Addressing climate change with behavioral science: A global intervention tournament in 63 countries

Madalina Vlasceanu; Kimberly C. Doell; Joseph B. Bak-Coleman; Boryana Todorova; Michael M. Berkebile-Weinberg; Samantha J. Grayson; Yash Patel; Danielle Goldwert; Yifei Pei; Alek Chakroff; Ekaterina Pronizius; Karlijn L. van den Broek; Denisa Vlasceanu; Sara Constantino; Michael J. Morais; Philipp Schumann; Steve Rathje; Ke Fang; Salvatore Maria Aglioti; Mark Alfano; Andy J. Alvarado-Yepez; Angélica Andersen; Frederik Anseel; Matthew A. J. Apps; Chillar Asadli; Fonda Jane Awuor; Flavio Azevedo; Piero Basaglia; Jocelyn J. Bélanger; Sebastian Berger; Paul Bertin; Michał Białek; Olga Bialobrzeska; Michelle Blaya-Burgo; Daniëlle N. M. Bleize; Simen Bø; Lea Boecker; Paulo S. Boggio; Sylvie Borau; Björn Bos; Ayoub Bouguettaya; Markus Brauer; Cameron Brick; Tymofii Brik; Roman Briker; Tobias Brosch; Iris M. Engelhard; Ana Rita Farias; Kevin van Schie; Aart van Stekelenburg

doi:10.1126/sciadv.adj5778

Addressing climate change with behavioral science: A global intervention tournament in 63 countries

Madalina Vlasceanu, Kimberly C. Doell, Joseph B. Bak-Coleman, Boryana Todorova, Michael M. Berkebile-Weinberg, Samantha J. Grayson, Yash Patel, Danielle Goldwert, Yifei Pei, Alek Chakroff, Ekaterina Pronizius, Karlijn L. van den Broek, Denisa Vlasceanu, Sara Constantino, Michael J. Morais, Philipp Schumann, Steve Rathje, Ke Fang, Salvatore Maria Aglioti, Mark AlfanoAndy J. Alvarado-Yepez, Angélica Andersen, Frederik Anseel, Matthew A. J. Apps, Chillar Asadli, Fonda Jane Awuor, Flavio Azevedo, Piero Basaglia, Jocelyn J. Bélanger, Sebastian Berger, Paul Bertin, Michał Białek, Olga Bialobrzeska, Michelle Blaya-Burgo, Daniëlle N. M. Bleize, Simen Bø, Lea Boecker, Paulo S. Boggio, Sylvie Borau, Björn Bos, Ayoub Bouguettaya, Markus Brauer, Cameron Brick, Tymofii Brik, Roman Briker, Tobias Brosch, Iris M. Engelhard, Ana Rita Farias, Kevin van Schie, Aart van Stekelenburg

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Effectively reducing climate change requires marked, global behavior change. However, it is unclear which strategies are most likely to motivate people to change their climate beliefs and behaviors. Here, we tested 11 expert-crowdsourced interventions on four climate mitigation outcomes: beliefs, policy support, information sharing intention, and an effortful tree-planting behavioral task. Across 59,440 participants from 63 countries, the interventions' effectiveness was small, largely limited to nonclimate skeptics, and differed across outcomes: Beliefs were strengthened mostly by decreasing psychological distance (by 2.3%), policy support by writing a letter to a future-generation member (2.6%), information sharing by negative emotion induction (12.1%), and no intervention increased the more effortful behavior-several interventions even reduced tree planting. Last, the effects of each intervention differed depending on people's initial climate beliefs. These findings suggest that the impact of behavioral climate interventions varies across audiences and target behaviors.

Original language	English
Article number	eadj5778
Journal	Science advances
Volume	10
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adj5778
Publication status	Published - Feb 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 American Association for the Advancement of Science. All rights reserved.

Funding

Funding: this work was supported by Google Jigsaw grant (to M.Vl., K.c.d., and J.J.V.B.), Swiss national Science Foundation P400PS_190997 (to K.c.d.), dutch Research council grant 7934 (to K.l.v.d.B.), european Union grant no. id 776608 (to K.l.v.d.B.), John templeton Foundation grant 61378 (to M.A.), the national council for Scientific and technological development grant (to A.A.), christ church college Research centre grant (to M.A.J.A.), david Phillips Fellowship grant BB/R010668/2 (to M.A.J.A.), Jacobs Foundation Fellowship (to M.A.J.A.), dFG grant project no. 390683824 (to M.A.d., P.Ba., and B.B.), nYUAd research funds (to J.J.B.), the Swiss Federal Office of energy through the energy, economy, and Society program grant number: Si/502093-01 (to S.Be.), the Belgian national Fund for Scientific Research (FRS-FnRS) PdR 0253.19 (to P.Be.), Fund for scientific development at the Faculty of Psychology at SWPS University in Warsaw (to O.Bi.), Radboud University Behavioral Science institute (to d.n.M.B.),

Funders	Funder number
FRS-FnRS	PdR 0253.19
Google Jigsaw
John Templeton Foundation	61378
John Templeton Foundation
Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung	776608, 7934, P400PS_190997
Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung
Fonds De La Recherche Scientifique - FNRS
Jacobs Foundation	390683824
Jacobs Foundation
Bundesamt für Energie	Si/502093-01
Bundesamt für Energie
Behavioural Science institute, Radboud University
national council for Scientific	BB/R010668/2

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1126/sciadv.adj5778Licence: CC BY

sciadv.adj5778Final published version, 1.98 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

Vlasceanu, M., Doell, K. C., Bak-Coleman, J. B., Todorova, B., Berkebile-Weinberg, M. M., Grayson, S. J., Patel, Y., Goldwert, D., Pei, Y., Chakroff, A., Pronizius, E., van den Broek, K. L., Vlasceanu, D., Constantino, S., Morais, M. J., Schumann, P., Rathje, S., Fang, K., Aglioti, S. M., ... van Stekelenburg, A. (2024). Addressing climate change with behavioral science: A global intervention tournament in 63 countries. Science advances, 10(6), Article eadj5778. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adj5778

@article{a4cc2ba9b92949dba1dcb638e07a7273,

title = "Addressing climate change with behavioral science: A global intervention tournament in 63 countries",

abstract = "Effectively reducing climate change requires marked, global behavior change. However, it is unclear which strategies are most likely to motivate people to change their climate beliefs and behaviors. Here, we tested 11 expert-crowdsourced interventions on four climate mitigation outcomes: beliefs, policy support, information sharing intention, and an effortful tree-planting behavioral task. Across 59,440 participants from 63 countries, the interventions' effectiveness was small, largely limited to nonclimate skeptics, and differed across outcomes: Beliefs were strengthened mostly by decreasing psychological distance (by 2.3%), policy support by writing a letter to a future-generation member (2.6%), information sharing by negative emotion induction (12.1%), and no intervention increased the more effortful behavior-several interventions even reduced tree planting. Last, the effects of each intervention differed depending on people's initial climate beliefs. These findings suggest that the impact of behavioral climate interventions varies across audiences and target behaviors.",

author = "Madalina Vlasceanu and Doell, {Kimberly C.} and Bak-Coleman, {Joseph B.} and Boryana Todorova and Berkebile-Weinberg, {Michael M.} and Grayson, {Samantha J.} and Yash Patel and Danielle Goldwert and Yifei Pei and Alek Chakroff and Ekaterina Pronizius and {van den Broek}, {Karlijn L.} and Denisa Vlasceanu and Sara Constantino and Morais, {Michael J.} and Philipp Schumann and Steve Rathje and Ke Fang and Aglioti, {Salvatore Maria} and Mark Alfano and Alvarado-Yepez, {Andy J.} and Ang{\'e}lica Andersen and Frederik Anseel and Apps, {Matthew A. J.} and Chillar Asadli and Awuor, {Fonda Jane} and Flavio Azevedo and Piero Basaglia and B{\'e}langer, {Jocelyn J.} and Sebastian Berger and Paul Bertin and Micha{\l} Bia{\l}ek and Olga Bialobrzeska and Michelle Blaya-Burgo and Bleize, {Dani{\"e}lle N. M.} and Simen B{\o} and Lea Boecker and Boggio, {Paulo S.} and Sylvie Borau and Bj{\"o}rn Bos and Ayoub Bouguettaya and Markus Brauer and Cameron Brick and Tymofii Brik and Roman Briker and Tobias Brosch and Engelhard, {Iris M.} and Farias, {Ana Rita} and {van Schie}, Kevin and {van Stekelenburg}, Aart",

year = "2024",

month = feb,

doi = "10.1126/sciadv.adj5778",

language = "English",

volume = "10",

journal = "Science advances",

issn = "2375-2548",

publisher = "American Association for the Advancement of Science",

number = "6",

}

Vlasceanu, M, Doell, KC, Bak-Coleman, JB, Todorova, B, Berkebile-Weinberg, MM, Grayson, SJ, Patel, Y, Goldwert, D, Pei, Y, Chakroff, A, Pronizius, E, van den Broek, KL, Vlasceanu, D, Constantino, S, Morais, MJ, Schumann, P, Rathje, S, Fang, K, Aglioti, SM, Alfano, M, Alvarado-Yepez, AJ, Andersen, A, Anseel, F, Apps, MAJ, Asadli, C, Awuor, FJ, Azevedo, F, Basaglia, P, Bélanger, JJ, Berger, S, Bertin, P, Białek, M, Bialobrzeska, O, Blaya-Burgo, M, Bleize, DNM, Bø, S, Boecker, L, Boggio, PS, Borau, S, Bos, B, Bouguettaya, A, Brauer, M, Brick, C, Brik, T, Briker, R, Brosch, T, Engelhard, IM, Farias, AR, van Schie, K & van Stekelenburg, A 2024, 'Addressing climate change with behavioral science: A global intervention tournament in 63 countries', Science advances, vol. 10, no. 6, eadj5778. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adj5778

TY - JOUR

T1 - Addressing climate change with behavioral science

T2 - A global intervention tournament in 63 countries

AU - Vlasceanu, Madalina

AU - Doell, Kimberly C.

AU - Bak-Coleman, Joseph B.

AU - Todorova, Boryana

AU - Berkebile-Weinberg, Michael M.

AU - Grayson, Samantha J.

AU - Patel, Yash

AU - Goldwert, Danielle

AU - Pei, Yifei

AU - Chakroff, Alek

AU - Pronizius, Ekaterina

AU - van den Broek, Karlijn L.

AU - Vlasceanu, Denisa

AU - Constantino, Sara

AU - Morais, Michael J.

AU - Schumann, Philipp

AU - Rathje, Steve

AU - Fang, Ke

AU - Aglioti, Salvatore Maria

AU - Alfano, Mark

AU - Alvarado-Yepez, Andy J.

AU - Andersen, Angélica

AU - Anseel, Frederik

AU - Apps, Matthew A. J.

AU - Asadli, Chillar

AU - Awuor, Fonda Jane

AU - Azevedo, Flavio

AU - Basaglia, Piero

AU - Bélanger, Jocelyn J.

AU - Berger, Sebastian

AU - Bertin, Paul

AU - Białek, Michał

AU - Bialobrzeska, Olga

AU - Blaya-Burgo, Michelle

AU - Bleize, Daniëlle N. M.

AU - Bø, Simen

AU - Boecker, Lea

AU - Boggio, Paulo S.

AU - Borau, Sylvie

AU - Bos, Björn

AU - Bouguettaya, Ayoub

AU - Brauer, Markus

AU - Brick, Cameron

AU - Brik, Tymofii

AU - Briker, Roman

AU - Brosch, Tobias

AU - Engelhard, Iris M.

AU - Farias, Ana Rita

AU - van Schie, Kevin

AU - van Stekelenburg, Aart

PY - 2024/2

Y1 - 2024/2

N2 - Effectively reducing climate change requires marked, global behavior change. However, it is unclear which strategies are most likely to motivate people to change their climate beliefs and behaviors. Here, we tested 11 expert-crowdsourced interventions on four climate mitigation outcomes: beliefs, policy support, information sharing intention, and an effortful tree-planting behavioral task. Across 59,440 participants from 63 countries, the interventions' effectiveness was small, largely limited to nonclimate skeptics, and differed across outcomes: Beliefs were strengthened mostly by decreasing psychological distance (by 2.3%), policy support by writing a letter to a future-generation member (2.6%), information sharing by negative emotion induction (12.1%), and no intervention increased the more effortful behavior-several interventions even reduced tree planting. Last, the effects of each intervention differed depending on people's initial climate beliefs. These findings suggest that the impact of behavioral climate interventions varies across audiences and target behaviors.

AB - Effectively reducing climate change requires marked, global behavior change. However, it is unclear which strategies are most likely to motivate people to change their climate beliefs and behaviors. Here, we tested 11 expert-crowdsourced interventions on four climate mitigation outcomes: beliefs, policy support, information sharing intention, and an effortful tree-planting behavioral task. Across 59,440 participants from 63 countries, the interventions' effectiveness was small, largely limited to nonclimate skeptics, and differed across outcomes: Beliefs were strengthened mostly by decreasing psychological distance (by 2.3%), policy support by writing a letter to a future-generation member (2.6%), information sharing by negative emotion induction (12.1%), and no intervention increased the more effortful behavior-several interventions even reduced tree planting. Last, the effects of each intervention differed depending on people's initial climate beliefs. These findings suggest that the impact of behavioral climate interventions varies across audiences and target behaviors.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85184670116&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1126/sciadv.adj5778

DO - 10.1126/sciadv.adj5778

M3 - Article

SN - 2375-2548

VL - 10

JO - Science advances

JF - Science advances

IS - 6

M1 - eadj5778

ER -

Addressing climate change with behavioral science: A global intervention tournament in 63 countries

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this