Effect of fear and representations of great white sharks on great white shark conservation behavior

Great white sharks are listed as a vulnerable species under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list. This study uses the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to test how different factors such as attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control along with representations and fear of great white sharks affect great white shark conservation behavior intentions. This study (n= 218) used a 2 (fear) x2 (representations) between-subjects experimental design. The main findings from this study found that participants had higher positive attitudes toward great white sharks when exposed to the stimuli featuring the presence of fear image compared to the absence of fear image; however, there was no significant difference in great white shark conservation behavior intention based on the four conditions participants were assigned to. All other results in this study analyzing factors of TPB and great white shark fear and representation were expected and supported by TPB and previous research.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (M.S.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Journalism and Media Communication

Grantor dc:publisher

Colorado State University. Libraries

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Authors dc:creator

• Montgomery, Emily, author
• Tham, Samuel M., advisor
• Champ, Joseph, committee member
• Aubry, Lise M., committee member

• fear
• representation
• conservation
• theory of planned behavior
• great white sharks

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.

Language dc:language.iso

eng, English

Identifier URI

https://doi.org/10.25675/3.02518

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:mountainscholar.org:10217/238369