Positive emotions and climate change

Schneider, Claudia R.; Zaval, Lisa; Markowitz, Ezra M.

doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2021.04.009

Cited by 101 publications

(86 citation statements)

References 75 publications

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“…For instance, connecting with nature might promote climate action through an enhanced sense of personal responsibility (Bouman et al, 2020), collective efficacy, and/or collective identity (e.g., Reese et al, 2020). We recommend future studies explore these processes, as well as other theoretically relevant climate emotions, including anger (Stanley et al, 2021) and hope (Schneider et al, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, our results showed that only individual (not collective) action was associated with reduced psychological distress, suggesting that any protective benefits may be limited to these types of behaviors. Taking personal action to address climate change may protect well-being by providing a sense of meaning (Venhoeven et al, 2020) and generating positive emotions (e.g., pride, hope; Schneider et al, 2021). Recently, there has been increasing attention on the pleasurable feelings associated with pro-environmental action, referred to as “warm glow” (Hartmann et al, 2017; Jia & Linden, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recently, there has been increasing attention on the pleasurable feelings associated with pro-environmental action, referred to as “warm glow” (Hartmann et al, 2017; Jia & Linden, 2020). According to this literature, experienced and anticipated warm glow from acting sustainably can contribute to an upward spiral of action and well-being (Doell et al, 2021; Schneider et al, 2021). Future studies could test whether people more connected to nature are more susceptible to the warm glow effect and examine the role of warm glow in preventing negative climate emotions from turning into general psychological distress.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Nature connectedness in the climate change context: Implications for climate action and mental health.

Curll¹,

Stanley²,

Brown³

et al. 2022

Translational Issues in Psychological Science

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A sense of psychological connectedness with the natural world has important benefits for global health. In a time of environmental crisis, however, it may also be accompanied by mental health risks. We used national survey data collected after a severe Australian bushfire season (N = 3,875) to test a path model of the relationships between nature connectedness, worry about climate change, individual and collective climate action, and psychological distress (depression, anxiety, stress). We found that nature connectedness was positively associated with climate worry that, in turn, was positively associated with climate action and psychological distress. Whereas taking individual climate action was associated with reduced psychological distress, taking collective climate action had the opposite effect. Our findings provide new insights into potential processes underlying the association between nature connectedness and mental health in the climate change context and point to an urgent need to protect the well-being of people engaging in collective climate action.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Nature connectedness in the climate change context: Implications for climate action and mental health.

Curll¹,

Stanley²,

Brown³

et al. 2022

Translational Issues in Psychological Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This is striking, given that affect (a positive or negative feeling toward an event, such as climate change, or an object, such as a technology) and emotions (a more intense reaction such as fear, anger, pride, or guilt resulting in changes in motivational action tendencies, physiological reactions, expressions, and subjective feeling) have been shown to exert major influences on human thinking and behavior, and they are likely to play a critical role for a sustainable behavior change in several respects. [20][21][22][23] A recent review 20 illustrates that the affective reactions that people experience toward climate change are consistently among the most important predictors of climate change risk perceptions, 24 willingness to engage in mitigation 25 and adaptation 26 behaviors, policy support, 27 and technology acceptance. 28,29 Moreover, the affective reactions that people experience as a consequence of their own environmental behavior are among the most important drivers of sustainable action, above and beyond instrumental considerations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leveraging emotion for sustainable action

Brosch

Steg

2021

One Earth

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Behavioral science approaches to promoting sustainable action have mainly focused on cognitive processes, whereas the role of emotions has received comparably little attention. However, emotions have a great but currently not fully exploited potential to contribute to a sustainable behavior change. In this perspective, we summarize recent research emphasizing the central and indispensable role of emotion in human thinking and judgment. We discuss how these insights can promote affective reactivity toward sustainability issues, help leverage the potential of emotion to motivate action, and improve emotional climate change communication and intervention strategies. We outline a research agenda that we see as crucial for obtaining a solid evidence base on how emotions can optimally promote sustainable behavior. This paper is meant to stimulate discussion and a coordinated research effort on how emotions may be better leveraged to promote large-scale sustainable action and to promote a stronger integration of emotional strategies into the toolbox of policy makers. ll

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“…In this existing literature, specific climate emotions are often positioned and described as either "positive" or "negative" (Wang et al, 2018;Bloodhart et al, 2019;Schneider et al, 2021). From this perspective, "negative" climate emotions include worry, anger, fear, powerlessness, and frustration, while hope and resilience are most commonly positioned and discussed as "positive" emotions (Schneider et al, 2021). There is also emerging work developing tools and multi-item scales for measuring climate emotions, which will play an important role in the research field.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Climate Emotions in Canada’s Provincial North

Galway

Beery

2022

Front. Psychol.

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The mental and emotional dimensions of climate change are increasingly concerning as extreme events become more frequent and severe, ecosystem destruction advances, and people become more aware of climate impacts and injustices. Research on climate emotions has rapidly advanced over the last decade with growing evidence illustrating that climate emotions can impact health, shape climate action, and ought to be considered in climate change communication, education, and engagement. This paper explores, describes, and discusses climate emotions in the context of Canada’s Provincial North: a vast region characterized by a vulnerability to climate change, remoteness, political marginalization, diverse Indigenous populations, and economies/livelihoods tied to resource extraction. Using postal survey data collected in two Provincial North communities (Thunder Bay, Ontario, and Prince George, British Columbia; N = 627), we aim to (1) describe climate emotions experienced in the context of Canada’s Provincial North, including relationships among specific emotions; and (2) examine if socio-demographic variables (gender, age, and parenthood) show a relationship with climate emotions. Results show high levels of emotional response to climate change overall, with worry and frustration as those emotions reported by the highest percentage of participants. We also find significant difference in climate emotions between men and women. A methodological result was noted in the usefulness of the Climate Emotion Scale (CES), which showed high reliability and high inter-item correlation. A notable limitation of our data is its’ underrepresentation of Indigenous peoples. The findings contribute to a greater understanding of climate emotions with relevance to similar settings characterized by marginalization, vulnerability to climate change, urban islands within vast rural and remote landscapes, and economies and social identities tied to resource extraction. We discuss our findings in relation to the literature and outline future research directions and implications.

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Positive emotions and climate change

Cited by 101 publications

References 75 publications

Nature connectedness in the climate change context: Implications for climate action and mental health.

Nature connectedness in the climate change context: Implications for climate action and mental health.

Leveraging emotion for sustainable action

Exploring Climate Emotions in Canada’s Provincial North

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