scholarly journals Can Climate Skeptics Be Convinced? The Effect of Nature Videos on Environmental Concern

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 2972
Author(s):  
Axel Franzen ◽  
Sebastian Mader

Much research has demonstrated that videos can function as primers or nudges that influence attitudes and behaviors. Studies to date suggest that this includes influence over individual pro-environmental attitudes. However, the existing evidence all stems from samples comprised of university students. In this paper, we describe the results of a randomized online experiment in a sample of 468 climate skeptics. We presented 3-min nature documentary videos that highlighted either the beauty of nature, the endangerment of nature by humans, or a mixture of both. The results suggest that the mixed stimulus video, which shows first the beauty of nature and then its endangerment by humans does indeed increase environmental concern by almost half a standard deviation. However, none of the video treatments increased donations to pro-environmental organizations. Still, the results suggest that nudging by video also works in samples of climate skeptics, which demonstrates the external validity of former findings.

2008 ◽  
Vol 36 (8) ◽  
pp. 1035-1052 ◽  
Author(s):  
Selahattin Gelbal ◽  
Veli Duyan ◽  
Aslihan Burcu Öztürk

Gender differences in sexual information sources and sexual attitudes and behaviors of college students in Turkey were examined. Results show that the attitudes and behaviors of Turkish college students as regards sexuality are becoming more liberal, although the conservative culture still has some effects, especially concerning gender differences. Sources of sexual information have increased as a result of technological advances, and usage of these differs according to gender.


Author(s):  
Liz Jackson ◽  
Ming Fai Pang ◽  
Emma Brown ◽  
Sean Cain ◽  
Caroline Dingle ◽  
...  

Purpose – Although researchers have identified correlations between specific attitudes and particular behaviors in the pro-environmental domain, the general relationship between young people’s development of environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors is not well understood. Past research indicates that geographic context can play a role, while social factors such as age and gender can have a more significant impact on predicting attitudes and behaviors than formal education. Few studies have systematically examined the relationships between education and environmental attitudes and behaviors among youth in Hong Kong. The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of a study comparing secondary school students’ environmental attitudes and behaviors with age and related factors in two international schools and two government schools in Hong Kong. Students’ attitudes and behaviors were compared based on school type (curriculum), while the authors additionally compared the significance of social factors and attitudes on students’ behaviors. Design/methodology/approach – Attitudes were measured using the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) and the NEP for Children (NEPC), the most commonly used, internationally standardized tools for investigating environmental attitudes and values of adults and young people for comparative purposes. The authors compared NEP/NEPC scores and student self-reported environmental behaviors using a short questionnaire. Findings – No significant differences were found in attitudes or behaviors based on school type. However the authors did observe a significant effect of gender and age on students’ attitudes, and a significant correlation of student attitudes in the NEP with students’ self-reports regarding air conditioning consumption. Originality/value – This study builds a foundation for cross-national studies and for evaluating the impact of curricula over time.


2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (6) ◽  
pp. 611-638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dian Gu ◽  
Shuqing Gao ◽  
Rong Wang ◽  
Jiang Jiang ◽  
Yan Xu

Previous studies have shown that materialism is related to environmentalism, but unstable findings still exist. To clarify the relationships between materialism and pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors, the present study addressed some methodological issues and provided both individual- and regional-level evidence from China. Using data from the World Value Survey and the Chinese General Social Survey, we observed that materialism was negatively associated with pro-environmental attitudes (Study 1, n = 2,300; Study 2, n = 3,672) and pro-environmental behaviors (Study 2). Moreover, we found that pro-environmental attitudes partially mediated the association between materialism and pro-environmental behaviors in Study 2. We further searched for additional regional evidence in Study 3, and we found that the more materialistic regions are, the more energy is consumed. Results indicate that materialism is associated with decreases in pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors. We conclude with a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of the research findings.


2018 ◽  
Vol 82 ◽  
pp. 300-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cláudia Buhamra Abreu Romero ◽  
Michel Laroche ◽  
Golam Mohammad Aurup ◽  
Sofia Batista Ferraz

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