Abstract
This research adds to the growing body of literature on the role of celebrities as emergent spokespersons in climate advocacy using Twitter. This study investigates the effects of framing of celebrities’ messages (emotional framing and framing of celebrity involvement) on public attitudes and behaviors to address climate change. A sequential mediation process is examined with structural equation modeling. In addition, this study assesses the role of parasocial relationship (PSR) with celebrities as predictors and moderators of the impact of framing of celebrity involvement. The results indicate that fear appeals were more effective than hope appeals in driving participation in activism, but emotional framing did not affect any other variables. Framing of celebrity involvement appeals using first-person pronouns led to more positive attitudes, but had no effect on behaviors. In addition, PSR was a strong positive predictor of attitudes and behaviors.
Highlights
High-profile celebrities have the capacity to attract public attention and mobilize public engagement in the social causes they are involved in [1,2]
Regarding the effects of framing of celebrity involvement, behavioral impacts were not found, the results revealed that messages with first-person singular pronoun (FPP) that emphasized celebrity’s engagement in climate advocacy led to more positive climate attitudes than messages without celebrity involvement appeals, which supports the influence of first-person language [20]
This study discovered that parasocial relationship (PSR) with eco-celebrities was strongly associated with the adoption of attitudes and behaviors related to climate change, verifying star power in social causes [3,11]
Summary
High-profile celebrities have the capacity to attract public attention and mobilize public engagement in the social causes they are involved in [1,2]. They can serve as role models for individuals in promoting pro-social behaviors. The climate change issue has received the most attention and efforts from major celebrities. In addition to sources of messages, how the climate crisis is framed impacts positive attitudes, risk perception [5], and willingness to take action to combat climate change [6]. To fill this research gap, this study focuses on emotional framing and framing of celebrity involvement, which can exert influences on climate attitudes and behaviors
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