How Hope and Doubt Affect Climate Change Mobilization

Abstract

The severe threats posed by anthropogenic climate change make hope and a sense of efficacy key ingredients in effective climate communication. Yet little is known about what makes individuals hopeful-or in contrast, doubtful-that humanity can reduce the problem, or how hope relates to activism. This study uses mixed-methods with two national surveys to (1) identify what makes people hopeful or doubtful that humanity will address the problem (Study 1, N = 674), and (2) whether hopeful and doubtful appraisals are related to activism or policy support (Study 2, N = 1,310). In Study 1, responses to open-ended questions reveal a lack of hope among the public. For those with hope, the most common reason relates to social phenomena-seeing others act or believing that collective awareness is rising ("constructive hope"). Hope for some, however, stems from the belief that God or nature will solve the problem without the need for human intervention (which we call "false hope"). The most prevalent doubts are low prioritization, greed, and intergroup conflict (i.e., the need for cooperation at various scales to successfully address the issue). We identified both "constructive" and "fatalistic" doubts. Constructive doubts are concerns that humanity won't address the problem effectively, while fatalistic doubts are beliefs that we can't address the problem even if we wanted to because it is in the hands of God or Mother Nature. In study 2, we used these emergent hope and doubt appraisals to develop survey measures. Regression analyses suggest that constructive hope and doubt predict increased policy support and political engagement, whereas false hope and fatalistic doubt predict the opposite. An interaction exists between constructive hope and doubt in predicting political behavioral intentions, which suggests that having hope that humans will reduce climate change, along with recognition that humans are not doing enough may also be constructive and motivate political action. Climate change communicators might consider focusing on constructive hope (e.g., human progress, the rise of clean energy), coupled with elements of constructive doubt (e.g., the reality of the threat, the need for more action), to mobilize action on climate change.

Social Identity and Risk Perception Explain Participation in the Swiss Youth Climate Strikes

“…However, this notion will require further empirical evidence. Furthermore, the identified importance of risk perceptions and efficacy beliefs in the context of the youth climate strikes suggests that communicators should not shy away from highlighting risks alongside success stories and solutions; an honest recognition of problems caused by climate change is appropriate, if accompanied by efforts to promote collective efficacy [104][105][106]. Such a dual communication strategy would seem to be necessary in order to avoid the possibility that people are hopeful but passive [107] or complacent in light of past achievements [108].…”

When worry about climate change leads to climate action: How values, worry and personal responsibility relate to various climate actions

“…Importantly, this could mean that individuals not only feel personally responsible to take action when they perceive themselves as playing a role in causing the problem, as is proposed in the VBN, but that such feelings of personal responsibility might also arise from how the issue affects them emotionally, specifically when they worry about it. Indeed, different lines of research suggest that emotions can play an important -and sometimes even more important role than cognitions -in motivating individuals to act (Chapman et al, 2017;Marlon et al, 2019;Moser, 2016;Pfister and Böhm, 2008;Taufik et al, 2016). Future studies could test these propositions.…”

Environmental and Health Impacts of Air Pollution: A Review

“…Without a doubt, all of the aforementioned are closely associated with climate change, and in the event of danger, the consequences can be severe for mankind (2). Climate changes and the effects of global planetary warming seriously affect multiple ecosystems, causing problems such as food safety issues, ice and iceberg melting, animal extinction, and damage to plants (3,4).…”