• About
    • About
    • What is Public Interest Communications?
    • Our Team
    • Theories We Use
    • What We’ve Shared
    • Center Updates
    • Programs & Affiliates
      • frank gathering
      • The Research Prize in Public Interest Communications
      • Journal of Public Interest Communications
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    • Job: Center Research Assistant
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  • Frameworks & Resources
  • Training
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    • Now Recruiting
      • Beyond raising awareness: How to create lasting change
      • Strategic Communications Academy for UF Leaders & Scholars
      • UF Science Communication Short Course
  • Case Studies
Center for Public Interest Communications
Support
  • About
    • About
    • What is Public Interest Communications?
    • Our Team
    • Theories We Use
    • What We’ve Shared
    • Center Updates
    • Programs & Affiliates
      • frank gathering
      • The Research Prize in Public Interest Communications
      • Journal of Public Interest Communications
      • UF Programs
    • Contact Us
    • Job: Center Research Assistant
  • Our Services
    • Strategy Consulting
    • Issue Research
    • Training – Frameworks and Custom
  • Frameworks & Resources
  • Training
    • Programs
    • Now Recruiting
      • Beyond raising awareness: How to create lasting change
      • Strategic Communications Academy for UF Leaders & Scholars
      • UF Science Communication Short Course
  • Case Studies

Theories We Use

Our work is rooted in insights from published research curated from a range of disciplines in social, behavioral, cognitive and communication sciences. Here are some of the theories that we frequently use:

Availability Bias

We use mental shortcuts when judging how likely or frequently an event will happen, because we tend to remember our most recent experience and therefore we put more value on that information.…
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Construal Level Theory

Describes the relationship between psychological distance and the extent to which people’s thinking (e.g., about objects and events) is abstract or concrete. The general idea is that the more…
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Cultural Cognition

Refers to the tendency of individuals to conform their beliefs about disputed matters of fact (e.g., whether humans are causing global warming; whether the death penalty deters murder; whether…
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Diffusion of Innovation

Explains the pattern and speed at which ideas spread from their introduction to uptake in the wider society. Four elements influence the spread of the new idea: the innovation itself,…
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Dual Coding Theory

People have different systems in their mind for processing information: one system for visual imagery and one for verbal communication. Visual and verbal communication are processed…
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Dunning Kruger Effect

The Dunning Kruger effect is a cognitive bias, affecting people at all levels of intelligence, where people tend to overestimate their knowledge or ability in specific areas, especially new…
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Fundamental Attribution Error

(or the over-attribution effect) People are often quick to draw conclusions about the attitudes and personalities of others, even when an external factor or cause may explain that behavior.…
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Health Belief Model

One of the original public health theories developed in the 1950s, this model suggests that people’s beliefs about health problems, perceived benefits of and barriers to action and…
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Inoculation and Prebunking

A psychological framework derived in the 1960s that aims to induce pre-emptive resistance against unwanted persuasion attempts. Papageorgis and McGuire (1961) explain: “A previous study ……
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Mental Models

Mental models are the images, thoughts, ideas and beliefs that we form based on our experiences. These models are formed intentionally  and unintentionally and can be based on real or imagined…
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More of our work
  • Photo by -slav-
    This Untapped Tool Could Help Boost Vaccination Rates
  • Illustration by Ailadi
    Communicating Complexity in the Humanitarian Sector
  • Can #MeToo Have Lasting Influence?
  • Stop Raising Awareness Already
Latest from the Center
  • Teresa Gonzales and Nicole Bronzan
    Paper exploring local discursive frames of poverty and race wins 2023 research prize
  • Center welcomes two collaborators in research and strategy
  • 2023 Research Prize Finalists
    Center announces three finalists for the $10,000 public interest communications research prize
  • Rakeem Robinson
    Center honors the memory of colleague Rakeem Robinson
How We Help – Case Studies
  • gloved hand holding vial
    Science-based communication strategy on COVID for the UN Verified Initiative
  • Strategic Communications Academy for University of Florida Engineering Scholars
  • BROKE project screenshot
    Re-examining narratives on poverty and wealth — the BROKE project

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Center for Public Interest Communications
PO Box 118400
Gainesville, FL 32611-8400

An auxiliary unit of the College of Journalism and Communications

Copyright © 2022

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The Center for Public Interest Communications, the first of its kind in the nation, is designed to study, test and apply the science of strategic communication for social change. We are based at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications.

  • Social Change Communication
  • Science Communication
  • Strategic Communication
  • Broader Impacts
  • Public Interest Communication
  • Narrative Change
  • Leadership Development
  • Strategy Development
  • Effective Presentations
  • Research Translation & Insights

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