How do I feel when I think about taking action? Hope and boredom, not anxiety and helplessness, predict intentions to take climate action

This research examines the extent to which four anticipatory emotional reactions (hope, anxiety, helplessness, and boredom) that arise when contemplating participating in public-sphere climate action predict intentions to engage in such action. In a large, geographically diverse sample of American adults visiting informal science learning centers (e.g., zoos, aquariums; N = 4964), stronger feelings of hope robustly predicted greater intentions to act (eta(2)(p) = .22, a large effect); whereas stronger feelings of boredom robustly predicted decreased intention to act (eta(2)(p) = .09, a medium effect). Both of these feelings had significantly more predictive power than political orientation (eta(2)(p) = .04, a small-to-medium effect). The extent to which respondents felt anxious or helpless was not strongly correlated with their intentions to take action (eta(2)(p)s approximate to 0.01, a small effect). These findings highlight the underexplored connection between how people feel when they contemplate taking climate action and their intentions to engage in such action.

Automated summary

The study found that feelings of hope significantly predicted greater intentions to engage in climate action, while feelings of boredom significantly decreased intention. The impact of anxiety and helplessness on intentions was not as pronounced. This highlights the previously underexplored link between emotional reactions to contemplating climate action and intentions to engage in it.