Du jargon à la prise de décision : L’impact des facteurs psychologiques et sociaux
Creators: Turgeon, Marianne
Publisher: name: University of Alberta Library
Year: 2024

<p>Effective science communication is crucial for public engagement with science, especially when conveying novel information and recommendations. The current study explored the impact of jargon (i.e., specialized language used in a particular field) on Canadian and U.S. adults’ (n = 400) willingness to follow medical recommendations in an online survey. We tested a model of reasoning in which the presence of jargon affects decision making mediated by processing fluency and risk perception. Although this model was developed in prior research, our findings provide novel insights into the effects of defining jargon on reasoning. In particular, we find that well-defined jargon does not decrease processing fluency and is processed similarly to information that includes only clear definitions and no jargon. On the other hand, poorly-defined and undefined jargon leads to more difficult information processing, higher risk perceptions<br>
(only as measured by motivated resistance to persuasion), and decreased willingness to follow recommendations.<br>
We propose two key explanations for these findings guided by the Feelings-as-Information Theory (a theory that proposes that information that evokes negative emotions is evaluated more negatively) and the foreign language effect (the observation that reasoning in a foreign language is more systematic than in a native language). First, components of risk perception associated with emotions, such as motivated resistance to persuasion which describes a tendency toward counter-arguing, seem to be more heavily impacted by jargon than components of risk perception associated with content, such as ratings of message credibility. This difference underlines how prior jargon processing models fail to consider the complexity of risk assessments.<br>
Second, demographic information and social context, particularly as they pertain to differences in language profile, play a critical role in how jargon is processed. This was the first known study to compare how English monolinguals and multilinguals (English speakers with at least one additional language) process jargon. We found that multilinguals showed greater sensitivity to the presence of definitions for jargon and evaluated the risk of this information as being lower than in absence of jargon. This could have been due to (1) their decreased emotional engagement, (2) their increased cognitive control, and (3) more limited familiarity with processing of scientific information in English.<br>
These findings underline the importance of considering both psychological (e.g., processing fluency, emotions) and social (e.g., language profile and context) factors in the design of science communication strategies. When addressing diverse audiences, information should be tailored to individuals’ level of experience with science to promote informed decision making. In Canada, it is particularly important to use clearly defined jargon in public health communications to meet the needs of official language minority communities which are composed primarily of multilinguals.</p>