Date of Graduation

5-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences

Advisor/Mentor

Eidelman, Scott

Committee Member

Wood, Lisa S.

Second Committee Member

Levine, Bill

Third Committee Member

Eidelman, Scott

Abstract

It has shifted from a hunch to an existential threat, it is a harbinger of disaster and bankruptcy, backed by science, and yet a considerable portion of Americans still believe that climate change is a hoax. It is becoming increasingly imperative to convince this portion to join the fight. It has been found that empathy is an effective method of persuasion, prompting the question of whether empathy could be used shift climate change attitudes. The hypothesis of this study was that if a person feels empathy for somebody harmed by the effects of climate change, they will be more willing than someone who hasn’t to perform behavior that mitigates the effects of climate change. Student participants (n = 100) were recruited from a social psychology class to listen to a prepared radio broadcast. Half were told to remain stoic while listening to the broadcast, focusing on the technical aspects and sound quality. The other half were asked to pay attention to how the subject of the story might feel. Participants were then asked questions on how they would vote on issues related to climate change as well as which actions they would be willing to take to help mitigate its effects. Analysis of the results found no significant effect of the manipulation of empathy on climate change attitudes. However, a strong correlation (r=.36) was found between feeling empathetic and willingness to take action to mitigate climate change.

Keywords

attitude change; climate change; empathy; persuasion; global warming

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