Adam Zwickle
Biographic Data
| ID | 2331986 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Adam Zwickle |
| GIVEN NAMES | Adam |
| FAMILY NAME | Zwickle |
| SIGNATURE | ZWICKLE A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Michigan State University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-7113-993X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 22 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 31 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 22 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2016 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Building trust for collaborative natural resource management through participatory modeling
A central requirement of collaborative natural resource management is establishing trust between the actors involved, both horizontally between resource users and vertically between users and regulators. Previous studies have demonstrated that participatory modeling—the act of building a shared representation of a system with resource users—can surface assumptions, facilitate communication, and promote social learning around the resource system, …
Burnt out on wildfire warnings
California (US) residents receive copious information regarding wildfires, especially during fire season. As climate change increases fire severity and frequency, fire messaging will likely also increase. This increase, alongside questions of the perceived relevance of such messaging, may lead to residents experiencing message fatigue, potentially influencing their perception about wildfire risk. If risk messaging is received by fatigued forest r…
The Dynamics of Trust and Trustworthiness Perceptions in a Government Agency
Although trust is widely recognized as key to effective public administration, little is known about trust dynamics, especially in typical governance relationships. We conducted an intensive longitudinal experience sampling study via a weekly survey of Florida residents’ ( N = 97) trust in and perceptions of the trustworthiness of the (US) National Hurricane Center over a 25-week hurricane season. We estimated two-level time series models to exam…
Wild game processors’ perceptions of chronic wasting disease risks in Michigan
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a neurodegenerative disease that threatens deer population health and management. This qualitative study explored processors' perception of CWD risks, and the solutions or barriers they experience regarding managing these risks. Processors can play a critical role preventing consumption of CWD-positive venison by keeping CWD-positive deer out of facilities and implementing practices that minimize the risk of cross…
The Effects of Enhanced Information Utilization in Collaborative Hazard Mitigation Planning
Problem, research strategy, and indings Natural hazard mitigation plans are prepared in communities throughout the United States. Like many complex, multijurisdictional issues, the plans should be developed collaboratively using the best available data to reduce risks. In this study we assessed a program that enhanced data utilization for collaborative hazard mitigation planning to determine its impact on plans, processes, and implementation. We …
Refining the Application of Construal Level Theory
Recent studies have found mixed evidence about the role of psychological distance of climate change in people’s engagement with the issue. To gain more clarity in the application of construal level theory of psychological distance in climate change communication, we used two online experiments to investigate how abstract and concrete construals of climate change imagery may differentially influence people’s perceived psychological distances to th…
Sustainability behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge
Sustainable irrigation through local collaborative governance
A micro-place evaluation of the relationship between ‘risky places’ and risk perceptions
The movement towards micro-place level assessments has contributed to the growing popularity of place-based police strategies. Complementing this movement, risk terrain modeling (RTM) is a methodological approach that identifies a micro-place’s vulnerability to crime by considering the combined spatial influences of physical features of the landscape linked to criminal behavior, along with past crime exposure. Given the growing popularity of this…
The effect of information source on higher education students’ sustainability knowledge
When it comes to what higher education students know about sustainability, where they learn matters. In this study, we explore the extent to which students’ level of sustainability knowledge differed according to where they previously learned about the environment. In an online survey administered to undergraduate students enrolled at Michigan State University, a large university in the Midwestern region of the United States, we found a significa…
How Effective Are Concrete and Abstract Climate Change Images? The Moderating Role of Construal Level in Climate Change Visual Communication
Relying on construal-level theory, we experimentally test how the level of concreteness and abstraction of climate change imagery affects climate change responses among a diverse sample of U.S. adults ( N = 448). Results show that concrete visual messaging practices cannot directly lead to increased level of concern or behavioral intentions. Instead, they may backfire for conservatives, less-efficacious people, and people who are low in proenviro…
Developing a Broadly Applicable Measure of Risk Perception
Decades of research identify risk perception as a largely intuitive and affective construct, in contrast to the more deliberative assessments of probability and consequences that form the foundation of risk assessment. However, a review of the literature reveals that many of the risk perception measures employed in survey research with human subjects are either generic in nature, not capturing any particular affective, probabilistic, or consequen…
Abstract or concrete? The effect of climate change images on people’s estimation of egocentric psychological distance
Climate change has been widely perceived as a psychologically distant risk, largely viewed as separated from one’s direct experience. Using construal-level theory, we examined how the level of abstraction and concreteness of climate change imagery affects viewers’ perceived psychological distance of climate change, including spatial, temporal, social, and hypothetical (level of uncertainty) distances. Participants ( n = 402) were randomly assigne…
Risk, Stigma, Trustworthiness, and Citizen Participation—A Multifaceted Analysis of Media Coverage of Dioxin Contamination in Midland, Michigan
In the United States, more than 200 communities are designated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as areas of concern for dioxins. Informing the public about potential risks associated with dioxins and delivering information about how to avoid such risks are essential activities. News coverage of environmental and health problems affects how members of the public assess those problems in terms of both severity and how they are understood…
Working with Institutional Stakeholders
Community engagement is a vital aspect of addressing environmental contamination and remediation. In the United States, the Superfund Research Program (SRP) forms groups of academic researchers from the social and physical sciences into Community Engagement Cores (CECs) and Research Translation Cores (RTCs), which focus on various aspects of informing and working with communities during and through the resolution of environmental crises. While th…
The Effect of Dioxin Contamination and Remediation on Property Values
Loss of property value is a major concern in communities faced with the toxic byproducts of industrial practices. Even after site remediation, stigma may persist and negatively affect market values of residential properties. To study the effects of contamination and of remediation on property values in Midland, Michigan, where dioxins have been released into the environment through the incineration of contaminated waste and the discharge of conta…
Initial Evidence of the Relationships between the Human Postmortem Microbiome and Neighborhood Blight and Greening Efforts
The microbiome is important in human health, yet its connection to the built environment remains understudied. Little is known about the potential influence of neighborhood environments on the bacterial and archaea communities that live in and on the human body, henceforth the microbiome. Thus, we examined relationships between the microbiome and features of the urban environment. To do this, we first quantified neighborhood levels of blight (e.g…
Trust in whom? Dioxin, organizations, risk perception, and fish consumption in Michigan’s Saginaw Bay watershed
Trust is generally recognized as important for risk-relevant behavior but research suggests that trust in different organizations may have varying effects. This research advances the literature by testing two hypotheses which postulate that this variability can be explained by risk perception. We collected data from 351 anglers regarding their trust in nine organizations whose efforts are relevant to dioxin contamination in Michigan's Saginaw Bay…
The perceived psychological distance of climate change impacts and its influence on support for adaptation policy
Participatory mapping of environmental resources
Seasonal Shifts in Primary Water Source Type
Many water-related illnesses show an increase during the wet season. This is often due to fecal contamination from runoff, yet, it is unknown whether seasonal changes in water availability may also play a role in increased illness via changes in the type of primary water source used by households. Very little is known about the dynamic aspects of access to water and changes in source type across seasons, particularly in semi-arid regions with ann…
Sustainability behaviors among college students
While Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) theory has been widely applied to various populations, it has seldom been tested on college students. This study extends VBN theory to examine what socio-psychological factors influence sustainability behaviors among university students. Undergraduate students are an interesting and novel population, as they are still forming their values and beliefs, and therefore may be more open to engage in sustainability efforts…
The perceived psychological distance of climate change impacts and its influence on support for adaptation policy
Sustainability behaviors among college students
While Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) theory has been widely applied to various populations, it has seldom been tested on college students. This study extends VBN theory to examine what socio-psychological factors influence sustainability behaviors among university students. Undergraduate students are an interesting and novel population, as they are still forming their values and beliefs, and therefore may be more open to engage in sustainability efforts…
Initial Evidence of the Relationships between the Human Postmortem Microbiome and Neighborhood Blight and Greening Efforts
The microbiome is important in human health, yet its connection to the built environment remains understudied. Little is known about the potential influence of neighborhood environments on the bacterial and archaea communities that live in and on the human body, henceforth the microbiome. Thus, we examined relationships between the microbiome and features of the urban environment. To do this, we first quantified neighborhood levels of blight (e.g…
The effect of information source on higher education students’ sustainability knowledge
When it comes to what higher education students know about sustainability, where they learn matters. In this study, we explore the extent to which students’ level of sustainability knowledge differed according to where they previously learned about the environment. In an online survey administered to undergraduate students enrolled at Michigan State University, a large university in the Midwestern region of the United States, we found a significa…
The Dynamics of Trust and Trustworthiness Perceptions in a Government Agency
Although trust is widely recognized as key to effective public administration, little is known about trust dynamics, especially in typical governance relationships. We conducted an intensive longitudinal experience sampling study via a weekly survey of Florida residents’ ( N = 97) trust in and perceptions of the trustworthiness of the (US) National Hurricane Center over a 25-week hurricane season. We estimated two-level time series models to exam…
Sustainability behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge
Sustainable irrigation through local collaborative governance
How Effective Are Concrete and Abstract Climate Change Images? The Moderating Role of Construal Level in Climate Change Visual Communication
Relying on construal-level theory, we experimentally test how the level of concreteness and abstraction of climate change imagery affects climate change responses among a diverse sample of U.S. adults ( N = 448). Results show that concrete visual messaging practices cannot directly lead to increased level of concern or behavioral intentions. Instead, they may backfire for conservatives, less-efficacious people, and people who are low in proenviro…
Seasonal Shifts in Primary Water Source Type
Many water-related illnesses show an increase during the wet season. This is often due to fecal contamination from runoff, yet, it is unknown whether seasonal changes in water availability may also play a role in increased illness via changes in the type of primary water source used by households. Very little is known about the dynamic aspects of access to water and changes in source type across seasons, particularly in semi-arid regions with ann…
Sustainability behaviors among college students
While Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) theory has been widely applied to various populations, it has seldom been tested on college students. This study extends VBN theory to examine what socio-psychological factors influence sustainability behaviors among university students. Undergraduate students are an interesting and novel population, as they are still forming their values and beliefs, and therefore may be more open to engage in sustainability efforts…
The perceived psychological distance of climate change impacts and its influence on support for adaptation policy
Participatory mapping of environmental resources
Trust in whom? Dioxin, organizations, risk perception, and fish consumption in Michigan’s Saginaw Bay watershed
Trust is generally recognized as important for risk-relevant behavior but research suggests that trust in different organizations may have varying effects. This research advances the literature by testing two hypotheses which postulate that this variability can be explained by risk perception. We collected data from 351 anglers regarding their trust in nine organizations whose efforts are relevant to dioxin contamination in Michigan's Saginaw Bay…
Developing a Broadly Applicable Measure of Risk Perception
Decades of research identify risk perception as a largely intuitive and affective construct, in contrast to the more deliberative assessments of probability and consequences that form the foundation of risk assessment. However, a review of the literature reveals that many of the risk perception measures employed in survey research with human subjects are either generic in nature, not capturing any particular affective, probabilistic, or consequen…
Abstract or concrete? The effect of climate change images on people’s estimation of egocentric psychological distance
Climate change has been widely perceived as a psychologically distant risk, largely viewed as separated from one’s direct experience. Using construal-level theory, we examined how the level of abstraction and concreteness of climate change imagery affects viewers’ perceived psychological distance of climate change, including spatial, temporal, social, and hypothetical (level of uncertainty) distances. Participants ( n = 402) were randomly assigne…
Risk, Stigma, Trustworthiness, and Citizen Participation—A Multifaceted Analysis of Media Coverage of Dioxin Contamination in Midland, Michigan
In the United States, more than 200 communities are designated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as areas of concern for dioxins. Informing the public about potential risks associated with dioxins and delivering information about how to avoid such risks are essential activities. News coverage of environmental and health problems affects how members of the public assess those problems in terms of both severity and how they are understood…
Working with Institutional Stakeholders
Community engagement is a vital aspect of addressing environmental contamination and remediation. In the United States, the Superfund Research Program (SRP) forms groups of academic researchers from the social and physical sciences into Community Engagement Cores (CECs) and Research Translation Cores (RTCs), which focus on various aspects of informing and working with communities during and through the resolution of environmental crises. While th…
The Effect of Dioxin Contamination and Remediation on Property Values
Loss of property value is a major concern in communities faced with the toxic byproducts of industrial practices. Even after site remediation, stigma may persist and negatively affect market values of residential properties. To study the effects of contamination and of remediation on property values in Midland, Michigan, where dioxins have been released into the environment through the incineration of contaminated waste and the discharge of conta…
Initial Evidence of the Relationships between the Human Postmortem Microbiome and Neighborhood Blight and Greening Efforts
The microbiome is important in human health, yet its connection to the built environment remains understudied. Little is known about the potential influence of neighborhood environments on the bacterial and archaea communities that live in and on the human body, henceforth the microbiome. Thus, we examined relationships between the microbiome and features of the urban environment. To do this, we first quantified neighborhood levels of blight (e.g…
Sustainability behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge
Sustainable irrigation through local collaborative governance
A micro-place evaluation of the relationship between ‘risky places’ and risk perceptions
The movement towards micro-place level assessments has contributed to the growing popularity of place-based police strategies. Complementing this movement, risk terrain modeling (RTM) is a methodological approach that identifies a micro-place’s vulnerability to crime by considering the combined spatial influences of physical features of the landscape linked to criminal behavior, along with past crime exposure. Given the growing popularity of this…
The effect of information source on higher education students’ sustainability knowledge
When it comes to what higher education students know about sustainability, where they learn matters. In this study, we explore the extent to which students’ level of sustainability knowledge differed according to where they previously learned about the environment. In an online survey administered to undergraduate students enrolled at Michigan State University, a large university in the Midwestern region of the United States, we found a significa…
How Effective Are Concrete and Abstract Climate Change Images? The Moderating Role of Construal Level in Climate Change Visual Communication
Relying on construal-level theory, we experimentally test how the level of concreteness and abstraction of climate change imagery affects climate change responses among a diverse sample of U.S. adults ( N = 448). Results show that concrete visual messaging practices cannot directly lead to increased level of concern or behavioral intentions. Instead, they may backfire for conservatives, less-efficacious people, and people who are low in proenviro…
The Effects of Enhanced Information Utilization in Collaborative Hazard Mitigation Planning
Problem, research strategy, and indings Natural hazard mitigation plans are prepared in communities throughout the United States. Like many complex, multijurisdictional issues, the plans should be developed collaboratively using the best available data to reduce risks. In this study we assessed a program that enhanced data utilization for collaborative hazard mitigation planning to determine its impact on plans, processes, and implementation. We …
Refining the Application of Construal Level Theory
Recent studies have found mixed evidence about the role of psychological distance of climate change in people’s engagement with the issue. To gain more clarity in the application of construal level theory of psychological distance in climate change communication, we used two online experiments to investigate how abstract and concrete construals of climate change imagery may differentially influence people’s perceived psychological distances to th…
Wild game processors’ perceptions of chronic wasting disease risks in Michigan
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a neurodegenerative disease that threatens deer population health and management. This qualitative study explored processors' perception of CWD risks, and the solutions or barriers they experience regarding managing these risks. Processors can play a critical role preventing consumption of CWD-positive venison by keeping CWD-positive deer out of facilities and implementing practices that minimize the risk of cross…
The Dynamics of Trust and Trustworthiness Perceptions in a Government Agency
Although trust is widely recognized as key to effective public administration, little is known about trust dynamics, especially in typical governance relationships. We conducted an intensive longitudinal experience sampling study via a weekly survey of Florida residents’ ( N = 97) trust in and perceptions of the trustworthiness of the (US) National Hurricane Center over a 25-week hurricane season. We estimated two-level time series models to exam…
Building trust for collaborative natural resource management through participatory modeling
A central requirement of collaborative natural resource management is establishing trust between the actors involved, both horizontally between resource users and vertically between users and regulators. Previous studies have demonstrated that participatory modeling—the act of building a shared representation of a system with resource users—can surface assumptions, facilitate communication, and promote social learning around the resource system, …
Burnt out on wildfire warnings
California (US) residents receive copious information regarding wildfires, especially during fire season. As climate change increases fire severity and frequency, fire messaging will likely also increase. This increase, alongside questions of the perceived relevance of such messaging, may lead to residents experiencing message fatigue, potentially influencing their perception about wildfire risk. If risk messaging is received by fatigued forest r…
Psychology (14 works) · Ecology (10 works) · Geography (10 works) · Political science (9 works) · Sociology (8 works) · Climate Change Communication and Perception (7 works) · Computer Science (7 works) · Medicine (7 works) · Social Psychology (7 works) · Environmental Education and Sustainability (6 works)