Examining mental models in context of communicating environmental health messages

Little is known about how members of affected communities and, more specifically, participants in exposure assessment studies process results from these studies. What do they take away and incorporate into their knowledge base? In this table discussion, we will discuss the use of a mental models approach and how it is being used in a study of community members who were involved in an exposure assessment study examining dioxin found in their community. The mental models approach to risk communication1 is a systematic method of assessing expert and lay beliefs about a risk, and comparing the two to identify misconceptions and gaps in lay knowledge that may be targets for future communications. Beliefs are structured as “mental models”: complex webs of specific facts and more general associations about the risk, its causes, and related phenomena. Comparison of expert and lay mental models involves identifying differences in nodes and connections within these webs. We will discuss the utility of this model in exploring lay beliefs about environmental exposures and in designing risk communication messages and materials.

Acknowledgements The CPOD study is funded by grant #1R01ES016306 from the U.S. National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).

References 1. Morgan MG, Fischhoff B, Bostrom A, Atman CJ. (2002). Risk communication: A mental models approach. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.