Individual responses to climate change: Framing effects on pro-environmental behaviors

Promoting effective responses to climate change, especially among people who reject its anthropogenic causes, has been challenging. Following a qualitative study, we experimentally induce one of four frames of reference (identity, biodiversity conservation, economic prosperity, and climate change), and assess their effects on participants’ behavioral intentions using three scales (consumption-investment, consumption-reduction, and political participation). The sample (N = 156) included people who thought climate change is natural and those who thought it is human-induced. Results show a significant impact of the identity frame, relative to the climate-change frame, for both consumption scales, in the total sample, and among those who reject the anthropogenic causes. These results offer a way to address behavioral resistances associated with antagonistic views on climate change