8 page essay due 4.13
Nancy 00001
week9.pptxWhat is a value?
“A value is typically defined as a ‘guiding principle in the life of a person’” (Schwartz, 1992). (Corner, et. al., 2011: 1008)
1
Shalom Schwartz’s – “Theory of Basic Human Values”
Values have six principal features:
Values are inextricably linked with emotion and affect.
Values motivate action.
Values provide criteria for judgment.
Values transcend specific actions and situations.
Values constitute an ordered system of priorities.
Our actions are determined by the relative importance of multiple values.
2
Climate Reality Project
3
Common Cause Handbook
4
The further that a value is from another the less likely it is that they are to be paired.
5
Values affect our attitudes to a wide range of things.
“Support for national and international climate policies was strongly associated with pro-egalitarian values, while opposition was associated with anti-egalitarian, pro individualist and pro-hierarchicist values.” (Leiserowitz, ‘Climate change risk perception and policy preferences’, Climatic Change 77 (2006): 63)
The Common Cause Handbook: A Guide to Values and Frames, p. 9
Values affect a wide range of behaviours as well.
“[T]he more strongly individuals subscribe to values beyond their own immediate interests, that is, self-transcendent, pro-social, altruistic, or biospheric values, the more likely they are to engage in pro-environmental behaviour.” (Steg et al., ‘Encouraging pro- environmental behaviour: An integrative review and research agenda’, Journal of Environmental Psychology 29.3 (Sept 2009): 311)
The Common Cause Handbook: A Guide to Values and Frames, p. 9
9
E = Best Dad Ever
10
Everything is Awesome
11
(Common Cause for Nature, 34-35)
12
Corner et al.
“Social marketing is the systematic application of marketing concepts and techniques to achieve specific behavioural goals relevant to the social good (Lazer and Kelley, 1973). The term emerged in the early 1970s (inspired by Wiebe’s suggestion that social goods like brotherhood might be ‘sold’ like commercial goods – Wiebe, 1952), and it has since been used to describe a wide range of programs and projects aimed at pro-social behaviour change – especially in the health domain (Hastings, 2007).” (Corner, et al, 2011:1006).
It approaches action on climate change as an advertising problem.
“Based on extensive empirical research in over 60 nations (Schwartz and Bilsky, 1987; Schwartz et al., 2001), it is now widely accepted that certain values tend to be opposed to each other. In particular, individuals who identify strongly with ‘self-enhancing’ values (e.g. materialism, personal ambition) tend not to identify strongly with ‘self-transcending’ values (e.g. benevolence, respect for the environment).” (Corner, et al, 2011:1008).
Act now on CO2 campaign
15
Spillover effect and social marketing limits
“This idea – that small behavioural changes will lead to more far-reaching and environmentally significant changes – is known as the spillover effect (Thøgersen and Crompton, 2009). However, evidence for the existence of behavioural spillover is very limited.” (Corner, et al, 2011: 1009).
Green Hornet on Biofuel
18
Pezzullo and Cox
Egoistic: concerns focusing on the self (health, quality of life, prosperity, convenience).
Social-altruistic: concerns focusing on other people (children, family, community, humanity).
Social-altruistic concerns focusing on the well-being of living things (plants, animals).
(Pezzullo and Cox, 2018: 222).
19
20
Values
Lorenzoni et al.
“This emphasis on voluntary measures reflects the general reluctance by governments to regulate individual and industry behaviour in relation to environmental issues, and the work towards ‘removing red tape’ (The Cabinet Office, 2006; Hinchliffe, 1996). This reticence stems from fear of electoral protest,1 close relationship with industry (e.g. Gow, 2006), a focus on economic growth, and the short-term priorities of government which are linked to its limited period in office.” (446)
“A state of engagement is understood here as concurrently comprising cognitive, affective and behavioural aspects. In other words, it is not enough for people to know about climate change in order to be engaged; they also need to care about it, be motivated and able to take action.” (446).
“Our observations indicated that different barriers often overlap or work in conjunction to exacerbate the constraints to engagement. For instance, the perceived unavailability of efficient and accessible public transport, in addition to the convenience and habitual use of a car, are cited by people as reasons for continuing to use this form of transport.” (449).
“Participants, even when willing to take action, often maintained that their behaviour was constrained by the lack of enabling infrastructures and mechanisms. For instance, they pointed to a lack of affordable and reliable public transport in their locality, higher prices of environmentally-friendly goods, design of the built environment encouraging car use, lack of disincentives to pollute (e.g., higher car tax for bigger cars), and so on. Another form of constraint explicitly identified by many participants was social norms and expectations requiring carbon-dependent lifestyles.” (453)
Perceived Barriers – Lorenzoni et al.
Perceived Barriers – Lorenzoni et al.
26
Framing cont’d
Robert Entman: “To frame is to select some aspects of a perceived reality and make them more salient in a communicating text, in such a way as to promote a particular problem definition, causal interpretation, moral evaluation and/or treatment recommendation for the item described.” (‘Framing: Toward a Clarification of a Fractured Paradigm, Journal of Communication 43.4 (1993): 52)
Frames – Saffron O’Neill
Saffron O’Neill (2015). “Dominant frames in legacy and social media coverage of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report.” Nature and Climate Change.
29
Lost versus gain
“The negative feelings associated with losing something (e.g. losing $100) generally outweigh the positive feelings associated with gaining that same thing (e.g. winning $100) (p. 37, Common Cause)
30
Present versus future
“People tend to perceive immediate threats as more relevant and of greater urgency than future problems ... [therefore] communicators should generally try to highlight the impacts of climate change that are already being experienced in the present or are likely to occur in the very near future.” (p. 38, Common Cause)
Local versus Global
“Communicators should frame climate change as a local issue, both in terms of consequences and possible solutions .... Because local impacts and solutions are more vivid and thus easier to think about for most people.” (p. 40, Common Cause)
32
36
37
Polling
38
Polling
Polling can produce ‘objective’ knowledge about public opinion. Polling also produces representations of the public which have strategic value in a communications campaign.
What does the public think? What do citizens believe (a majority of)‘the public’ thinks?
What the public thinks is actively contested given its role in defining the public interest (and who ‘represents’ that interest). Constructing particular images of the public is an effective strategy to position oneself as representative/reflective of the public.
Polls can be a persuasive and effective strategy in constructing public(s) that fit a particular political position.
Polling on LNG. - BC public evenly split on LNG development. - But only 23% support fracking while over 60% are opposed.
How polls are designed – representative samples and well-defined questions.
Selection bias: who do you talk to
Response bias: where you are forced to chose an answer (ex. A or B).
Cognitive bias: dealing with a human being
Wording bias: Quebec referendum, Brexit, tankers versus pipelines.
Coverage bias: online poll versus phone poll
Order bias: which question comes first
Margin of error
42
Things that are not polls
Call-in radio shows
Social media polls
Insta-polls at the end of news articles
Street interviews
Push polling (click yes or no)
44
45
46
47
Effect of representations of public on public opinion – Wood and Vedlitz
A study about the impact of social norms and behaviour.
“Now suppose I told you that the percentage of Americans viewing global warming as a serious problem is now around [40%/60%/80%]. Using a scale from 0 to 10 ... how concerned would you be about global warming?”
The use of a higher percentage generated significantly higher concern, whereas the use of a lower percentage generated lower concern.
The Wood and Vedlitz research “shows unequivocally that individuals can be strongly affected in their issue assessments by information showing they are out of sync with the prevailing social interpretation.” (563)
- Wood and Vedlitz, “Issue Definition, Information Processing and the Politics of Global Warming, American Journal of Political Science 51.3 (July 2007).
Perceptions Matter
Surveyed the UK public about:
Their own values.
2. Their perception of other people’s values.
3. Their perception of the values of dominant social institutions.
74 % of people identify as having compassionate values
What about the values of ‘others’?
52
Why is this important?
“... the more strongly a person perceives a typical fellow citizen to hold compassionate values to be important, the more positive that person’s attitude towards various forms of civic engagement, and the more likely that person is to vote.” (Perceptions, p. 22)
53
54
Six America’s
Alarmed 31%: “are fully convinced of the reality and seriousness of climate change and are already taking individual, consumer, and political action to address it.”
Concerned 26%: ”are also convinced that global warming is happening and a serious problem, but have not yet engaged the issue personally.”
Cautious 16%: …
Disengaged 7%: …
Doubtful 10%: …
Dismissive 10%: “… are very sure it is not happening and are actively involved as opponents of a national effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
“The Cautious, the Disengaged, and the Doubtful – represent different stages of understanding and acceptance of the problem, and none are actively involved.”
55
58
What info these groups need based on their beliefs?
Alarmed: Actions
Concerned: Actions
Cautious: Evidence, Causes, Actions
Disengaged: Evidence, Consequences
Doubtful: Causes, Evidence
Dismissive: Evidence, Causes
Today, 57% of the United States fits into those first two categories. That is a majority of people in the United Sates.
59
How does social change happen?
Public sphere view: convince the dismissive. (i.e. may the best idea win).
Democratic majority view: convince the cautious (already here).
Mobilize/civil rights view: focus on the alarmed and concerned and mobilize them.
61
A recent and dramatic increase in the alarmed from 2013 to 2018, and a significant decrease in the dismissive and the doubtful.
63
American newspaper coverage
64
Canadian newspaper coverage
