Articles | Volume 7, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/gc-7-201-2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/gc-7-201-2024
Research article
 | 
05 Sep 2024
Research article |  | 05 Sep 2024

The (non)effect of personalization in climate texts on the credibility of climate scientists: a case study on sustainable travel

Anna Leerink, Mark Bos, Daan Reijnders, and Erik van Sebille

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Cited articles

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Short summary
Climate scientists who communicate to a broad audience may be reluctant to write in a more personal style, as they assume that it hurts their credibility. To test this assumption, we asked 100 Dutch people to rate the credibility of a climate scientist. We varied how the author of the article addressed the reader and found that the degree of personalization did not have a measurable impact on the credibility of the author. Thus, we conclude that personalization may not hurt credibility.
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