The moderating role of cultural background in temporal framing: focusing on climate change awareness advertising

Abstract

Applying the framework of Construal Level Theory (CLT), this study tested the effects of an environmental ad describing the distant-future (i.e. end of the twenty-first century) vs. near-future (i.e. next summer) consequences of climate change using a sample of college students in the U.S. and South Korea. Consistent with the proposed empirical model in this study, lower perceived temporal distance of climate change generally led to higher perceived relevance of the event and more positive attitude and greater intention toward the sustainable consumption suggested in the ad (i.e. using Energy Star® qualified bulbs). However, the effects of temporal framing on the variables were moderated by the culture-specific ways in which the participants represented time and interpreted temporal information. In response to the distant-future frame, South Korean participants tended to report significantly shorter perceived temporal distance, thus presenting higher levels perceived relevance, stronger pro-environmental attitudes, and stronger behavioral intention than their U.S. counterparts. Overall, the findings of this study have meaningful implications for the external validity of CLT and for the development of effective climate change awareness campaigns targeting different audiences around the world.