Abstract
AbstractDespite Greta Thunberg's popularity, research has yet to investigate her impact on the public's willingness to take collective action on climate change. Using cross‐sectional data from a nationally representative survey of U.S. adults (N = 1,303), we investigate the “Greta Thunberg Effect,” or whether exposure to Greta Thunberg predicts collective efficacy and intentions to engage in collective action. We find that those who are more familiar with Greta Thunberg have higher intentions of taking collective actions to reduce global warming and that stronger collective efficacy beliefs mediate this relationship. This association between familiarity with Greta Thunberg, collective efficacy beliefs, and collective action intentions is present even after accounting for respondents’ overall support for climate activism. Moderated mediation models testing age and political ideology as moderators of the “Greta Thunberg Effect” indicate that although the indirect effect of familiarity with Greta Thunberg via collective efficacy is present across all age‐groups, and across the political spectrum, it may be stronger among those who identify as more liberal (than conservative). Our findings suggest that young public figures like Greta Thunberg may motivate collective action across the U.S. public, but their effect may be stronger among those with a shared political ideology. Implications for future research and for broadening climate activists’ appeals across the political spectrum are discussed.
Highlights
Climate change is a critical global challenge that requires immediate action (IPCC, 2019)
Extending previous research that has identified psychological mechanisms including appraisal of injustice, collective efficacy, affect, and social identification as factors that predict collective action intentions (Becker & Tausch, 2015; van Zomeren & Iyer, 2009), our findings suggest that exposure to inspirational young public figures like Greta Thunberg is associated with stronger collective efficacy beliefs, and greater intentions to take collective action
As predicted based on social identity model of pro-environmental action (SIMPEA), the association between familiarity with Greta Thunberg and collective action intentions was stronger among adults who share Greta Thunberg's liberal political ideology
Summary
Climate change is a critical global challenge that requires immediate action (IPCC, 2019). The fields of social and environmental psychology have made significant contributions to understanding how people think, feel, and act on climate change (Fielding et al, 2014; van der Linden, 2015). Research has identified key psychological barriers to climate action (Gifford, 2011), and the determinants of individuals’ intentions to take action to mitigate climate change (Lubell et al, 2007; Roser-Renouf et al, 2014, 2016). Social factors such as social consensus among friends and family about anthropogeni
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