Speaker
Description
Previous research shows that hypocrisy in political decision-making elicits negative emotions and undermines public trust. However, little is known about how morality and personal values interact to shape reactions to political decisions. The present study examined perceptions of environmental hypocrisy in an out-group context, focusing on another U.S. state. Using an online experimental design, we presented participants with fictional news articles describing a governmental decision that varied by (1) policy orientation (pro-environmental vs. pro-economy) and (2) consistency with prior statements (hypocritical vs. consistent).
We predicted that hypocrisy would evoke stronger negative emotions when the decision conflicted with participants’ personal values and that these emotions would, in turn, predict climate activism. Data from U.S. participants (N = 202) showed that hypocrisy led to more negative emotions when the governmental decision was pro-environmental. More specifically, participants experienced significantly more negative emotions when the decision shifted from pro-economic promises to environmental priorities, compared to consistent pro-environmental actions. In contrast, for economic decisions, hypocrisy had no effect; only participants’ environmental values (New Environmental Paradigm) accounted for negative emotions. Across all conditions, negative emotions were a significant predictor of climate activism.
These findings rejected our idea that morality would play a primary role in environmental hypocrisy perception; rather, moral considerations seem to emerge only for environmental decision. The results highlight the importance of consistent governmental communication and emphasize how global environmental policy trends can shape citizens’ emotional and behavioral responses beyond national borders.
| If your abstract is not accepted for an oral presentation, would you be interested in presenting it as a poster instead? | Yes |
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| If accepted by the Scientific Board, I agree to have my presentation/poster and abstract published on the Belgian Climate Centre websites and social media. | Yes |
