No abstract

Conceptual frameworks in the realm of climate-related policy, attitudes and behavior frequently argue that moral emotions play a crucial role in mobilizing pro-environmental action. Yet, little is known about the direct impact of moral emotions on environmental attitudes and behavior. Drawing on emotion research in the context of intergroup relations, the current paper investigates the role of guilty conscience (guilt and shame) as well as other emotions (anger, sadness, pride, and emotional coldness) in motivating pro-environmental behavior intentions and actual behavior as a specific form of reparative action. When confronted with human-caused (vs. seemingly natural) environmental damages, participants (N=114) reported significantly more guilty conscience. Importantly, participants in the humancaused condition were significantly more likely to spontaneously display actual proenvironmental behavior (sign a petition addressing environmental issues). Highlighting its psychological significance in motivating pro-environmental behavior, a guilty conscience mediated the experimental manipulation's effect on behavioral intentions as well as on actual behavior. We conclude by discussing the potential of moral emotions in developing timely and sustainable climate policies and interventions.

The aims of the current paper are to contribute to theorizing in the field of collective action and also to bring this body of research closer with the literature on climate change. We suggest integrating the concept of social norms into the social identity model of collective action, to investigate the determinants of individuals' collective climate action intention. We argue that perceived social norms will be helpful in understanding the social identity‐collective action link. Consistent with the proposed model, participants' (N = 538) intention to take part in a neighborhood‐based climate protection initiative was predicted via all of the model constructs (social identity, perceived collective efficacy, and group‐based emotions) but most strongly so by the perceived participation norm, which also fully mediated the effect of social identity on participation intention. Further analyses suggested that the emotional motivation to engage in collective climate action was based on group‐based guilty conscience rather than anger. Discussion focuses on the importance of social context in understanding and combating climatic change, the emotionally flexible motivations behind different forms of collective action, and the role of group identification in interventions aimed at promoting pro‐environmental behavior. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.