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Exploring the role of incidental emotions in support for climate change policy

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  • Hang Lu
  • Jonathon Schuldt

Abstract

What role, if any, do incidental emotions play in people’s beliefs about climate change and support for climate mitigation policies? This question has received surprisingly little attention, despite a growing recognition that reactions to climate change information are shaped by various contextual factors beyond the information itself. Drawing on recent perspectives in psychology and communication, we conducted an experiment (N = 719) in which participants were randomly assigned to one of two emotion-induction treatments (guilt or anger) or to a no-emotion (neutral) control condition immediately before reading a news story about negative climate impacts and reporting on related policy preferences (e.g., support for taxing carbon polluters). Results revealed a number of significant effects, some of which emerged for the sample overall (e.g., guilt increased support for particular climate mitigation policies) and some that depended on personal and message factors suggested by prior research (e.g., political affiliation and social distance). Overall, these findings suggest that emotions may play an important role in guiding how the public processes and reacts to information about climate change. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Hang Lu & Jonathon Schuldt, 2015. "Exploring the role of incidental emotions in support for climate change policy," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 131(4), pages 719-726, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:climat:v:131:y:2015:i:4:p:719-726
    DOI: 10.1007/s10584-015-1443-x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Teresa Myers & Matthew Nisbet & Edward Maibach & Anthony Leiserowitz, 2012. "A public health frame arouses hopeful emotions about climate change," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 113(3), pages 1105-1112, August.
    2. Richard Heede, 2014. "Tracing anthropogenic carbon dioxide and methane emissions to fossil fuel and cement producers, 1854–2010," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 122(1), pages 229-241, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Nathaniel Geiger & Anagha Gore & Claire V. Squire & Shahzeen Z. Attari, 2021. "Investigating similarities and differences in individual reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 167(1), pages 1-20, July.
    2. Milner, Mattie & Rice, Stephen & Rice, Connor, 2019. "Support for environmentally-friendly airports influenced by political affiliation and social identity," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    3. Jinkwon Lee & Sujin Min, 2021. "The effects of repeated induction of emotions on cooperation and punishment," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 59(3), pages 925-943, July.
    4. Lauren Feldman & P. Sol Hart, 2018. "Is There Any Hope? How Climate Change News Imagery and Text Influence Audience Emotions and Support for Climate Mitigation Policies," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(3), pages 585-602, March.
    5. Ryan Plummer & Julia Baird & Gillian Dale, 2022. "What Makes an Environmental Steward? An Individual Differences Approach," Environmental Values, , vol. 31(3), pages 295-322, June.
    6. Josef Wijk & Itay Fischhendler, 2017. "The construction of urgency discourse around mega-projects: the Israeli case," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 50(3), pages 469-494, September.
    7. Moshe Maor & Tereza Capelos, 2023. "Symposium: Affect and emotions in policy dynamics," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 56(3), pages 439-448, September.
    8. Carlos Andres Trujillo & Catalina Estrada-Mejia & Jose A Rosa, 2021. "Norm-focused nudges influence pro-environmental choices and moderate post-choice emotional responses," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(3), pages 1-23, March.
    9. Anne K. Armstrong & Marianne E. Krasny, 2020. "Tracing Paths from Research to Practice in Climate Change Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-21, June.
    10. Hang Lu, 2021. "Exposure to victim portrayals: the role of multiple emotions in influencing collective action intentions for environmental justice," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 11(4), pages 548-560, December.
    11. Cheng, Xiu & Wu, Fan & Li, Wenbo & Yang, Jiameng & Long, Ruyin, 2024. "What maintains low-carbon consumption behaviors: Evidence from China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 189(PB).
    12. Victoria Gevorkova & Ivan Sangiorgi & Julia Vogt, 2024. "Cleansing Investor’s Conscience: The Effects of Incidental Guilt on Socially Responsible Investment Decisions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 193(1), pages 89-114, August.

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