European Journal of Social Psychology

Fielding, Kelly S.; Hornsey, Matthew J.; Swim, Janet K.

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2058pmid: N/A

Guy, Sophie; Kashima, Yoshihisa; Walker, Iain; O'Neill, Saffron

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2039pmid: N/A

The divergence of public opinion and climate science in the English‐speaking world, particularly the United States and Australia, has attracted a variety of explanations. One of the more interesting accounts, from a psychological perspective, is the influence of ideology on climate change beliefs. Previous work suggests that ideology trumps knowledge in shaping climate change beliefs. However, these studies have typically examined the influence of proxy measures of knowledge rather than specific climate change knowledge. The goal of the present research was to provide some clarification on the different influences of knowledge and ideology on beliefs about climate change. Specifically, we investigated the relationship between specific climate change knowledge, hierarchical and individualistic ideology, and climate change belief in a national sample (N = 335) of the Australian public. Contrary to research involving proxy knowledge measures, we found that people who had greater knowledge of climate change causes were more willing to accept that climate change is occurring. Furthermore, knowledge of causes attenuated the negative relationship between individualistic ideology and belief that climate change exists. Our findings suggest that climate change knowledge has the potential to positively influence public discourse on the issue. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Linden, Sander

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2008pmid: 25678723

Examining the conceptual relationship between personal experience, affect, and risk perception is crucial in improving our understanding of how emotional and cognitive process mechanisms shape public perceptions of climate change. This study is the first to investigate the interrelated nature of these variables by contrasting three prominent social‐psychological theories. In the first model, affect is viewed as a fast and associative information processing heuristic that guides perceptions of risk. In the second model, affect is seen as flowing from cognitive appraisals (i.e., affect is thought of as a post‐cognitive process). Lastly, a third, dual‐process model is advanced that integrates aspects from both theoretical perspectives. Four structural equation models were tested on a national sample (N = 808) of British respondents. Results initially provide support for the “cognitive” model, where personal experience with extreme weather is best conceptualized as a predictor of climate change risk perception and, in turn, risk perception a predictor of affect. Yet, closer examination strongly indicates that at the same time, risk perception and affect reciprocally influence each other in a stable feedback system. It is therefore concluded that both theoretical claims are valid and that a dual‐process perspective provides a superior fit to the data. Implications for theory and risk communication are discussed. © 2014 The Authors. European Journal of Social Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Leviston, Zoe; Price, Jennifer; Bishop, Brian

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2050pmid: N/A

Negative climate change imagery is often criticised on the grounds that it provokes and promotes disempowering responses and psychological distancing. We investigated people's associations with climate change, and their affective content on multiple dimensions, through two studies. In Study 1, we administered an image‐elicitation task to 2502 people across Australia to examine the mental images most commonly associated with climate change. We used these common responses from the image‐elicitation task to compile 82 actual images. In Study 2, these images were presented to participants at a series of four workshops (N = 52). Participants selected the images they most closely associated with climate change, rated them for affective content on an emotion circumplex, and later discussed evocative images in small groups. The findings suggest (i) a significant proportion of people struggle to form concrete associations; (ii) common associations are typically psychologically distant and iconographic, but some national‐level impacts are also salient; and (iii) associations with climate change impacts differ in their affective content: Specifically, associations related to drought and denuded landscapes provoke lower arousal, whereas associations related to disasters and extremes provoke higher arousal. The importance of considering motivated reasoning and multi‐dimensional affect in the psychological distancing of climate change is discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Masson, Torsten; Fritsche, Immo

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2036pmid: N/A

Recent research provides evidence that group norms influence intentions to engage in pro‐climate behaviour and that identification with the group moderates the norm effects. However, past studies have neglected to examine if the effects on norm adherence vary among different identification aspects. The present studies close this gap by investigating group‐level self‐investment (i.e. the importance of and satisfaction with the group) and self‐definition (i.e. perceived similarities among group members) as possible moderators of group norm effects. We used two experimental studies to test our assumption that self‐investment but not self‐definition would moderate the norm‐intention relation. The results support our assumption and show that group members who were highly self‐invested in the group (but did not necessarily perceive themselves as similar to other group members) adhered more strongly to climate‐related ingroup norms than less self‐invested group members. However, perceived similarity among group members (i.e. self‐definition) did not positively contribute to respondents' decision to conform to a group norm. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Rees, Jonas H.; Bamberg, Sebastian

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2032pmid: N/A

The aims of the current paper are to contribute to theorizing in the field of collective action and also to bring this body of research closer with the literature on climate change. We suggest integrating the concept of social norms into the social identity model of collective action, to investigate the determinants of individuals' collective climate action intention. We argue that perceived social norms will be helpful in understanding the social identity‐collective action link. Consistent with the proposed model, participants' (N = 538) intention to take part in a neighborhood‐based climate protection initiative was predicted via all of the model constructs (social identity, perceived collective efficacy, and group‐based emotions) but most strongly so by the perceived participation norm, which also fully mediated the effect of social identity on participation intention. Further analyses suggested that the emotional motivation to engage in collective climate action was based on group‐based guilty conscience rather than anger. Discussion focuses on the importance of social context in understanding and combating climatic change, the emotionally flexible motivations behind different forms of collective action, and the role of group identification in interventions aimed at promoting pro‐environmental behavior. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Bertolotti, Mauro; Catellani, Patrizia

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2033pmid: N/A

In two studies, we investigated the framing effects of policy messages regarding climate change. In Study 1, we asked participants to read policy messages that envisioned positive consequences. Messages varied as to their outcome sensitivity (achievement of positive outcomes versus avoidance of negative outcomes), regulatory concern (growth versus safety) and goal‐pursuit strategy (investment in renewable energy versus intervention on greenhouse gas emissions). Participants showed the highest agreement with a policy message on renewable energy when it was formulated in terms of the achievement of positive, growth‐related outcomes and with a greenhouse gas emissions message when it was formulated in terms of the avoidance of negative, safety‐related outcomes. The same held for the intention to vote for candidates proposing those policies. In Study 2, participants' regulatory focus moderated these effects, with promotion‐focused participants preferring messages focused on the achievement of positive outcomes and prevention‐focused participants preferring messages focused on the avoidance of negative outcomes. Results show that the fit among the various levels of framing of a policy message regarding climate change, moderated by individual regulatory focus, increases the probability that recipients agree with the policy. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Meijers, Marijn H. C.; Rutjens, Bastiaan T.

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2009pmid: N/A

Many people are reluctant to behave in environmentally friendly ways. One possible explanation might be that the motivation to behave in environmentally friendly ways is undermined by the way scientific progress is overstated in the popular media. Four experiments show that portraying science as rapidly progressing—and thus enabling society to control problems related to the natural environment and human health in the not‐too‐distant future—is detrimental to environmentally friendly behaviour because such a frame affirms perceptions of an orderly (vs chaotic) world. This in turn negatively affects the likelihood of engaging in environmentally friendly behaviour. Simultaneously, communication that questions (vs affirms) scientific progress leads to lower perceptions of order and consequential increases in environmentally friendly behaviour. These findings show that when the aim is to promote environmentally friendly attitudes and behaviour, it helps to not overstate scientific progress. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Cheung, Wing‐Yee; Luke, Michelle A.; Maio, Gregory R.

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2037pmid: N/A

In climate change communications, do attitudes towards humans influence pro‐environmental action? If so, does it depend on endorsement of self‐transcendence values? Two experiments examined these questions by assessing the effects of activating positive (vs. negative) humanity esteem on environmental motives, personal moral norms, and behavioural intentions to protect the environment. The experiments tested whether the effects of humanity esteem depend on individuals' self‐transcendence values. Results indicated that among people who endorse self‐transcendence values less strongly, those in the positive (vs. negative) humanity‐esteem condition had lower ecocentrism (Experiment 1) and weaker personal norms, which led to weaker behavioural intentions to protect the environment (Experiment 2). In contrast, across the two humanity‐esteem conditions, people who more strongly endorsed self‐transcendence values showed stronger ecocentrism, personal moral norms, and behavioural intentions to protect the environment. Thus, for people with weaker self‐transcendence values, portrayals of humanity play a role in people's engagement with environmental causes. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

McDonald, Rachel I.; Newell, Ben R.; Denson, Thomas F.

doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2040pmid: N/A

Two experiments demonstrate that participants' willingness to endorse adopting pro‐environmental behaviors is influenced substantially by a decision‐framing effect: the inclusion–exclusion discrepancy. Participants were presented with a list of 26 pro‐environmental behaviors (e.g., take a shorter shower, buy local produce). In both experiments, participants asked to cross out the behaviors they would not be willing to engage in (exclusion mindset) generated 30% larger consideration sets than those asked to circle behaviors that they would be willing to do (inclusion mindset). Experiment 2 identified qualities of the behaviors that accounted for the differences in the size of consideration sets, namely effort and opportunity. The results suggest the counter‐intuitive notion that encouraging people to think about what they would not do for the environment might lead them to do more. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.