Abstract
Past research suggests that although citizens are generally favorable to pro-environmental policies, their negative economic impact can be a relevant source of concern. In two studies, we investigated the agreement with messages highlighting the positive vs. negative economic impact of a pro-environmental policy (the creation of a protected natural reserve in a lakeside area), as a function of the framing of the policy itself in terms of local relevance (Study 1) and environmental impact (Study 2). In Study 1, participants (N = 514) were citizens of different Italian regions. Results showed that reference to the local (vs. global) relevance of the proposed policy increased the tendency to agree with loss-framed (vs. gain-framed) messages on the economic impact of the policy. In Study 2, participants (N = 500) were a sample of actual lakeside residents from the Garda Lake area in Italy. Results showed that reading messages promoting the policy through stressing the negative consequences of not implementing it (vs. the positive consequences of implementing it) increased the tendency to agree with a subsequent loss-framed (vs. gain-framed) message on the economic impact of the policy. This effect was more evident among participants with stronger place identity. Discussion focuses on the relevance of framing and matching effects in devising persuasive messages on the environmental and economic impact of pro-environmental policies.
Highlights
Despite the increasing centrality of environmental issues in the public debate (Lorenzoni and Pidgeon, 2006; Gifford, 2011; Pidgeon, 2012), the complexity and technicality of the matter often prevent citizens from forming accurate opinions, leaving them with superficial and ambivalent attitudes toward pro-environmental policies
The message describing the negative economic impact of the pro-environmental proposal was significantly more effective when this impact was embedded in a local frame than when it was embedded in a global frame (M = 4.71, SD = 3.00 and M = 3.44, SD = 2.41, respectively), p < 0.001
When the message described the positive economic impact of the proposal, the difference between the text embedded in a local frame and the text embedded in a global frame was instead not significant (M = 8.47, SD = 2.18 and M = 8.75, SD = 1.96, respectively), p = 0.410
Summary
Despite the increasing centrality of environmental issues in the public debate (Lorenzoni and Pidgeon, 2006; Gifford, 2011; Pidgeon, 2012), the complexity and technicality of the matter often prevent citizens from forming accurate opinions, leaving them with superficial and ambivalent attitudes toward pro-environmental policies. Going Green, but Staying in the Black hand, when the cost of the policies and their potential negative impact on economic development are discussed, many are reluctant to endorse them. This ambivalence can be sometimes exploited by politicians and interest groups, who may insist on the financial burden of pro-environmental policies in order to delay their adoption or reduce their scope (Boykoff, 2013). Our aim was to test to what extent, and under what conditions, participants exposed to a message anticipating a positive vs negative economic impact of a pro-environmental policy (i.e., gain vs loss framing) would agree with the message
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