Addressing the existential threat posed by climate change requires urgent actions, both on an individual level and on a policy level. In the present research, we applied an emotion-based persuasion appeal model to climate change mitigation to test the effect of climate mitigation appeals formulated with different levels of threat (high vs. low) and appealing to different types of climate change solutions (individual vs. policy) in eliciting psychological reactance, motivating support for climate change mitigation, and influencing willingness to discuss the issue with others. Through an online between-subjects experiment, we found that appealing to individuals (as opposed to policy) increased individuals' perceived threat to freedom, and psychological reactance. Our threat manipulation increased levels of fear, but the interaction between level of threat and type of appeal was not statistically significant on any of our dependent variables. Results are discussed in light of the active debate regarding the effectiveness of fear appeals in the climate change communication context.

中文翻译：

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恐惧诉求对气候变化沟通中的反应的影响


应对气候变化带来的生存威胁需要在个人层面和政策层面采取紧急行动。在本研究中，我们将基于情感的说服诉求模型应用于减缓气候变化，以测试不同威胁级别（高与低）和诉诸不同类型的气候变化解决方案（个人与个体）制定的气候减缓诉求的效果。政策）引起心理抵触，激发对减缓气候变化的支持，并影响与他人讨论该问题的意愿。通过在线受试者间实验，我们发现吸引个人（而不是政策）会增加个人对自由的感知威胁和心理抵抗。我们的威胁操纵增加了恐惧程度，但威胁程度和上诉类型之间的相互作用在我们的任何因变量上都不具有统计显着性。根据有关气候变化传播背景下恐惧诉求有效性的激烈辩论，对结果进行了讨论。