Influencing climate change attitudes in the United States: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Rode, Jacob B.; Dent, Amy L.; Benedict, Caitlin; Brosnahan, Daniel B.; Martínez, Ramona; Ditto, Peter H.

doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2021.101623

Cited by 71 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 169 publications

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“…Our data offer only indirect evidence for this complacency model, as we did not measure perceived risk or distress subsequent to our efficacy message. In passing, we note that this account may also explain a striking finding from the metaanalysis by Rode et al (2021) cited above, which is that negative interventions-those that seek to reduce belief in climate change-are associated with much larger effect sizes than positive interventions. People may be attracted to information that makes climate change seem less of an urgent problem, whether that information entails reassurance that the problem can be tackled or a downplaying of the problem itself.…”

Section: Direct and Indirect Effects Of Climate Communication Messagesmentioning

confidence: 67%

“…Behaviour is hard to change, and climate behaviour is no exception. A recent meta-analysis of climate change attitude interventions has confirmed that these interventions are less effective at influencing policy attitudes than beliefs (Rode et al, 2021).…”

Section: Direct and Indirect Effects Of Climate Communication Messagesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, the pattern of significance obtained in our results should not be taken as evidence that climate self-efficacy cannot be boosted by messaging interventions, but rather as a further indicator of the practical difficulties faced by such interventions (cf. Rode et al, 2021).…”

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Increasing climate efficacy is not a surefire means to promoting climate commitment

Angill-Williams

Davis

2021

Thinking & Reasoning

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People's perception of their own efficacy is a critical precursor for adaptive behavioural responses to the threat posed by climate change. The present study investigated whether components of climate efficacy could be enhanced by short video messages. An online study (N ¼ 161) compared groups of participants who received messages focusing on individual or collective behaviour. Relative to a control group, these groups showed increased levels of response efficacy but not self-efficacy. However, this did not translate to increased climate commitment; mediation analysis suggested that the video messages, while increasing efficacy, may also have had a counterproductive effect on behavioural intentions, possibly by reducing the perceived urgency of action. This finding reinforces the challenge faced by climate communicators seeking to craft a message that boosts efficacy and simultaneously motivates adaptive responses to the climate crisis.

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Section: Direct and Indirect Effects Of Climate Communication Messagesmentioning

confidence: 67%

Section: Direct and Indirect Effects Of Climate Communication Messagesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Increasing climate efficacy is not a surefire means to promoting climate commitment

Angill-Williams

Davis

2021

Thinking & Reasoning

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“…For example, van der Linden et al (2019) report a d = 0.09 main effect of the consensus message on policy support. More broadly, a meta-analysis of climate messaging effects conducted byRode et al (2021) reports that policy attitudes are more difficult to experimentally shift than other climate-related attitudes. The pooled effect of expert consensus studies on climate attitudes (g = 0.09) was robust though relatively small, but in line with the meta-analytic effect size for all climate messaging interventions examined in the analysis (g = 0.08), from moral frames to psychological distance manipulations.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The effects reported in the current study also result from just a single exposure. Implemented at scale small messaging effects can have a discernible impact on public opinion (see discussion in:Landrum & Slater, 2020;Rode et al, 2021;van der Linden et al, 2019). More engaging and repeated consensus messaging campaigns incorporating visual elements or humor may prove more…”

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confidence: 99%

Communicating expert consensus increases personal support for COVID‐19 mitigation policies

Kerr

Linden

2021

J Applied Social Pyschol

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The Gateway Belief Model (GBM) places perception of a scientific consensus as a key “gateway cognition” with cascading effects on personal beliefs, concern, and ultimately support for public policies. However, few studies seeking to evaluate and extend the model have followed the specification and design of the GBM as originally outlined. We present a more complete test of the theoretical model in a novel domain: the COVID‐19 pandemic. In a large multi‐country correlational study ( N = 7,206) we report that, as hypothesized by the model, perceptions of scientific consensus regarding the threat of COVID‐19 predict personal attitudes toward threat and worry over the virus, which are in turn positively associated with support for mitigation policies. We also find causal support for the model in a large pre‐registered survey experiment ( N = 1,856): experimentally induced increases in perceived consensus have an indirect effect on changes in policy support mediated via changes in personal agreement with the consensus. Implications for the role of expert consensus in science communication are discussed.

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Climate concepts for supporting political goals of mitigation and adaptation: The case for “climate crisis”

Haueis

2024

WIREs Climate Change

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Climate concepts are crucial to understand the effects of human activity on the climate system scientifically, and to formulate and pursue policies to mitigate and adapt to these effects. Yet, scientists, policymakers, and activists often use different terms such as “global warming,” “climate change,” “climate crisis,” or “climate emergency.” This advanced review investigates which climate concept is most suitable when we pursue mitigation and adaptation goals in a scientifically informed manner. It first discusses how survey experiments and social science reviews on climate frames draw normative recommendations about which terms to use for public climate communication. It is suggested that such normative claims can be refined by including the scientific alongside lay uses of a climate concept, and by using explicit assessment conditions to evaluate how suitable a concept is for formulating mitigation and adaptation goals. Drawing on philosophical theories of conceptual change in science and conceptual engineering, a novel framework with two assessment conditions is introduced and then applied to “global warming,” “climate change,” “climate emergency,” and “climate crisis.” The assessment suggests that currently, “climate crisis” is most suitable to formulate and pursue climate mitigation and adaptation goals. Using this concept promotes the epistemic goals of climate science to a high degree, bridges scientific, political, and activist discourse, and fosters for democratic participation when articulating climate policies.This article is categorized under: The Social Status of Climate Change Knowledge > Climate Science and Decision Making The Social Status of Climate Change Knowledge > Knowledge and Practice Perceptions, Behavior, and Communication of Climate Change > Communication

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Influencing climate change attitudes in the United States: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Cited by 71 publications

References 169 publications

Increasing climate efficacy is not a surefire means to promoting climate commitment

Increasing climate efficacy is not a surefire means to promoting climate commitment

Communicating expert consensus increases personal support for COVID‐19 mitigation policies

Climate concepts for supporting political goals of mitigation and adaptation: The case for “climate crisis”

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