Climate change denial and distress

Study Overview Previous research has shown that, among U.S. residents, climate change denial (CCD) is more pronounced in those with a conservative political orientation, while climate change anxiety (CCA) is more pronounced in those with a liberal political orientation (Gerber & Anaki, 2024; Lewandowski et al., 2024).The current study examines the association between CCD and CCA among U.S. residents, with political orientation and political activeness explored as potential moderators. Hypotheses 1. Climate change denial (CCD) will be negatively correlated with climate change anxiety (CCA) across the sample. 2. This association will be stronger among Republican participants compared to Democrat participants. 3. Among Republicans, the relationship between CCD and CCA will be further amplified by their level of political activeness, measured on a 5-point Likert scale. Key Dependent Variables • Climate Change Denial (CCD, Wullenkord & Reese, 2021): Measured using a 7-point Likert scale assessing participants' tendency to deny or distance themselves from climate change facts. • Climate Change Anxiety (CCA, Clayton, S., & Karazsia, 2020): Measured using a 5-point Likert scale assessing distress and/or functional impairment related to climate change. Study Design & Conditions Participants will be U.S. residents identifying as either: • Democrats (Condition 1 - More Liberal) • Republicans (Condition 2 - More Conservative) The selection of participants, based on political orientation, will be conducted using the filtering capabilities of the Prolific platform (https://www.prolific.com/). Each participant will complete the study in a single session, which consists of the following components: 1. Primary Measures: CCD and CCA scales. 2. Secondary Measures (all 5-point Likert): o Additional CCD scale ( Häkkinen K, Akrami, 2014). o General environmental attitudes (Dunlap et al. 2000). o Political activeness (adapted from the Pew research center and from Park et al. 2013). 3. Demographics Questionnaire: Age, gender, political orientation, education, employment, and income. Data Collection • The study will be conducted using Qualtrics XM for data collection. • The duration of the session will be approximately 10 minutes. Sample Size Conducting an a priori power analysis the current study requires a sample size of 240 participants (G*Power, Faul et al. 2007). References 1. Gerber Z and Anaki D. The impact of death priming on climate change denial: a preliminary investigation [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]. F1000Research 2024, 13:737 2. Lewandowski, R. E., Clayton, S. D., Olbrich, L., Sakshaug, J. W., Wray, B., Schwartz, S. E., ... & Van Susteren, L. (2024). Climate emotions, thoughts, and plans among US adolescents and young adults: a cross-sectional descriptive survey and analysis by political party identification and self-reported exposure to severe weather events. The Lancet Planetary Health, 8(11), e879-e893. 3. Clayton, S., & Karazsia, B. T. (2020). Development and validation of a measure of climate change anxiety. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 69, 101434. 4. Wullenkord, M. C., & Reese, G. (2021). Avoidance, rationalization, and denial: Defensive self-protection in the face of climate change negatively predicts pro-environmental behavior. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 77, 101683. 5. Häkkinen K, Akrami N: Ideology and climate change denial. Personality and Individual Differences, 70, 62-65. J. Pers. 2014; 88: 161–173. 6. Dunlap, R. E., Van Liere, K. D., Mertig, A. G., & Jones, R. E. (2000). New trends in measuring environmental attitudes: measuring endorsement of the new ecological paradigm: a revised NEP scale. Journal of social issues, 56(3), 425-442. 7. Pew Research Center, September, 2023, “Americans’ Dismal Views of the Nation’s Politics” 8. Park, K. G., Han, S., & Kaid, L. L. (2013). Does social networking service usage mediate the association between smartphone usage and social capital? New media & society, 15(7), 1077-1093.