From Attitude to Action: Mapping the Drivers of Individuals’ Perceptions and Practices Related to Bee Conservation in Pennsylvania
Researchers
Background
Biodiversity declines are widespread, but few are so noticeable as bees, a species that provides critical pollination services for flowering plants (encompassing 90% of flowering plants and 75% of our major agricultural crops), and thus are vital contributors to health and resilience of our agricultural and natural ecosystems. The factors driving biodiversity declines are addressable at the local scale, since increasing the abundance and diversity of flowering plants, providing habitat for nesting, and reducing pesticide use can increase local bee abundance and species richness.
Calls to protect pollinator populations are widespread, having been spearheaded by groups such as the Pollinator Partnership and Xerces Society, and also used in corporate and industry advertising (e.g., campaigns by Häagen-Dazs and General Mills in which portions of their sales support bee research). In 2014, a Presidential Memorandum on pollinators shaped a federal strategy to support and expand pollinator populations, which included goals to reduce honey bee winter mortality, increase monarch butterfly populations, and increase the acreage of pollinator habitat on federal lands. In 2016, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) produced a report on Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production.
Problem
Many of these groups have acknowledged that communication and outreach are vital for the success of pollinator conservation initiatives, but surprisingly little research has been conducted on the social dimensions of pollinator protection. Creating meaningful behavior change is likely to require not just the provision of information about how to protect pollinators, but the development of communication campaigns that persuade people they should protect them.
Goals
Developing a campaign to promote pollinator-friendly practices will be most effective if we (1) understand how beliefs and feelings about pollinators are structured, then (2) design messages to take advantage of that structure.
Progress/Findings
Presentations
Cruz, S. (2021, November). Student understanding of bees: A semantic network analysis. 2021 Center for Pollinator Research Symposium, State College, PA.
Cruz, S., & Grozinger, C. (2023, August). Buzzwords: Conservation messages in “News of Bees” and beyond. CAS 2023 Summer Symposium on Harry Shearer’s “Le Show”, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.
Grozinger, C., & Cruz, S. (2023, November). On the buzz: Efforts in spreading awareness for pollinator conservation. Science on Tap, Science Policy Society at Penn State, Bellefonte, PA.
Cruz, S. M., Keating, D. M., Cruz Crespo, Y. A., & Kopp, M. (2024). Testing the predictive power of a structural approach to message design: Persuasive effects among Republicans and Democrats. Manuscript presented at the 110th Annual Convention of the National Communication Association, New Orleans, LA.
Cruz, S. M., Keating, D. M., Cruz Crespo, Y. A., & Kopp, M. (2025). A structural approach to message design: Extending work on bee conservation. Manuscript presented at the 75th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association, Denver, CO.
Cruz Crespo, Y. A., & Cruz, S. M. (2025). Advancing communication strategies for pollinator conservation. Presentation at the Center for Pollinator Research Spring Symposium, University Park, PA.
Publications
Cruz, S. M., & Grozinger, C. M. (2023). Mapping student understanding of bees: Implications for pollinator conservation. Conservation Science & Practice, 5(3), e12902.
Abstract. Global declines in populations of several bee species have highlighted the importance of efforts to conserve bees and other pollinators. Because research on the social dimensions of pollinator conservation is limited, however, developing clear strategies to promote conservation behaviors remains a challenge. In an effort to contribute to understanding of these social dimensions of conservation, we used semantic network analysis and content coding to investigate knowledge and understanding of bees among U.S. college students with either a low (n = 233) or high (n = 93) interest in this topic. Results revealed that both groups’ understanding of bees was organized around their utilitarian value for humans, particularly honey production. Furthermore, although student knowledge of bees was fairly accurate, it was not very sophisticated. Knowledge about honey bees was also more accurate than knowledge about bees in general. Implications for future conservation and education efforts are discussed.
Cruz, S. M., Keating, D. M., Cruz Crespo, Y. A., & Kopp, M. (2025). Testing the predictive power of a cognitive-structural approach to message design: Persuasive effects among Republicans and Democrats. Communication Research. Advance online publication.
Abstract. Several theoretical approaches suggest that a promising approach to designing effective, tailored persuasive messages may be to draw on insights from an audience’s shared cognitive structure. Specifically, a cognitive-structural approach to message design would suggest that messages targeting central concepts in an audience’s shared cognitive structure will have stronger persuasive effects than messages targeting more peripheral concepts. The present investigation, however, failed to provide support for this approach. The results of four studies revealed that attitude and semantic networks each provided a different estimate of cognitive structure and made competing claims about whether this structure differs for Republicans and Democrats. However, neither structure successfully predicted which messages would be most effective. Instead, both Democrats and Republicans were persuaded by a wide range of arguments targeting both central and peripheral concepts. The results have implications for future work on the role of cognitive structures in persuasion and theory-driven message development.
Cruz, S. M., Keating, D. M., & Grozinger, C. M. (2025). Connecting education and persuasion: Insights from cognitive structure among college students in a pollinator conservation course. Environmental Education Research, 31(8), 1616-1634.
Abstract. There are long traditions of research on the implications of cognitive structure for education and persuasion, respectively. Even though both are vital for understanding pro-environmental attitude and behavior change, however, these literatures have rarely been brought into conversation. As a preliminary step in this direction, the present study explored connections between cognitive structure and behavior change among college students participating in a semester-long course on bee conservation. Concepts central to students’ thinking about bee conservation were identified in two ways: via associative attitude networks and via semantic networks. Attitude network structure was fairly stable, but showed some notable changes due to class participation. Furthermore, both networks were partially successful in identifying concepts strongly associated with behavior change over time, though each also made incorrect predictions. With continued refinement, the results suggest that a structure-focused approach may have promise as a foundation for improved strategies to promote pro-environmental behavior change.