
Main Authors: Slagle, Kristina M, Bruskotter, Jeremy T, Wilson, Robyn S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
affect
attitudes
behavioral intentions
beliefs
Decision making
Emotions
Hunting
Information processing
Internet
issues and policy
Knowledge
managers
Mitigation
outreach
Surveys
Wildlife
Wildlife management
Wolves
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Summary:Individuals process information through two systems: the experiential system, containing affect and emotion, and the analytic system, containing logic and normative rules. Both are involved in decision making, and expected to help explain choices to support or oppose wildlife-related policies. In the present study, an Internet survey of motivated, informed individuals is used to investigate the role of both systems in wolf recovery policy choices. Integral affect measures serve as the experiential component in our model, while objective knowledge and beliefs about outcomes of wolf recovery serve as the analytic component. Results indicate that affect has a greater effect than knowledge on beliefs, and is more important for explaining intentions to oppose than to support wolf recovery. Knowledge of differences in information processing between those that support versus oppose wolf recovery allows managers to design outreach that motivates greater analytic processing, potentially mitigating the effects of experiential processing.
ISSN:1533-158X
1087-1209
1533-158X
DOI:10.1080/10871209.2012.633237