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The exchange between citizens and elected officials: a social psychological framework for citizen climate activists

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 September 2020

DAVID K. SHERMAN Open the ORCID record for DAVID K. SHERMAN [Opens in a new window] ,
MICHELLE F. SHTEYN Open the ORCID record for MICHELLE F. SHTEYN [Opens in a new window] ,
HAHRIE HAN Open the ORCID record for HAHRIE HAN [Opens in a new window]  and
LEAF VAN BOVEN Open the ORCID record for LEAF VAN BOVEN [Opens in a new window]
DAVID K. SHERMAN*
Affiliation:
University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
MICHELLE F. SHTEYN
Affiliation:
University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
HAHRIE HAN
Affiliation:
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
LEAF VAN BOVEN
Affiliation:
University of Colorado Boulder, CO, USA
*
*Correspondence to: Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9660, USA. E-mail: sherman@ucsb.edu
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Abstract

Citizen activists play a role in translating public concern about the climate crisis to policymakers and elevating it on the political agenda. We consider the dynamic between citizen activists and the decision-makers they seek to influence and we review psychological research relevant to advocating for climate legislation. We conducted a study with citizen activists who lobby the US Congress for a carbon pricing policy to address climate change. The study assessed how activists think about four social psychological approaches: affirmation, social norms, legacy and immediacy. The findings provide a window into activists’ intuitions about which strategies to use, whom to use them with and their perceived effectiveness. A strategy of establishing shared values and common ground (affirmation) was used most frequently overall. A strategy emphasizing the long-term costs and benefits of addressing climate change (legacy) was employed less frequently than affirmation and seen as less effective by activists but it was the only strategy that was associated with perceived increases in Congressional Representatives’ support of the policy. Citizen activists and their interactions with elected officials provide an opportunity for social-behavioral scientists to understand and potentially overcome barriers to enacting climate policy.

Type
Article
Information
Behavioural Public Policy , Volume 5 , Special Issue 4: Behavioural Climate Policy , October 2021 , pp. 576 - 605
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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