Providing Information and Shaping Attitudes about Nuclear Dangers: Implications for Public Education

Abstract

purpose of this study was to compare the effects of three different stimulus materials on knowledge about and attitudes toward nuclear weapons. A questionnaire including both knowledge and attitude items was administered to students at a small liberal arts college in North Carolina: (1) after they had been shown Protection in a Nuclear Age, a movie produced and distributed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); (2) after they had been shown The Last Epidemic a movie produced by Physicians for Social Responsibility; (3) after they had read Fate of the Earth, a book written by Jonathan Schell; or (4) with no prior stimulus material. Results indicated that those who saw The Last Epidemic or read Fate of the Earth were more informed than the control group, but those who saw Protection in a Nuclear Age were not. In addition, those who saw Protection in a Nuclear Age were more optimistic than the control group about the likelihood of surviving a nuclear war, those who saw The Last Epidemic or read Fate of the Earth saw greater dangers in the power and effects of nuclear weapons. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for public education.