NYC Gazette

Conservatives and liberals may differ in their views on environmental issues, but a new psychology study shows that framing the need to address climate change as patriotic and necessary to preserve the American “way of life” can increase belief in climate change and support for pro-environmental policies among both groups.

“Framing climate change action as a way to protect and preserve patriotic values and familiar ways of life can improve climate awareness and motivate action across the American political spectrum,” says Katherine Mason, a New York University doctoral student and the lead author of the study, which appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). “This approach encourages people to see climate action as a way to celebrate and sustain cherished cultural traditions, rather than having to relinquish or replace them.”

The findings, stemming from an experiment involving 50,000 participants across 60 countries, showed similar effects among liberals in some nations including France and Chile, and among conservatives in Israel and Chile. However, it backfired among conservatives in other nations—notably Belgium, Germany, and Russia.

"(T)hese results suggest that messages aligning with preferences maintaining the status quo may improve climate awareness and action among not only conservatives—whose attitudes are most in sync with such messages—but also among liberals,” Katherine Mason adds.

Overall, these results contrast with much of today’s pro-environment messaging which often centers on doomsday scenarios or radical changes to our socioeconomic system or consumption habits.

“It is crucial to avoid triggering…existential threats, insofar as these can motivate system defensiveness and backlash against pro-environmental initiatives,” write the authors John Jost from NYU’s Department of Psychology and Madalina Vlasceanu who was an NYU assistant professor at the time of the study now at Stanford University.

In the PNAS study, participants were informed they would be asked to read some information about their beliefs and behaviors. They were given this definition: “Climate change is the phenomenon describing that the world’s average temperature has been increasing over the past 150 years and will likely be increasing more in future.”

Participants assigned to a control condition read a literary passage from Charles Dickens’ novel Great Expectations which made no references to climate. In another condition aimed at increasing feelings of connection to existing social systems, participants read messages linking national heritage with natural traditions suggesting patriotic pro-environmental actions were needed. The message included photographs tailored with country-specific terms.

US participants exposed to this message showed increased belief in climate change more support for pro-environmental policies relative to those who read Dickens’ passage. This message was effective for both conservatives and liberals.

“Climate change is a challenge that must urgently be tackled,” says Mason. “Our approach tested ways to communicate information about climate change that resonates with people’s pre-existing values. Crucially these results suggest that messages aligning with preferences maintaining status quo may improve climate awareness among not only conservatives but also liberals.”

The paper provides detailed analysis comparing findings from other nations outlining similarities differences from US sample offering possible reasons for them.

Katherine Mason was supported by National Science Foundation Predoctoral Award during research (DGE-2234660).