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Promoting or jeopardizing lighter carbon footprints? Self-affirmation can polarize environmental orientations

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 13:59 authored by Anne-Marie van Prooijen, Paul Sparks, Donna JessopDonna Jessop
Research has shown that self-affirmation often leads to more adaptive responses to messages that focus on behavior-specific, individual threats. However, little is known about the effects of self-affirmation in the context of an ongoing collective threat, such as climate change. In the study reported here (N ¼ 90), the authors examined whether self-affirmation might polarize orientations toward environment-related actions when people rely on their established beliefs about climate change. The authors found that self-affirmation led to more constructive pro-environmental motives among participants with positive ecological worldviews but led to less constructive pro-environmental motives among participants with negative ecological worldviews. These findings suggest that in the absence of a persuasive threatening message, self-affirmation might serve to validate a person’s initial worldviews about environmental issues.

History

Publication status

  • Published

Journal

Social Psychological and Personality Science

ISSN

1948-5506

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Issue

2

Volume

4

Page range

238-243

Department affiliated with

  • Psychology Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2012-11-30

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    University of Sussex (Publications)

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