Routes to Attention or Shortcuts to Apathy? Exploring Domain-Specific Communication Pathways and Their Implications for Public Perceptions of Controversial Science

Recent research in communication has emphasized interpersonal discussion as a potential mediator or moderator of the media effects on audiences. In this study, the author develops a similar model to explore public perceptions of science. In addition to communication variables, this model incorporates the notion of domain-specific pathways as determinants of attitudinal and cognitive outcomes. As a case study, the model is applied to salience of climate change, and the results reveal evidence for the mediation of media effects on salience through interpersonal discussion. Moreover, two domain-specific communication pathways—one focusing on politics and the other on science—have differential impacts on the outcome. These results are discussed in terms of integrating interpersonal communication into existing models of public perceptions of science controversy.