Global climate change is perhaps the greatest current existential threat to life on this planet. Despite the overwhelming scientific consensus for the existence of human-made global climate change, climate change skepticism continues to be a significant obstacle. The purpose of this experimental online study was to address research questions concerning the effect of climate change information on death-thought accessibility (DTA) and belief in global climate change and to investigate whether a relationship exists between DTA and belief certainty in global climate change. Terror management theory was the theoretical foundation for the study. The study sample consisted of 104 participants randomly assigned to two experimental groups and a control group. Group 1 read an essay about the environmental effects of climate change, Group 2 read an essay on the human causes of climate change, and Group 3 (control) read information about rainy weather. A 25-item word completion task was used to measure DTA and a 17-item Likert scale (Whitmarsh Skepticism Scale) measured belief certainty in global climate change. An ANOVA with planned contrasts and an ANCOVA were performed with nonsignificant results, indicating that climate change information alone does not necessarily increase DTA or belief certainty in global climate change, nor does it indicate a relationship between the 2 variables. The findings indicate that more than educational information on climate change may be needed to effect positive social change regarding the issue of global climate change.
Table of Contents
List of Tables iv
Chapter 1: Introduction
Introduction and Background
Problem Statement and Purpose
Research Questions and Hypotheses
Theoretical Foundation
Nature of the Study
Definition of Terms
Scope and Delimitations
Assumptions and Limitations
Significance of the Study
Summary
Chapter 2: Literature Review
Introduction
Literature Search Strategy
Terror Management Theory
Death-Thought Accessibility
Global Climate Change: Belief and Information
Summary
Chapter 3: Research Method
Research Design and Methodology
Procedures and Sample
Selection of Alpha Level, Power, Effect Size, and Sample Size
Demographic Information
Instruments
Data Analysis
Threats to Validity
Ethical Concerns and Participants’ Rights
Summary
Chapter 4: Results
Introduction
Data Collection
Data Analysis and Results
Summary
Chapter 5: Findings, Recommendations, and Implications
Introduction
Interpretation of the Findings
Limitations of the Study
Recommendations
Implications
Conclusion
References
Appendix A: Climate and Climate Change Essays
Appendix B: Debriefing Statement
Appendix C: Demographics Questionnaire
Appendix D: Permission to Use Measurement Instrument
Abstract
Global climate change is perhaps the greatest current existential threat to life on this planet. Despite the overwhelming scientific consensus for the existence of human-made global climate change, climate change skepticism continues to be a significant obstacle. The purpose of this experimental online study was to address research questions concerning the effect of climate change information on death-thought accessibility (DTA) and belief in global climate change and to investigate whether a relationship exists between DTA and belief certainty in global climate change. Terror management theory was the theoretical foundation for the study. The study sample consisted of 104 participants randomly assigned to two experimental groups and a control group. Group 1 read an essay about the environmental effects of climate change, Group 2 read an essay on the human causes of climate change, and Group 3 (control) read information about rainy weather. A 25-item word completion task was used to measure DTA and a 17-item Likert scale (Whitmarsh Skepticism Scale) measured belief certainty in global climate change. An ANOVA with planned contrasts and an ANCOVA were performed with nonsignificant results, indicating that climate change information alone does not necessarily increase DTA or belief certainty in global climate change, nor does it indicate a relationship between the 2 variables. The findings indicate that more than educational information on climate change may be needed to effect positive social change regarding the issue of global climate change.
Climate Change Information’s Impact on Death-Thought Accessibility and Global Climate Change Belief
by
Troy Franklin
MA, Lesley University, 2003
BA, Excelsior College, 2000
Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
Psychology
Walden University
May 2020
List of Tables
Table 1. Frequency Statistics for Categorical Demographic Variables for Sample
Table 2. Descriptive Statistics for Dependent Variable by Group
Chapter 1: Introduction
Introduction and Background
Global climate change is perhaps the greatest threat to the future well-being of humans and life on Earth (Swim et al., 2011). Nevertheless, there are certain psychological obstacles (e.g., denial, apathy) that either impede the acceptance of climate change as a reality or discourage the behavioral changes (e.g., reducing carbon emissions) necessary for addressing the human impact on global climate change (Doherty & Clayton, 2011; Gifford, 2011). According to terror management theory (TMT), much of human thinking and behavior is influenced by the unconscious awareness of and concern about death (Hayes, Schimel, Arndt, & Faucher, 2010). The terror of death is perhaps the main thing that drives human beings to stay busy (Becker, 1973). For example, terror management studies (e.g., Norenzayan, Dar-Nimrod, Hansen, & Proulx, 2009; Rutjens, van der Pligt, & van Harreveld, 2009) have shown that when mortality salience increases, participants’ worldview defenses tend to strengthen and their striving for self-esteem increases. Although the uniquely human awareness of mortality induces uncomfortable anxiety to some degree, the mind has adaptive mechanisms that can bar thoughts or reminders of death (e.g., cancer) from conscious awareness (Hayes et al., 2010). Through the measurement of death-thought accessibility (DTA), a main concept in TMT, the functioning of these mechanisms can be observed and empirically tested for their “level of activation of death thoughts” (Hayes et al., 2010, p. 699).
Although awareness and concern have increased in recent years regarding the global issue of climate change, it is not always clear why people believe or doubt the reality of global climate change. Borick and Rabe (2010) have pointed out a dearth of research examining the factors that influence belief or disbelief in climate change. In a correlational study using surveys to gather data concerning Americans’ beliefs about global climate change, Borick and Rabe (2020) found that a combination of personal experience or observation, unusual weather events, physical changes to the Earth, and political affiliation were associated with views on climate change. In another correlational study (Deryugina, 2013), the formation and updating of people’s beliefs about global climate change were investigated in a sample of U.S. adults. The results found that although short-term (1 day to 2 weeks) temperature fluctuations had no association with beliefs, long-term (1 month to 1 year) temperature fluctuations positively correlated with the belief that the effects of global climate change were being felt. However, Deryugina (2013) also found that people who identified as conservatives were significantly more likely to deny the effects of global climate change than people who identified as liberals. In other recent correlational studies (e.g., Li, Johnson, & Zavel, 2011), researchers found a basic relationship between personal experiences with local weather patterns (or temperature deviations) and Americans’ beliefs concerning evidence of climate change, especially in extreme (hot or cold) weather (Egan & Mullin, 2012).
Gender, education, political ideology, and socioeconomic level are other factors associated with climate change belief. Results from recent studies (e.g., Clements, 2012; Davidson & Haan, 2012; Whitmarsh, 2011) conducted in Britain and Canada revealed differences in climate change beliefs when it came to gender and political ideology; women showed more awareness of climate change impact than men. Factors found to be associated with climate change skepticism or denial are (a) being male, (b) having less education, (c) supporting the Conservative party, and (d) having a right-wing ideological worldview. In two different studies concerning political affiliation and belief in global climate change, McCright and Dunlap (2011) found that liberals and Democrats tended to agree with and show more concern for the scientific consensus on climate change than conservatives and Republicans; moreover; the authors discovered that conservative White males are more likely to deny the existence of climate change than any other group of U.S. adults.
The principal source of public information and awareness of global climate change has been the media. In a recent correlational study (Sampei & Aoyagi-Usui, 2009), researchers examined the relationship between media coverage of global climate change and public awareness over a 10-year period and found a positive correlation between media coverage and the public’s concern about global climate change. In other words, concern for global climate change has increased along with the increase in media coverage of climate change issues.
In a recent experimental study (Corner, Whitmarsh, & Xenias, 2012), global climate change skepticism was measured before and after participants read two opposing newspaper editorials about global climate change that were chosen for the purpose of creating doubt. One purpose of the study (2012) was to find out whether participants with opposing views on climate change would incorporate contradictory information about global climate change in a way that is biased. The results of ANOVA testing suggest biased assimilation of the information, as participants who previously had a higher level of skepticism about climate change judged the skeptical editorial as more veritable than the editorial in favor of climate change, and vice versa for those participants with less prior skepticism.
The present study contributes to existing DTA and TMT research by answering the question of whether climate change information increases both death awareness and belief certainty and whether a relationship exists between the two. The findings could have implications for any future studies on climate change using TMT as the theoretical framework. By shedding more light on what influences climate change belief, which includes doubt and denial, the findings of the study may help scientists, educators, or the media more effectively communicate information in ways that will better convince the public of the reality of global climate change. In this chapter, I briefly describe the study’s purpose, research questions and hypotheses, theoretical foundation, nature, definition of terms, delimitations, limitations, assumptions, and significance.
Problem Statement and Purpose
Although many TA studies have been conducted (Hayes et al., 2010), the subject of global climate change has not yet been included in the body of DTA research (Dickinson, 2009). According to Dickinson (2009), there are certain details about global climate change that could be associated with human mortality—some more so than others. For example, information that reveals the potential increase in the severity of storm activity (due to climate change) might impact DTA more than information that points to the rise in global temperature (due to carbon emissions). The purpose of this quantitative study was to gain more insight into the psychological impact of climate change information from a terror management perspective and to find out if a relationship exists between DTA and belief certainty in global climate change. I examined whether climate change information increases DTA and revealed how two types of climate change information (e.g., environmental impact and human causes of climate change) impact belief in global climate change.
Research Questions and Hypotheses
The study addressed the following research questions and hypotheses:
RQ1: Does climate change information affect belief certainty in global climate change?
Null hypothesis 1: Belief certainty in global climate change will not change after reading information about the human influence on climate change.
Research hypothesis 1: Belief certainty in global climate change will be greater after reading information about the human influence on climate change.
Null hypothesis 2: Belief certainty in global climate change will not change after reading information about the environmental impact of climate change.
Research hypothesis 2: Belief certainty in global climate change will be greater after reading information about the environmental impact of climate change.
RQ2: Does climate change information affect DTA?
Null hypothesis 3: After reading information about the human influence on global climate change, DTA will not change in research participants.
Research hypothesis 3: After reading information about the human influence on global climate change, DTA will be greater in research participants.
Null hypothesis 4: After reading information about the environmental impact of global climate change, DTA will not change in research participants.
Research hypothesis 4: After reading information about the environmental impact of global climate change, DTA will be greater in research participants.
RQ3: Does a relationship exist between DTA and belief certainty in global climate change?
Null hypothesis 5: There is not an association between DTA and belief certainty in global climate change when statistically controlling for the manipulation.
Research hypothesis 5: There is an association between DTA and belief certainty in global climate change when statistically controlling for the manipulation.
Theoretical Foundation
The theoretical framework for this study is TMT (Greenberg, Pyszczynski, & Solomon, 1986) including the concept of DTA. According to TMT, much of human behavior is influenced by persistent concerns about death that are kept mostly unconscious (Hayes, et al., 2010). Because conscious thoughts of death cause heightened anxiety, the mind has buffering mechanisms that manage this anxiety by keeping thoughts of death from consciousness. The main defensive structures (according to TMT) used or the management of death-thoughts consist of cultural worldviews and self-esteem. By effectively providing meaning, order, and value to one’s environment, these buffering mechanisms work together to ease anxiety about death for occupied and distracted individuals who are busily pursuing their goals. Thanks to the TMT concept of DTA, the functioning of these mechanisms has been examined empirically through methods that measure the level of activation of death thoughts (Hayes et al., 2010). Nevertheless, this study is perhaps the first to examine DTA in relation to the subject of climate change. A more detailed explanation of TMT is given in Chapter 2.
Nature of the Study
This study is quantitative in design. A randomized experiment (i.e., participants randomly assigned to conditions reflecting the independent variable) was necessary to address the causal hypotheses of the study based on the measurement of DTA (dependent variable), certainty in the belief in global climate change (dependent variable), and information on global climate change (independent variable). I used quantitative methods to determine whether information on global climate change increased DTA for two types (i.e., human causes and environmental consequences) of climate change information. This study assessed the impact of climate change information on belief in global climate change.
The study has an experimental design, and research participants (adults selected from the research participant pool at Walden University and from SurveyMonkey) were randomly assigned to three different conditions. One group read information that describes the environmental impact of global climate change, such as the rapid melting of polar ice, the increasing severity of storms, and rising sea levels. Another group read information pertaining to human behavior or activity that affects global climate change, such as greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation. A third group of participants that served as the control condition read negative information about rainy weather that excluded the subject of global climate change. The readings for each condition contained approximately the same amount of information. Participants completed climate change skepticism and DTA measures only once immediately after reading the essays.
After participants read the information on global climate change and the control topic, DTA and climate change doubt were measured by a word completion task and a skepticism scale given respectively. For each of the first four hypotheses, a planned contrast between the control condition and the condition in the hypothesis was performed. Planned contrasts are appropriate for testing specific hypotheses that have been predetermined; moreover, they have more statistical power than unplanned contrasts in the prevention of Type II errors and can be used alternatively to ANOVA (Chatham, 1999). According to Chatham (1999), “Planned comparisons, however, are only required to account for the comparisons of interest, thereby increasing power against Type II errors” (p. 3); therefore, it was not deemed necessary to conduct an ANOVA on the three groups prior to performing the planned contrasts. ANCOVA was used to address the fifth hypothesis, with DTA functioning as the covariate. The total experiment and data collection were conducted online through a survey company; statistical analyses were carried out with SPSS software. By determining whether climate change information increases DTA and whether it influences certainty in global climate change belief, this quantitative analysis could possibly lay some of the groundwork for any future climate change research that uses a terror management theoretical framework.
Definition of Terms
Cultural worldview: A particular set of standards and values that provide meaning, order, and the possibility of immortality (literally and symbolically) to members of a common society (Hayes, Schimel, Faucher, & Williams, 2008).
Death-thought accessibility (DTA) hypothesis: States that the weakening of a psychological structure that provides protection from thoughts of death will tend toward making death thoughts more accessible to consciousness (Hayes et al., 2008).
Global climate change: A change in the world’s climate patterns that is attributed mostly to the increasing levels of greenhouse gases (e.g., carbon dioxide) in the Earth’s atmosphere caused by the burning of fossil fuels (Molnar, 2010).
Mortality salience: Reminders or thoughts of one’s own inevitable death (Hayes et al., 2008).
Self-esteem: The belief that one is a valued (or valuable) member of society when successfully participating in accordance with the values of a meaningful cultural worldview (Hayes et al., 2008).
Terror management theory (TMT): A social psychological theory that posits that humans are uniquely aware of the inevitability of their own death. The existential anxiety created by mortality salience (or daily reminders of death) is managed through the development and continuance of a particular cultural worldview and is buffered by the self-esteem that comes from personally and collectively achieving the standards and values of a cultural worldview (Hayes et al., 2008).
Scope and Delimitations
This study was designed to specifically examine the effect of climate change information on DTA and global climate change belief in adult participants. The design of the study was similar to other published TMT studies in its use of informational essays, mortality salience induction, and word fragment completion tasks. Other instruments, used in previous climate change research, were implemented in this study to determine certainty or skepticism in global climate change. The main research problem was to determine whether certain types of climate change information significantly increase DTA and whether a relationship exists between DTA and belief certainty in global climate change. In this study, I used a web-based research design that drew from a university voluntary participant pool as well as participants from an online service (SurveyMonkey) that provided compensation to respondents for study completion. The population consisted of English-speaking adults from the United States, which may be a factor affecting potential generalizability or external validity regarding non-English-speaking populations in other countries.
Assumptions and Limitations
As in previous TMT research, the main assumption of this study was that mortality salience increases DTA. I also assumed that participants adequately comprehended the content of the essays they read on climate change and that they were not already familiar with word fragment completion tasks or their intended purpose. Although the design of the study is rooted in the scientific consensus on the reality of global climate change, it does not purposefully include the goal of convincing research participants that climate change exists. With respect to future studies on global climate change using a similar design, it should be noted that the effects of information read by participants in this study may not generalize to other types of information related to global climate change.
Significance of the Study
This study is unique because it examines the human response to information on global climate change from a terror management perspective. In establishing whether the subject of global climate change impacts DTA and belief certainty, the results of this study could add to the body of terror management research by demonstrating that certain kinds of climate change information significantly increase mortality salience, which in turn influences readers’ belief certainty in global climate change. These findings could also lay the groundwork for future studies concerned with the psychological impact of global climate change from a terror management perspective. For example, if information on global climate change is determined to be a significant death reminder, further terror management studies concerning mortality salience and its effect on the response to global climate change primes would be encouraged. Proximal or distal psychological defenses, such as denial, transference idealization, worldview defense, self-esteem striving, or antagonism toward out-groups, could be examined in studies where participants are asked to contemplate global climate change, and the findings could ultimately be used to inform the effective development and implementation of climate change education programs (Dickinson, 2009). For instance, one goal of an education program might be to increase belief in global climate change. The present study could provide more insight into what kinds of information tend to increase or decrease belief in global climate change. Effective public climate change education is the first step toward bringing about the necessary social change that will actively and constructively address this global issue. The findings of this study could have important practical implications for the design of future terror management research on global climate change and for the development of educational programs.
Summary
In Chapter 1, I briefly discussed the research literature and suggested the need for a study that examines climate change information, DTA, and certainty in global climate change belief. The chapter also provided brief descriptions of TMT and the issue of climate change as a global threat. I gave a rationale for studying global climate change information and belief within a TMT framework. I presented the problem statement and purpose of the study and provided research questions, hypotheses, and the theoretical foundation of the study (i.e., TMT). I outlined the design of the study and provided operational definitions, limitations, and delimitations. Lastly, I discussed the significance of the study and its possible contributions to social change.
In Chapter 2, I present a review of the relevant literature and describe how that literature was collected. TMT (including the concept of DTA) as well as global climate change information and belief are discussed. In Chapter 3, I describe the research design, methodology, and data analysis of the study. Chapter 4 provides the results of the study, including an evaluation of the research hypotheses. Chapter 5 gives an overview and interpretation of the findings, limitations of the study, recommendations for future research, and implications for social change.
Chapter 2: Literature Review
Introduction
Global climate change is perhaps the greatest threat to the well-being of life on Earth (Swim et al., 2011). In spite of the overwhelming scientific consensus supporting the reality of climate change, certain psychological barriers (e.g., denial, apathy) impede many people’s acceptance of its reality and cause avoidance of behavioral changes (e.g., reduction of carbon emissions) necessary for addressing the ongoing anthropogenic impact on global climate change (Doherty & Clayton, 2011; Gifford, 2011). However, the potential consequences (e.g., drought, extreme weather patterns, increases in global temperature and sea levels) of unchecked global climate change could seriously threaten all life on this planet (Gifford, 2011; Swim et al., 2011).
TMT is concerned with the psychological impact of death-awareness in humans, especially when that awareness is heightened directly or indirectly by a death reminder (e.g., global warming and its various life-threatening consequences for the environment). According to TMT, much of human thinking and behavior is influenced by the unconscious awareness of inevitable death and concern for mortality (Hayes, et al., 2010). Moreover, the details of certain types of climate change information may have an impact on mortality salience (Dickinson, 2009). Terror management studies (e.g., Norenzayan, et al., 2009; Rutjens, et al., 2009) have shown that when mortality salience increases, people’s worldview defenses are bolstered and their striving for self-esteem enhances. By measurement of DTA—a main concept in TMT—the level of activation of death thoughts can be studied and measured (Hayes et al., 2010). In this study, I examined the relationships between climate change information, DTA, and belief in global climate change using TMT as the theoretical foundation. This chapter discusses the historical background of TMT, the concept of DTA in research, climate change information (e.g., the media), and other factors associated with belief in global climate change.
Literature Search Strategy
The literature cited and reviewed in this study was collected from several online databases including Academic Search Complete, Educational Resource Information Center (ERIC), Proquest Central, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, Science Direct, and socINDEX with Full Text. The keywords used to locate scholarly journal articles (from 2008 to 2013) were climate change, global warming, belief, doubt, denial, skepticism, terror management theory, and death-thought accessibility. No results were found for experimental studies using climate change information and death-thought accessibility as variables, which suggested a gap in the literature.
Terror Management Theory
TMT was formulated and developed in the 1980s primarily from the works of the cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker (Hayes et al., 2010). TMT is a social psychological theory that stems from existential, evolutionary, and psychodynamic influences (Arndt & Vess, 2008). According to Becker (as cited in Arndt & Vess, 2008), human beings possess the same basic drive or desire for self-preservation as other animals; however, unlike other animals, humans are uniquely self-conscious and aware that all living creatures eventually die (Arndt & Vess, 2008; Hayes et al., 2010). The knowledge of inevitable death, combined with the desire for survival, creates a perpetual existential crisis that invokes various levels of anxiety (or terror) toward death; however, the thoughts and awareness of death (i.e., mortality salience), as well as the anxiety they induce, stay unconscious for the most part because of certain defenses developed by the human mind (Arndt & Vess, 2008; Hayes et al., 2010). Those mental defenses that act as daily buffers against mortality salience or death anxiety can be categorized mainly as cultural worldviews and self-esteem (Arndt & Vess, 2008; Hayes et al., 2010). Shared cultural worldviews provide meaning and purpose to existence within a framework of values that guide proper behavior and that point the way to death transcendence through feelings of symbolic (e.g., making a valuable contribution to one’s community) or literal (e.g., religious belief in an afterlife) immortality (Arndt & Vess, 2008). Self-esteem, which acts as a buffer to existential anxiety, is heightened when people feel they are living up to the expectations or values of their respective cultures (Arndt & Vess, 2008).
Early TMT research focused on theoretically important cultural worldviews and self-esteem. This research demonstrated that people defended their cultural worldviews more strenuously and made more of an effort to achieve the expectations of their cultural values (i.e., boost self-esteem) when their awareness of mortality (i.e., mortality salience) was increased (Arndt & Vess, 2008). Other research has also demonstrated that people feel less threatened by death reminders when self-esteem levels are enhanced; moreover, when self-esteem levels are high or when personal beliefs are affirmed, research has shown that worldview defense diminishes in the face of mortality salience (Arndt & Vess, 2008). In short, early TMT research has revealed the significance of self-esteem and cultural worldviews as protective buffers to death awareness in humans.
Because of the potential life-threatening consequences of global climate change, certain types of climate change information may arouse the fear of death or increase mortality salience in people. This increased death awareness may or may not have a significant effect on belief in global climate change. TMT is an appropriate theoretical foundation for this study, which not only sought to show whether climate change information increases DTA in participants but also whether a relationship exists between DTA and belief certainty in global climate change.
Death-Thought Accessibility
Over time, TMT studies shifted their focus from the manipulation of conscious death thoughts to research measuring unconscious accessibility of death-related thoughts (Arndt & Vess, 2008; Hayes et al., 2010). One of the most significant contributions of TMT research has been the ability to measure and demonstrate the potential influence that unconscious death awareness (or thoughts) can have on daily life (Hayes et al., 2010). According to TMT research, people employ two different psychological defense systems to manage the existential distress caused by self-relevant death thoughts (both conscious and unconscious; Arndt & Vess, 2008). Proximal defenses (e.g., denial) are used to diminish the threat of conscious death thoughts that remind of mortality (Arndt & Vess, 2008). The mind actively uses these defenses to suppress death-related thoughts and to avoid conscious thoughts of personal vulnerability to death; however, when proximal defenses eventually subside, accessibility to unconscious death thoughts can increase below the level of one’s awareness (Arndt & Vess, 2008). This can be measured empirically. For example, in TMT research, participants, who are not consciously thinking about mortality, might complete a word fragment that is death-related (e.g., GR_ _ _ with GRAVE instead of GREEN), which suggests that thoughts about death are present and influential outside of awareness (Arndt & Vess, 2008). These unconscious death-related thoughts can activate distal (i.e., symbolic) psychological defenses—usually worldview or self-esteem related—that augment adherence to cultural values or boost confidence in one’s self-image; that is, unconscious death thoughts drive an individual to unconsciously focus on things that provide value and meaning to that individual (Arndt & Vess, 2008). Distal defenses function as a block against death anxiety and the fears that can be generated from thoughts of mortality (Arndt & Vess, 2008).
In order to better demonstrate that death thoughts are first suppressed following mortality salience and that they then become hyperaccessible after a brief delay, certain techniques were developed for measuring unconscious DTA (Hayes et al., 2010). One technique (already mentioned above) used often in TMT research to measure unconscious thoughts of death is word completion tasks (Hayes et al., 2010). With this instrument, research participants are asked to complete certain word fragments using the first word that comes to mind. The completed word fragments help to illuminate the type of thoughts that lie just below conscious awareness and that are on the brink of entering consciousness; moreover, the degree of DTA can be determined by the number of word fragments completed in a death-related way (Hayes et al., 2010).
According to the existential viewpoint of TMT, humans find repulsive stimuli threatening because such things make people more aware of their vulnerability to death (Cox, Goldenberg, Pyszczynski, & Weise, 2007). In order to test the hypothesis that the evocation of disgust increases DTA, Cox et al. (2007) investigated the relationship between disgust of an animal nature and death-related thoughts. In one of the experiments of the study, a sample of 67 male and female psychology students from the University of Colorado were randomly assigned to read one of two essays. The animal-nature essay (the creatureliness prime) highlighted the similarities between humans and other animals, while the humanistic essay (the disgust prime) highlighted the differences between the two. Participants were then assigned to look at pictures featuring bodily products (e.g., urination, vomiting) of humans in the disgust condition or neutral images (e.g., book, chair) in the control condition. A word completion task was used as the dependent measure. Scores were determined by the number of death-related completions [e.g., KI_ _ED (KILLED vs. KISSED)]. A 2 (essay: animal vs. humanistic) x 2 (pictures: disgust vs. neutral) ANOVA on DTA scores was used to test the hypothesis that the disgusting images would heighten DTA compared to the neutral ones. The results showed a main effect for pictures, but no main effect for essay. In comparison with the control condition for pictures, people in the disgust condition reported an increase in DTA by completing more death-related word fragments. However, no interaction between pictures and essay on accessibility scores was found, which indicates that disgusting images may increase DTA with or without priming thoughts of the similarities between humans and other animals.
In accordance with TMT, something such as news about terrorism can aggravate prejudice towards out-groups if it reminds readers (or viewers) of their own mortality (Das, Bushman, Bezemer, Kerkhof, & Vermeulen, 2009). In the first of three studies (Das et al., 2009) conducted in the Netherlands, death-related thoughts were examined partly in order to find out whether they mediated the effects of terrorism news on prejudice. In a 2 (terrorism news vs. Olympic game news) between-subjects factorial design, a diverse sample of 100 white European participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group viewed news about Islamic terrorist attacks; the other (i.e., the control group) viewed news about the Olympic Games. News of the murder of filmmaker Theo Van Gogh, which was committed by an Islamic extremist at the time of the study, was also a factor in the design. Participants then completed a word completion task in addition to a measure of prejudice toward Arabs. A 2 x 2 ANOVA found a significant interaction between the murder of Van Gogh and news content. Prior to Van Gogh’s murder, participants who viewed news about terrorism had more death-related words than those who saw Olympic Games news; however, both groups of participants had an equally high amount of death-related words following the murder of Van Gogh. The effects of terrorism news, Van Gogh’s murder, and death-related thoughts on prejudice towards Arabs were tested through regression analysis using a mediation model. The results showed that prejudice was not significantly predicted by death-related thoughts; thus, a model in which death-related thoughts mediate the effects of terrorism news on prejudice against Arabs was not supported.
In the second study (Das et al., 2009), prejudice was examined further by testing the role of self-esteem from a TMT perspective. According to TMT, DTA should be positively associated with prejudice, and prejudice should be even greater for those with low self-esteem (i.e., self-esteem should act as a buffer to prejudice). After completing a measure of self-esteem, 101 White European participants were assigned to read news articles about Islamic terrorism or animal abuse (control). The participants then completed a word completion task (for DTA) and an implicit measure of prejudice against Arabs. The results of a one-way ANOVA showed that participants in the terrorism news group had completed more death words than did those in the control condition. In order to predict prejudice toward Arabs and to examine the mediating function of DTA, regression analysis was implemented. Results revealed a significant main effect for news content and a higher degree of prejudice in the terrorism news group of participants. As in the first study (Das et al., 2009), however, the conditions for DTA mediation were not achieved (i.e., prejudice was not significantly predicted by death-related thoughts). The results also showed a significant interaction between news content and self-esteem, and self-esteem was associated with reduced prejudice against Arabs in the terrorism news group. The relationship between self-esteem and prejudice was nonsignificant in the control condition, but there was a significant three-way interaction between news content, self-esteem, and death-related thoughts. Prejudice against Arabs increased with higher DTA only for participants who had low self-esteem and had been subjected to terrorism news. These findings show that terrorism news raised DTA, which promoted prejudiced attitudes toward Arabs, particularly in people with low self-esteem. They also indicate that self-esteem can serve as a buffer against the effects of terrorism news and that terrorism news can increase prejudice, especially in viewers with low self-esteem.
In the last of their three studies, Das et al. (2009) tested the hypothesis (based on TMT) that terrorism news can increase prejudice against any out-group, even if the out-group is not an integral part of the news. The authors used a diverse sample of Muslim (n = 85) and non-Muslim (n = 94) male and female participants for the study in order to examine whether terrorism news increases prejudice against Europeans for Muslim participants, and whether terrorism news increases prejudice against Arabs for non-Muslim participants. A similar procedure to the second study (Das et al., 2009) was used, and the results of a 2 (news article: terrorism vs. control) x 2 (religious background: Muslim vs. non-Muslim) ANCOVA, with the covariate being attitudes toward a Dutch multicultural society, showed a main effect for background and a significant interaction between news article and religious background. Scores on the Implicit Association Test (a measure for prejudicial attitudes) revealed Muslim prejudice against Europeans, and non-Muslim prejudice against Arabs. Terrorism news increased division between groups of different backgrounds. Prejudiced attitudes toward out-groups were most distinct after reading news of terrorism but were much less so after reading control news. In short, terrorism news depicting a negative image of Arabs increased prejudice against Europeans for Muslims in addition to increased prejudice against Arabs for non-Muslims. These findings, in accordance with TMT, suggest that terrorism news can increase prejudice against any out-group when mortality is made salient in viewers.
From a TMT perspective, Dickinson (2009) makes several predictions regarding how human behavior might be affected when people are reminded of their own mortality in connection with climate change primes (e.g., visual or written information about global climate change). In particular, and relevant to the present study, the author cites the need for an investigation into the effect of climate change information on DTA. The results of such research may prove to be a useful foundation for future studies (e.g., in mediation or moderation models) that examine how mortality salience affects people’s responses to climate change primes; moreover, the findings from those studies could possibly help shape the way climate change information is presented to the public in the future.
Global Climate Change: Belief and Information
In recent years, U.S. public awareness of and concern about global climate change have increased (Borick & Rabe, 2010). Most Americans now believe that the climate is changing around the world; however, it is not clear why they believe global climate change is occurring (Borick & Rabe, 2010). For example, the issue of whether the climate is changing as the direct result of human activities—chief of which is the burning of fossil fuels—is still being debated among climate change believers and disbelievers alike (Borick & Rabe, 2010). According to Borick and Rabe (2010), there has been a shortage of studies that closely examine the underlying determinants of the public’s belief or disbelief in global climate change. Therefore, this section reviews the recent scholarly literature that focuses on the main factors of individual belief (and disbelief) in global climate change.
The general view of global climate change can be broken down into five main categories of belief: (a) belief that global climate change is occurring, (b) denial that climate change is a reality altogether, (c) belief that climate change is a natural phenomenon only, (d) belief that climate change is anthropogenic (i.e., human-made), and (e) that global climate change is due to both natural and human causes (Borick & Rabe, 2010; Joireman, Barnes, & Duell, 2013; Poortinga et al., 2011). Results from recent studies indicate that beliefs concerning global climate change are largely associated with individual experiences, unusual and extreme weather, and one’s political influence or affiliation (e.g., liberal vs. conservative, Democrat vs. Republican). For example, Borick and Rabe (2010) examined the perceived causes and correlates of belief and disbelief in global climate change in the U.S. They used both national and state telephone surveys to gather data on the beliefs of American adults concerning global climate change and applied ordered logistical regression to measure the association of certain factors (e.g., melting glaciers and polar ice, warmer local temperatures, and changing weather patterns) with those beliefs. The authors found that a mixture of personal experiences/observations, unusual weather events (e.g., severe droughts and stronger hurricanes), and physical changes to the Earth (e.g., melting polar caps and rising sea levels) correlate with Americans’ views on global climate change; furthermore, the overall association of these factors with belief in global climate change may be due to the influence of political affiliation (e.g., Democrats are much more likely than Republicans to claim most factors as substantially impacting their belief that climate change is occurring). However, because this is a correlational study, there may be other explanations for this finding. In another study, Deryugina (2013), examined the formation and updating climate change beliefs. A multiyear survey and regression analysis were used on a large representative sample of U.S. adults to test how local temperature changes and abnormalities might impact beliefs regarding the effects of global climate change. Short-term (1 day to 2 weeks) temperature fluctuations appeared to have no association with beliefs whereas longer periods (1 month to 1 year) seemed to positively correlate with the belief that the effects of global climate change were occurring. The more extreme the temperature deviations were, the greater the changes were in beliefs. The author also acknowledged the possible influence of certain heuristics on belief formation such as representativeness (judging the frequency or likelihood of something by the extent to which it resembles an existing prototype in one’s mind) and availability (e.g., individuals placing the most significance on local temperatures). Finally, the study found that conservatives are much more likely than liberals are to deny that the effects of global climate change can already be felt.
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- Arbeit zitieren
- Troy Franklin (Autor:in), 2020, Climate Change Information's Impact on Death-Thought Accessibility and Global Climate Change Belief, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1365291
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