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For many policy issues, people holding the majority opinion often do not act in accordance with their beliefs. While underestimating public opinion appears as a likely cause, correcting this misperception often fails to motivate those in the majority to act. Investigating further, we surveyed a nationally representative sample (N  =   1,000) of Republican voters about vaccination. Despite a majority supporting vaccines, Republicans on average underestimated other Republicans' support. However, this misperception occurred primarily among anti-vaccine Republicans—a group that reported a greater willingness to share their vaccine views. We show how an information environment overrepresented with minority views may discourage majority view holders from speaking out even when they are aware of their majority status. That is, instead of experiencing pluralistic ignorance, those in the majority may be discouraged from expressing their views due to anticipated social conflict from engaging in an information environment disproportionately made up of minority views. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although research suggests that feedback on energy usage can generate savings in residential and organizational settings, investigations into the effectiveness of comparative feedback efforts have been fragmented and the findings inconclusive. To help fill this gap, we present research on the effectiveness of a comparative feedback campaign in promoting energy conservation at a university. Surveys were administered in 2009 (n = 2,112) and 2012 (n = 1,601) to measure the extent to which a comparative feedback campaign influenced behavioral determinants, such as conservation-related subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and attitudes, as well as self-reported behaviors. Results indicate that respondents in participating buildings increased their energy conservation behaviors and perceptions of descriptive norms. Furthermore, participating buildings reduced their energy consumption (kWh/ft2) by 6.5%, whereas non-participating buildings increased energy consumption by 2.4%. Our results show promise for comparative feedback-based campaigns as effective pro-environmental interventions within organizations and provide direction for future research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Journalists communicating risk-related uncertainty must accurately convey scientific evidence supporting particular conclusions. Scholars have explored how “balanced” coverage of opposing risk claims shapes uncertainty judgments. In situations where a preponderance of evidence points to a particular conclusion, balanced coverage reduces confidence in such a consensus and heightens uncertainty about whether a risk exists. Using the autism–vaccine controversy as a case study, we describe how journalists can cover multiple sides of an issue and provide insight into where the strength of evidence lies by focusing on “evidentiary balance.” Our results suggest that evidentiary balance shapes perceived certainty that vaccines are safe, effective, and not linked to autism through the mediating role of a perception that scientists are divided about whether a link exists. Deference toward science, moreover, moderates these relationships under certain conditions. We discuss implications for journalism practice and risk communication. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

To investigate how balanced presentations of the autism-vaccine controversy influence judgments of vaccine risk, we randomly assigned 327 participants to news articles that presented balanced claims both for and against an autism-vaccine link, antilink claims only, prolink claims only, or unrelated information. Readers in the balanced condition were less certain that vaccines did not cause autism and more likely to believe experts were divided on the issue. The relationship between exposure to balanced coverage and certainty was mediated by the belief that medical experts are divided about a potential autism-vaccine link. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]