Technical Communication Quarterly Apr 2022

How Real Is Too Real? User-Testing the Effects of Realism as a Risk Communication Strategy in Sea Level Rise Visualizations

Daniel P. Richards Dominion University College ; Erin E. Jacobson Film Independent

Abstract

In visual risk communication, there has been a push toward using realism to show potential effects of sea level rise on coastal communities, often with the assumption that higher degrees of realism are more effective. We challenge this assumption by sharing the results of a user-based study exploring reactions to simulated images of flooded landmarks. The findings identify nuanced rhetorical and emotional responses, encouraging technical communicators to contribute to risk scholarship in psychology and cartography.

Journal
Technical Communication Quarterly
Published
2022-04-03
DOI
10.1080/10572252.2021.1986135
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
rhetorical criticism technical communication
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (4)

  1. Lambrecht (2025)
    “What People Are Saying” About Extreme Weather: A Comparison of Public Commenta…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  2. Cosgrove (2023)
    Improving Technical and Risk Communication: An Organizational Study of North Ca…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  3. Welhausen (2023)
    Wicked Problems in Risk Assessment: Mapping Yellow Fever and Constructing Risk …
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  4. Sorapure (2023)
    User Perceptions of Actionability in Data Dashboards
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication

References (46) · 7 in this index

  1. 10.1016/j.envsci.2016.07.002
     ↗
  2. 10.1007/s10584-019-02461-2
     ↗
  3. 10.1075/idj.22.1.05ale
     ↗
  4. Barton B. F. (1993)
    Professional communication: The social perspective
  5. 10.3138/3645-4V22-0M23-3T52
     ↗
Show all 46 →
  1. 10.1093/acrefore/9780190228620.013.303
     ↗
  2. 10.1196/annals.1399.005
     ↗
  3. 10.1007/978-3-642-31140-6_9
     ↗
  4. Damasio A. R (1994)
    Descartes’ error: Emotion, reason, and the human brain
  5. Dragga S. (2003)
    Hiding humanity: Verbal and visual ethics in accident reports
    Technical Communication
  6. Dwyer F. M (1972)
    A guide for improving visualized instruction
  7. 10.1080/00335630801975434
     ↗
  8. 10.1023/A:1007744326393
     ↗
  9. Goodnight G. T (1982)
    The personal, technical, and public spheres of argument: A speculative inquiry into the a…
    Journal of the American Forensics Association
  10. Grabill et al. (1998)
    Toward a critical rhetoric of risk communication: Producing citizens and the ro…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  11. 10.1038/nclimate3162
     ↗
  12. Harris R. A (2005)
    Rhetoric and incommensurability
  13. 10.1109/TVCG.2011.255
     ↗
  14. Kain et al. (2013)
    Visualizing complexity and uncertainty about climate change and sea level rise
    Communication Design Quarterly
  15. Kostelnick C (2016)
    The re-emergence of emotional appeals in interactive data visualization
    Technical Communication
  16. 10.4324/9781315114620
     ↗
  17. 10.3138/carto.48.3.1531
     ↗
  18. 10.1002/9781118645734
     ↗
  19. 10.1109/ICIAFS.2012.6420037
     ↗
  20. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). (2020). Sea level rise viewer. https://coast.noaa.gov/slr/
  21. Propen (2007)
    Visual Communication and the Map: How Maps as Visual Objects Convey Meaning in …
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  22. 10.14714/CP77.1235
     ↗
  23. 10.1145/3121113.3121208
     ↗
  24. Richards (2015)
    Testing the waters: local users, sea level rise, and the productive usability o…
    Communication Design Quarterly
  25. Richards (2019)
    An Ethic of Constraint: Citizens, Sea-Level Rise Viewers, and the Limits of Agency
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  26. Ropeik D. (2020). Quoted in: Ritter M. (2020 Mar. 5). Science says: How risky is that virus? Your mind may mi…
  27. Roundtree A. K (2014)
    Computer simulation, rhetoric, and the scientific imagination: How virtual evidence shape…
  28. Saldaña J (2012)
    The coding manual for qualitative researchers
  29. 10.1177/0013916511421196
     ↗
  30. 10.1590/S0104-12902010000400002
     ↗
  31. Slovic P (2010)
    The feeling of risk: New perspectives on risk perception
  32. 10.3390/ijgi8080318
     ↗
  33. 10.1177/1075547014550371
     ↗
  34. Strauss B. (2015 November 8). Images show impact of sea level rise on global icons. Climate Central. Retrieve…
  35. 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2015.04.009
     ↗
  36. Walsh et al. (2016)
    Perspectives on Uncertainty for Technical Communication Scholars
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  37. Welhausen (2015)
    Power and Authority in Disease Maps: Visualizing Medical Cartography Through Ye…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  38. Wilson M. (2019 September 10). Inside the weather channel’s quest to reinvent storm chasing. Fast Company. Re…
  39. Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. (2009). Global warming’s six Americas 2009: An audience segment…
  40. Zajonc R. B (2000)
    Feeling and thinking: The role of affect in social cognition
  41. Zuk T. D. (2008). Visualizing uncertainty. [Doctoral dissertation] University of Calgary. ProQuest Dissertati…
CrossRef global citation count: 12 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication May 2026
    The User Experience of Virtual Reality for Longitudinal Writing: A Diary Study of Immersive Graduate Dissertation Composing Experience ↗
    Jason Tham; Rich Shivener; Niveditha Pookkottuvariam; Sarah Riddick
    rhetorical criticism graduate education technical communication archival research empirical research qualitative research
  2. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Mar 2026
    Canon to Code: Rhetorical Rulemaking for Generative AI Content Audits and Governance ↗
    Miriam F. Williams
    classical rhetoric modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism assessment technical communication artificial intelligence
  3. Computers and Composition Mar 2026
    Shifting rhetorical agency in multimodal UX composition with AI: Sharing rhetorical authority with technologies ↗
    Nupoor Ranade; Daniel L. Hocutt
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism writing pedagogy technical communication multimodality
  4. Journal of Business and Technical Communication Jan 2026
    Increasing Literacy on the Scams Targeting Latines: Generative Artificial Intelligence, Digital Technologies, and the Latine Community ↗
    Gabriel Lorenzo Aguilar
    rhetorical criticism technical communication artificial intelligence literacy studies
  5. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Jan 2026
    Lessons in Security Logics from Cold-War Guatemala ↗
    Brittany Halley; Elizabeth Velasquez
    rhetorical criticism decolonial rhetorics technical communication gender and writing