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   Message 8,786 of 8,931   
   ScienceDaily to All   
   divide over climate change   
   07 Jul 23 22:30:28   
   
   MSGID: 1:317/3 64a8e67b   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   divide over climate change    
    Researchers have shown that combining climate data with visually   
   engrossing art can make data more meaningful to viewers and bridge political   
   divides related to climate science.    
      
     Date:   
         July 7, 2023   
     Source:   
         University of Wisconsin-Madison   
     Summary:   
         A new study shows that intentionally integrating art with data   
         visualizations can help non-expert audiences more meaningfully   
         engage with climate change while also bridging political divides   
         in ways that data alone cannot.   
      
      
         Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   Communicating science to a general audience can be   
   challenging. Successfully conveying research on polarizing topics such   
   as climate change can be even more difficult.   
      
   But a new study from University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher Nan Li   
   shows that intentionally integrating art with data visualizations can   
   help non-expert audiences more meaningfully engage with climate change   
   while also bridging political divides in ways that data alone cannot. In   
   fact, data graphs on their own can exacerbate political division on   
   climate change.   
      
   As an assistant professor in the Department of Life Sciences   
   Communication, Li studies how innovative visual representations of science   
   can shape people's understanding and opinions about various scientific   
   issues. Li teamed up with Isabel Villanueva, Thomas Jilk and Dominique   
   Brossard from UW-Madison and Brianna Rae Van Matre from EcoAgriculture   
   Partners to survey the responses of people across the political spectrum   
   to a painting by Diane Burko entitled "Summer Heat, 2020."  The painting   
   depicts red, orange and blue motifs of wildfires and melting glaciers that   
   overlap with maps that appear to drip over a graph of global atmospheric   
   carbon dioxide levels. It's not just art and science side-by-side or   
   pretty colors added to a graph; the two are combined to tell a larger   
   story that makes people stop and think about climate change.   
      
   Li thinks this intentional integration of the data into the piece of   
   art is part of its success.   
      
   "In order for art to maximize its potential as a tool for public   
   engagement, you really need to use it as a catalyst for triggering   
   self-reflection," Li says. "People use this piece of art as a starting   
   point to think about what this all means to themselves."  For the study,   
   published in Communications Earth & Environment, 671 survey participants   
   from across the U.S. were divided into groups and shown four different   
   presentations of the painting and data it contains: the original painting,   
   a detailed version of the graph it includes, a simplified version of that   
   same graph and an edited version of the painting with a detailed graph.   
      
   In the first iteration of the survey, participants were instructed   
   ahead of time to reflect on the meaning of and emotions evoked by the   
   visuals. Survey participants who saw the paintings reported stronger   
   positive emotions -- like happiness, awe, inspiration and hope -- than   
   participants who were shown just the graphs.   
      
   The researchers then used a digital editing tool to represent what it   
   would look like if "Summer Heat, 2020" and other visuals were posted to   
   an Instagram feed. The caption contained more details about the painting   
   and facts about climate change.   
      
   Participants felt the artwork post was as credible a source of information   
   as the data graphs post. Li says this finding supports the idea that   
   galleries aren't the only way these kinds of artwork can be successful,   
   but that bringing them to a larger audience through social media is   
   beneficial as well.   
      
   In general, when people see graphs about climate change, whether they   
   identify as liberal or conservative influences how they perceive the   
   relevance of the issue. But in the new study, Li's team saw that the gap   
   between political affiliations was reduced when survey participants saw   
   the painting in a social media format. In other words, when liberals   
   and conservatives both see artistic representations of climate data   
   rather than data alone, they are more likely to share the perception   
   that climate change is relevant to them.   
      
   Another iteration of the survey did not instruct participants   
   to reflect on the meaning and emotions the visuals inspired before   
   seeing them. Participants viewed the simulated Instagram posts and then   
   later reported their perceived relevance of climate change. This time,   
   participants' perceived relevance of climate change was equally polarized   
   along their political ideology despite the different visuals they were   
   shown. To Li, this suggests that priming people for introspection is   
   important for breaking down political barriers.   
      
   While the findings are exciting, Li also recognizes this case study is   
   very specific. The study is limited to the use of one painting in one   
   style from one artist.   
      
   Moving forward, she and her team hope to complete additional studies that   
   tease out what element of a piece makes communicating the scientific   
   information more successful. They want to expand the study to consider   
   reactions to other styles by artists from other backgrounds and survey   
   reactions of people in other countries. Li and her team also highlight   
   that it's important for scientists and artists to be aware of their   
   audience's interest level in art and recognize that not everyone will   
   react emotionally or cognitively to a piece in the same way.   
      
   Even though communicating these polarizing concepts can be challenging,   
   Li believes in the ability of art to bridge the gap between a lay audience   
   and scientific data.   
      
   "When you show art, I think it sort of makes people think, 'Hey, wait   
   a minute.   
      
   What is this all about?'" Li says. "It fills in people's imaginative   
   deficit of what data means without taking a lecturing approach. It   
   actually engages people to explore the meaning themselves."   
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   provided by University_of_Wisconsin-Madison. Original written by Elise   
   Mahon. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Nan Li, Isabel I. Villanueva, Thomas Jilk, Brianna Rae Van Matre,   
         Dominique Brossard. Artistic representations of data can help bridge   
         the US political divide over climate change. Communications Earth &   
         Environment, 2023; 4 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s43247-023-00856-9   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230707153828.htm   
      
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