Hope mingled with fear: Effects of news messages containing emotional appeals on public's climate action intention

Abstract

There are still problems in the communication of climate change issues. Based on the extended parallel process model (EPPM), this article explores the role of news texts containing emotional appeals in motivating the public's climate action intention. Three web-based, between-subjects experimental studies were conducted. The three studies collected 429, 762, and 1669 valid questionnaires respectively. Results based on moderation and mediation analyses indicated that perceived threat and perceived efficacy positively influenced climate action intention, and that fear and hope emotions mediated the relationship between perceived threat/perceived efficacy and climate action intention. In addition, guilt and encouragement moderated the effect of perceived threat/perceived efficacy on climate action intention. This article provides insights for media information dissemination in achieving the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals, as well as provides effective suggestions for the improvement of information content when relevant organizations mobilize the public to participate in low-carbon environmental protection actions.