Promoting pro-environmental action in climate change deniers
Article
Article Title | Promoting pro-environmental action in climate change deniers |
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ERA Journal ID | 201295 |
Article Category | Article |
Authors | Bain, Paul G. (Author), Hornsey, Matthew J. (Author), Bongiorno, Renata (Author) and Jeffries, Carla (Author) |
Journal Title | Nature Climate Change |
Journal Citation | 2 (8), pp. 600-603 |
Number of Pages | 4 |
Year | 2012 |
Place of Publication | London, United Kingdom |
ISSN | 1758-678X |
1758-6798 | |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1532 |
Web Address (URL) | http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/v2/n8/full/nclimate1636.html. |
Abstract | A sizeable (and growing) proportion of the public in Western democracies deny the existence of anthropogenic climate change. It is commonly assumed that convincing deniers that climate change is real is necessary for them to act pro-environmentally. However, the likelihood of ‘conversion’ using scientific evidence is limited because these attitudes increasingly reflect ideological positions. An alternative approach is to identify outcomes of mitigation efforts that deniers find important. People have strong interests in the welfare of their society, so deniers may act in ways supporting mitigation efforts where they believe these efforts will have positive societal effects. In Study 1, climate change deniers(N=155) intended to act more pro-environmentally where they thought climate change action would create a society where people are more considerate and caring, and where there is greater economic/technological development. Study 2 (N=347) replicated this experimentally, showing that framing climate change action as increasing consideration for others, or improving economic/technological development, led to greater pro-environmental action intentions than a frame emphasizing avoiding the risks of climate change. To motivate deniers’ |
Keywords | climate change; motivation; change action |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 520599. Social and personality psychology not elsewhere classified |
Public Notes | Letter published online 17 June 2012. Corrected online 04 July 2012. The published version includes Supplementary material. Permanent restricted access to published version due to publisher copyright policy. |
Byline Affiliations | University of Queensland |
Institution of Origin | University of Southern Queensland |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q1x7q/promoting-pro-environmental-action-in-climate-change-deniers
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