Can Climate Skeptics Be Convinced? The Effect of Nature Videos on Environmental Concern

• Main Authors: Axel Franzen, Sebastian Mader
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-04-01
• Series: Sustainability
• Subjects: environmental skepticism; environmental concern; environmental video primers; environmental education
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/7/2972

Much research has demonstrated that videos can function as primers or nudges that influence attitudes and behaviors. Studies to date suggest that this includes influence over individual pro-environmental attitudes. However, the existing evidence all stems from samples comprised of university students. In this paper, we describe the results of a randomized online experiment in a sample of 468 climate skeptics. We presented 3-min nature documentary videos that highlighted either the beauty of nature, the endangerment of nature by humans, or a mixture of both. The results suggest that the mixed stimulus video, which shows first the beauty of nature and then its endangerment by humans does indeed increase environmental concern by almost half a standard deviation. However, none of the video treatments increased donations to pro-environmental organizations. Still, the results suggest that nudging by video also works in samples of climate skeptics, which demonstrates the external validity of former findings.