This study builds on previous research that investigated the effectiveness of techniques for communicating about recycled water. A previous study considered the role of message complexity and message "sidedness" in influencing people's perceptions of purified recycled water (PRW). Specifically, that first study examined whether complex messages were more effective than simple messages in influencing attitudes towards recycled water, and examined whether one-sided messages are more or less effective than two-sided messages. Overall, results indicated that provision of detailed information increased support for potable recycled water and presenting information that acknowledges arguments for and against recycled water increased trust in government.Given that message complexity and sidedness are only two aspects of communication, the present study aimed to build on previous findings by examining other components of communication. Specifically, the present study investigated whether issue relevance and the provision of information about risks and benefits impacts on people's perceptions of PRW. These elements of communication were tested in an experimental online survey which participants completed over a two-week period in June 2012.A two-by-three experimental design was devised to assess whether dual-processing theories of persuasion apply to the recycled water context. Participants took part in an online survey where they were provided with different information about a recycled water scheme in South East Queensland (SEQ) based on three experimental manipulations: issue relevance (high and low); risks (no and low risk information); and benefits (no and high benefit information).The results detailed in this report provide evidence that confirms some of the research hypotheses whilst refuting others. The analyses suggest that the experimental design was largely effective. A number of demographic differences were observed for the key criterion variables of emotion towards recycled water, and support for recycled water. For example, results indicate that higher levels of support and more positive emotions towards recycled water are recorded by participants who are men, from Western Australia, aged over 75 years, from households earning more than $150,000 per year, and educated to tertiary post-graduate level.The results support dual processing theories of persuasion, such as the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) and Systematic Heuristic model (SHM), providing evidence of central or systematic route processing of risk information occurring only when recycled water is a relevant issue. Overall, messages about the benefits of recycled water were not more effective in fostering support than messages about the low risks; however, analyses revealed evidence of issue relevance and risk information interacting to affect support for recycled water. When recycled water was of low relevance to them, participants did not record significant differences in support for recycled water in the low risk information and no risk information conditions; whereas when recycled water was of high relevance, participants recorded higher support for recycled water in the low risk information condition compared to the no risk information condition. When recycled water is a relevant issue, people are more likely to undertake elaborative processing of information about the low relative risks of recycled water and respond positively by indicating higher support. This finding suggests that communication of relative risks can promote rather than hinder acceptance of recycled water, provided that the issue is relevant to the participants.Participants for whom the issue is not relevant do not respond differently to messages about benefits of recycled water by demonstrating higher levels of support. This finding suggests that peripheral (where information is processed rapidly and shallowly) or heuristic information processing does not give more...
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