Red, white, and blue enough to be green: Effects of moral framing on climate change attitudes and conservation behaviors

Moral reframing: A technique for effective and persuasive communication across political divides

“…For example, Feygina et al (2010) found that those more apt to be conservative (measured in their study in terms of the highly related trait of system justification) reported greater pro-environmental intentions and were more likely to sign a pro-environmental petition when presented with arguments emphasizing that being proenvironmental is consistent with the "American way of life" and therefore a patriotic duty. Similarly, Feinberg and Willer (2013) found that conservatives reported greater environmental concern, support for pro-environmental legislation, and belief in climate change when presented with a purity-based argument that emphasized how dirty, disgusting, and impure environmental degradation is, compared with a more typical, harm-focused argument that emphasized the devastation and dangers a failing environment can cause (for similar findings, see also Kidwell et al, 2013;Maibach et al, 2013;Wolsko et al, 2016).…”

“…Most moral reframing research has focused on persuading liberals and conservatives to be more supportive of the other side's policy positions. In particular, a series of articles have examined how morally reframed arguments about the environment and climate change can persuade conservatives to be more supportive of pro-environmental policies and behavior (Feinberg & Willer, 2013;Feygina, Jost, & Goldsmith, 2010;Kidwell, Farmer, & Hardesty, 2013;McCright, Charters, Dentzman, & Dietz, 2016;Whitmarsh & Corner, 2017;Wolsko, Ariceaga, & Seiden, 2016). These studies have shown that conservatives are more persuaded by pro-environmental arguments that appeal to the loyalty, authority, and sanctity foundations.…”

“…Additionally, moral reframing may signal to the message recipient that the message source is a fellow ingroup member and therefore someone who is credible and trustworthy (Cohen, 2003;Kalkhoff & Barnum, 2000). Wolsko et al, (2016), for example, found that conservatives presented with morally reframed environmental appeals were persuaded largely because they perceived the values being expressed in the message as coming from a conservative source.…”

“…Message source will likely also have a strong moderating effect on the impact of moral reframing. For example, in a study of moral messaging around environmental issues, Wolsko et al, (2016) found that one reason moral reframing worked was because message recipients perceived the source to be part of their political ingroup. But what would happen if the message source was a known political outgroup member?…”

Past-focused environmental comparisons promote proenvironmental outcomes for conservatives

“…For instance, conservatives expressed more proenvironmental attitudes and behaviors when doing so was framed as an obligation to one's nation (19) or when climate change was described in terms of "contamination" and "purity" as opposed to "harm" and "care" (20). Conservatives' skepticism about climate change science decreased if the solution to climate change was described as supporting capitalism (21).…”