Deepening the concept of ‘compelling arguments’
Linking substantive and affective dimensions of attributes in assessing the effects of climate change news on public
opinion
This study examines the effects of both the substantive and affective dimensions of issue attributes in the news
coverage of climate change on the public’s perception of the importance of this environmental issue. Results from our analysis
show that the four affective dimensions (e.g., positive and negative emotions, anger, and sadness) of the three attributes (e.g.,
existence, effects, and solutions) exerted strong influence on public issue priority. This study extends the concept of compelling
arguments in agenda setting research by suggesting that compelling arguments effects are not solely dependent on substantive
attributes. Their affective dimensions are influential, as well.
Article outline
- Literature Review
- Climate change and the news media
- Theoretical Background
- Research Questions & Hypotheses
- Methods
- Data Sources
- Measurement
- Independent Variables
- Dependent Variable
- Analysis
- Results
- Demographics
- News Media Data
- Discussion & Conclusions
- Acknowledgements
- Notes
-
References
References
Anderson, A.
(
2009)
Media, politics and climate change: Towards a new research agenda.
Sociology Compass, 3(2), 166–182.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ardèvol-Abreu, A., Saldaña, M. & McCombs, M.
(
2013)
Agenda-setting in the beginning of the 1979 oil crisis: compelling arguments and public concern. Paper presented to the AEJMC Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.
Arlt, D., Hoppe, I., & Wolling, J.
(
2011)
Climate change and media usage: Effects on problem awareness and behavioural intentions.
International Communication Gazette, 731, 45–63.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Boykoff, M. T.
(
2011)
Who speaks for the climate?: Making sense of media reporting on climate change. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Boykoff, M. T., & Boykoff, J. M.
(
2004)
Balance as bias: global warming and the US prestige press.
Global Environmental Change, 14(2), 125–136.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Boykoff, M. T., & Roberts, T. J.
(
2007)
Media coverage of climate change: Current trends, strengths, weaknesses.
Human Development Report, New York, NY: United Nations.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Brulle, R. J., Carmichael, J., & Jenkins, J. C.
(
2012)
Shifting public opinion on climate change: An empirical assessment of factors influencing concern over climate change in the US, 2002–2010.
Climatic Change, 1141, 169–188.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Chambers, J. M., Mallows, C. L., & Stuck, B. W.
(
1976)
A method for simulating stable random variables.
Journal of the American Statistical Association, 71(354), 340–344.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Coppersmith, G. A., Harman, C. T., & Dredze, M. H.
(
2014,
June).
Measuring post-traumatic stress disorder in Twitter. Presented at the International Conference on Weblogs and Social Media, Ann Arbor, MI.
Craft, S., & Wanta, W.
(
2004)
US public concerns in the aftermath of 9–11: A test of second level agenda-setting.
International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 161, 456–463.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
De Vreese, C., & Boomgaarden, H.
(
2003)
Valenced news frames and public support for the EU.
Communications, 28(4), 361–381.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
DiSogra, C. & Callegaro, M.
(
2009)
Computing response rate for probability-based web panels. In
JSM Proceedings, Survey Research Method Section. Alexandria, VA: American Statistical Association, 5309–5320. Retrieved from May 15, 2020 from:
[URL]
Dunlap, R. E., McCright, A. M., & Yarosh, J. H.
(
2016)
The political divide on climate change: Partisan polarization widens in the US.
Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, 58(5), 4–23.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Entman, R.
(
1993)
Framing: Toward a clarification of a fractured paradigm.
Journal of Communication, 43(4), 51–58.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ghanem, S.
(
1997)
Filling in the tapestry: The second level of agenda setting. In
Maxwell E. McCombs,
D. L. Shaw, &
D. H. Weaver (Eds.),
Communication and Democracy: Exploring the Intellectual Frontiers in Agenda-setting Theory (pp. 3–14). Malden, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Guo, L., & McCombs, M.
(
2015)
The power of information networks: New directions for agenda setting. New York, NY: Routledge.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Guo, L., Vu, H. T., & McCombs, M.
(
2012)
An expanded perspective on agenda-Setting effects: Exploring the third level of agenda setting.
Revista de Comunicación, 111, 51–68.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Jasperson, A. E., Shah, D. V., Watts, M., Faber, R. J., & Fan, D. P.
(
1998)
Framing and the public agenda: Media effects on the importance of the federal budget deficit.
Political Communication, 15(2), 205–224.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Kahn, J. H., Tobin, R. M., Massey, A. E., & Anderson, J. A.
(
2007)
Measuring emotional expression with the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count.
The American Journal of Psychology, 120(2), 263–286.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Kim, K., & McCombs, M.
(
2007)
News story descriptions and the public’s opinions of political candidates.
Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 84(2), 299–314.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Lee, G.
(
2010)
Who let priming out? Analysis of first- and second-level agenda setting effects on priming.
International Communication Gazette, 72(8), 759–776.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Lee, T. M., Markowitz, E. M., Howe, P. D., Ko, C. Y., & Leiserowitz, A. A.
(
2015)
Predictors of public climate change awareness and risk perception around the world.
Nature Climate Change, 5(11), 1014–1020.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Leiserowitz, A. A.
(
2005)
American risk perceptions: Is climate change dangerous? Risk Analysis, 25(6), 1433–1442.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Lewin, K.
(
1951)
Field theory in social science. New York, NY: Harpers & Row.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Liu, X., Lindquist, E., & Vedlitz, A.
(
2011)
Explaining media and congressional attention to global climate change, 1969–2005: An empirical test of agenda-setting theory,
Political Research Quarterly, 64(2), 405–419.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Liu, X., Vedlitz, A., & Alston, L.
(
2008)
Regional news portrayals of global warming and climate change.
Environmental Science & Policy, 11(5), 379–393.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Lopez-Escobar, E., Llamas, J. P., McCombs, M., & Lennon, F. R.
(
1998)
Two levels of agenda setting among advertising and news in the 1995 Spanish elections.
Political Communication, 15(2), 225–238.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
McCombs, M. E.
(
2013)
Setting the agenda: The mass media and public opinion. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
McCombs, M. E., Lopez-Escobar, E., & Llamas, J. P.
(
2000)
Setting the agenda of attributes in the 1996 Spanish general election.
Journal of Communication, 50(2), 77–92.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
McCombs, M. E., & Shaw, D. L.
(
1972)
The agenda-setting function of mass media.
Public Opinion Quarterly, 36(2), 176–187.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
McCombs, M. E., & Shaw, D. L.
(
1993)
The evolution of agenda-setting research: Twenty-five years in the marketplace of ideas.
Journal of Communication, 43(2), 58–67.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
McCright, A. M., & Dunlap, R. E.
(
2011)
The politicization of climate change and polarization in the American public’s views of global warming, 2001–2010.
The Sociological Quarterly, 52(2), 155–194.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Myers, T. A., Nisbet, M. C., Maibach, E. W., & Leiserowitz, A. A.
(
2012)
A public health frame arouses hopeful emotions about climate change.
Climatic Change, 113(3–4), 1105–1112.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Pam, N.
(
April 2013a)
Valence. Retrieved on July 4, 2019 from:
[URL]
Pam, N.
(
April 2013b)
Affect. Retrieved on July 4, 2019 from:
[URL]
Pennebaker, J. W., Booth, R. J., Boyd, R. L., & Francis, M. E.
(
2015)
Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count: LIWC 2015. Austin, TX: Pennebaker Conglomerates.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Pennebaker, J. W., Slatcher, R. B., & Chung, C. K.
(
2005)
Linguistic markers of psychological state through media interviews: John Kerry and John Edwards in 2004, Al Gore in 2000.
Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 5(1), 197–204.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Saldaña, M., & Ardèvol-Abreu, A.
(
2015)
From compelling arguments to compelling associations: Diagonal effects at the third level of agenda setting. In
The Power of Information Networks: New Directions for Agenda Setting. New York, NY: Routledge.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Saldaña, M., Ardèvol-Abreu, A. & Guo, L.
(
2013)
Compelling associations for understanding ‘the pictures in our heads’: A network agenda-setting study. Paper presented to MAPOR Annual Conference in Chicago, IL.
Saldaña, M., Ardèvol-Abreu, A., Guo, L., & McCombs, M.
(
2014,
September).
Compelling associations for addressing drug abuse and ‘war on drugs’ in the U.S.: Public opinion and agenda-setting effects. Presented at the World Association for Public Opinion Research (WAPOR) Annual Conference, Nice, France.
Sampei, Y., & Aoyagi-Usui, M.
(
2009)
Mass-media coverage, its influence on public awareness of climate-change issues, and implications for Japan’s national campaign to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Global Environmental Change, 19(2), 203–212.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Schäfer, M. S., & Schlichting, I.
(
2014)
Media representations of climate change: A meta-analysis of the research field.
Environmental Communication, 8(2), 142–160.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Stieglitz, S., & Dang-Xuan, L.
(
2012)
Political communication and influence through microblogging: An empirical analysis of sentiment in Twitter messages and retweet behavior. In
the 45th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, (3500–3509).
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Tausczik, Y. R., & Pennebaker, J. W.
(
2010)
The psychological meaning of words: LIWC and computerized text analysis methods.
Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 29(1), 24–54.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Tewksbury, D., Jones, J., Peske, M. W., Raymond, A., & Vig, W.
(
2000)
The interaction of news and advocate frames: Manipulating audience perceptions of a local public policy issue.
Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 77(4), 804–829.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Vu, H. T.
(
2015)
Partisan media and their climate change agenda-setting effects on partisan publics: Examining the compelling arguments concept in the age of polarization. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Vu, H. T., Jiang, L., Chacón, L. M. C., Riedl, M. J., Tran, D. V., & Bobkowski, P. S.
(
2018)
What influences media effects on public perception? A cross-national study of comparative agenda setting.
International Communication Gazette, 81(6–8), 580–601.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Wanta, W., Golan, G., & Lee, C.
(
2004)
Agenda setting and international news: Media influence on public perceptions of foreign nations.
Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 81(2), 364–377.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Watt, J. H., Mazza, M., & Snyder, L.
(
1993)
Agenda-setting effects of television news coverage and the effects decay curve.
Communication Research, 20(3), 408–435.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Weber, E. U.
(
2010)
What shapes perceptions of climate change? Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 1(3), 332–342.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Cited by
Cited by 2 other publications
Shaughnessy, Brittany, Osama Albishri, Phillip Arceneaux, Nader Dagher & Spiro Kiousis
2023.
Morality on the ballot: strategic issue salience and affective moral intuitions in the 2020 US presidential election.
Journal of Communication Management 27:4
► pp. 582 ff.
![DOI logo](//benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
Yousaf, Muhammad, Zhengrong Hu & Syed Hassan Raza
2023.
News Media Exposure and Community Consensus on Terrorism in a Developing Country: First and Second Level Agenda-Setting Effects.
Media Watch 14:1
► pp. 33 ff.
![DOI logo](//benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 29 june 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.