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To facilitate an understanding of why some environmental policies are acceptable to private citizens and why some are not, we review individual factors that influence the acceptability of environmental policy measures. The factors are categorized in demographic factors, such as age and gender, personal factors such as values and ideology, and policy specific beliefs such as perceptions of how fair or effective a policy is. The reviewed studies indicate that demographic factors generally have small effects on acceptability, that ideology seems to be a consistent predictor among personal factors, and that policy specific beliefs may be effective in explaining acceptability but that the relative importance of the specific beliefs may vary between policy contexts. However, we note methodological concerns in the field of environmental policy acceptability that limit the conclusions that can be drawn from reviews or meta-analyses. We end by giving suggestions for how this field can move forward to provide policy makers with more detailed tools on how to design acceptable environmental policies, for example by introducing more experimental designs, and the standardization of targeting factors, as well as acceptability measures and the improved categorizations of policy tools.
Emma Ejelöv; Andreas Nilsson. Individual Factors Influencing Acceptability for Environmental Policies: A Review and Research Agenda. Sustainability 2020, 12, 2404 .
AMA StyleEmma Ejelöv, Andreas Nilsson. Individual Factors Influencing Acceptability for Environmental Policies: A Review and Research Agenda. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (6):2404.
Chicago/Turabian StyleEmma Ejelöv; Andreas Nilsson. 2020. "Individual Factors Influencing Acceptability for Environmental Policies: A Review and Research Agenda." Sustainability 12, no. 6: 2404.
Although the use of manipulation checks is widespread in social psychology, several researchers have raised methodological concerns about their use and interpretations. However, knowledge of how they are actually being used has been lacking. Extracting data from published reports of 207 recent experiments, we provide an empirical review of current practices concerning manipulation checks in social psychology. Our review suggests that there are serious deficiencies in the manner in which manipulation checks are used and interpreted. For example, published reports tend to contain highly limited quantitative reasoning about the effectiveness of manipulations, and researchers report little or nothing to address the possibility that manipulation checks might cause undesirable reactivity among participants. However, we argue that manipulation checks can be highly beneficial components of experiments when used properly, and they have untapped potential for the quantitative assessment of the strength of manipulations relative to the effect on the dependent variable (i.e., causal efficacy). To assist with such assessments, we provide empirical benchmarks for causal efficacy in social psychology. Additionally, we provide several recommendations for researchers and reviewers for improving the use and reporting of manipulation checks.
Emma Ejelöv; Timothy J. Luke. “Rarely safe to assume”: Evaluating the use and interpretation of manipulation checks in experimental social psychology. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 2019, 87, 103937 .
AMA StyleEmma Ejelöv, Timothy J. Luke. “Rarely safe to assume”: Evaluating the use and interpretation of manipulation checks in experimental social psychology. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 2019; 87 ():103937.
Chicago/Turabian StyleEmma Ejelöv; Timothy J. Luke. 2019. "“Rarely safe to assume”: Evaluating the use and interpretation of manipulation checks in experimental social psychology." Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 87, no. : 103937.
Setting up a contest is a popular means to promote pro-environmental behaviors. Yet, research on contest-based interventions is scarce while norm-based interventions have gained much attention. In two field experiments, we randomly assigned 79 apartments to either a contest-based or a norm-based electricity conservation intervention and measured kWh usage for 2 and 4 weeks, respectively. Results from both studies showed that contest-based interventions promote intensive but short-lived electricity saving. In Study 1 apartments assigned to a norm-based intervention showed more stable electricity saving (low intensity and long-lasting). Study 2 did not replicate this finding, but supported that participants in the norm-based intervention also engaged in non-targeted behaviors. These results emphasize the importance of identifying how different intervention techniques may activate different goals, framing both how people think about and act upon targeted pro-environmental behaviors.
Magnus Bergquist; Andreas Nilsson; Emma Ejelöv. Contest-Based and Norm-Based Interventions: (How) Do They Differ in Attitudes, Norms, and Behaviors? Sustainability 2019, 11, 425 .
AMA StyleMagnus Bergquist, Andreas Nilsson, Emma Ejelöv. Contest-Based and Norm-Based Interventions: (How) Do They Differ in Attitudes, Norms, and Behaviors? Sustainability. 2019; 11 (2):425.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMagnus Bergquist; Andreas Nilsson; Emma Ejelöv. 2019. "Contest-Based and Norm-Based Interventions: (How) Do They Differ in Attitudes, Norms, and Behaviors?" Sustainability 11, no. 2: 425.
This experimental study (N = 139) examines the role of emotions in climate change risk communication. Drawing on Construal Level Theory, we tested how abstract vs. concrete descriptions of climate threat affect basic and self-conscious emotions and three emotion regulation strategies: changing oneself, repairing the situation and distancing oneself. In a 2 × 2 between subjects factorial design, climate change consequences were described as concrete/abstract and depicted as spatially proximate/distant. Results showed that, as hypothesized, increased self-conscious emotions mediate overall positive effects of abstract description on self-change and repair attempts. Unexpectedly and independent of any emotional process, a concrete description of a spatially distant consequence is shown to directly increase self-change and repair attempts, while it has no such effects when the consequence is spatially proximate. “Concretizing the remote” might refer to a potentially effective strategy for overcoming spatial distance barriers and motivating mitigating behavior.
Emma Ejelöv; André Hansla; Magnus Bergquist; Andreas Nilsson. Regulating Emotional Responses to Climate Change – A Construal Level Perspective. Frontiers in Psychology 2018, 9, 1 .
AMA StyleEmma Ejelöv, André Hansla, Magnus Bergquist, Andreas Nilsson. Regulating Emotional Responses to Climate Change – A Construal Level Perspective. Frontiers in Psychology. 2018; 9 ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleEmma Ejelöv; André Hansla; Magnus Bergquist; Andreas Nilsson. 2018. "Regulating Emotional Responses to Climate Change – A Construal Level Perspective." Frontiers in Psychology 9, no. : 1.