Effectiveness of Value-Framing and Message Valence on Audience Engagement

LINK: https://gep.psychopen.eu/index.php/gep/article/view/11181 Changing public behaviour is an essential step for successful conservation, and can be achieved through effective use of message framing. However, its use in the conservation sector is not well-studied. We first performed a content analysis to assess what types of framing styles environmental non-governmental organisations (ENGOs) often employ for their social media … [Read more…]

Using SMS surveys to understand songbird ownership and shark consumption in Indonesia

The unsustainable use of wildlife increases the risk of species extinction. In biodiversity-rich Indonesia, information on the scale of wildlife use is limited and requires further study. To address this, we explored the potential of text messaging (short message service; SMS) surveys to investigate levels and spatial patterns of domestic wildlife use, using songbird keeping … [Read more…]

Unveiling the Power of Flagship Individuals in Conservation: Fostering Empathy and Action

Conservation efforts have long relied on flagship species to rally support and drive meaningful change. However, recent studies have shed light on the profound impact of individual organisms in this narrative. These extraordinary beings, with their unique traits and compelling life stories, have emerged as powerful catalysts in inspiring empathy and spurring action within the … [Read more…]

Are Draculas the Pandas of the Orchid World?

Below a summary of a newly published article in Orchids! Orchids, often called the pandas of the plant world due to their captivating appeal, share a fame disparity similar to flagship animal species in conservation. While well-known orchids like Vanilla, Phalaenopsis, and Dendrobium attract attention, lesser-known species struggle for recognition, resembling the preference for charismatic … [Read more…]

Breaking Barriers: Empowering Non-Native English Speakers in Science

Breaking down language barriers is crucial for harnessing the full potential of non-native English speakers in the field of science. Unfortunately, the dominance of English as the universal language of science presents a significant challenge. Surprisingly, very few studies have explored how language barriers affect the career advancement of non-native English-speaking researchers.To address this gap, … [Read more…]

Ethics in behavioral science

I am proud of having been part of the working group that put together the Social Marketing Statement of Ethics, which lays out key principles to be observed in the design of behaviour change. This has now been approved by the International Social Marketing Association and its regional affiliates given this document global klout in … [Read more…]

Can a documentary help you mitigate conflict with elephants?

wildlife photography of elephant during golden hour

The presentation I gave at the fantastic Human-Wildlife Conflict and coexistence is now online! A summary of the findings can be found below: This study looked at whether a natural history film about elephants, called The Elephant Queen, could make communities living near elephants more tolerant of conflicts with them. The researchers surveyed people before … [Read more…]

JUST OUT: IUCN’s guidelines on human-wildlife conflict

The first edition of the IUCN’s Guidelines on human-wildlife conflict and coexistence have just been released! This is a labour of love that has taken a team of 40-odd authors several years to put together. I was proud to lead the chapter on behaviour change and co-author the one focused on impact evaluation. Have a … [Read more…]

New video abstract!

Here is the new video abstract for the paper: Conservation fundraising: Evidence from social media and traditional mail field experiments. We compared three types of message frames (simple, seed money, and ecological). We found that the seed money frame, which emphasizes the amount already donated, increased the number of donors, whereas the ecological frame, which … [Read more…]