Sluijs, Maaike van der (2024) Educating Others and Affirming one’s Moral Virtuousness – Investigating Two Motivational Pathways that Drive the Expression of Extreme Pro-Environmental Opinions. Master thesis, Psychology.
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Abstract
In recent years, opinions and views about climate change and climate policy have been framed in a polarized way. Extreme views and opinions contribute to this polarized narrative by creating an ‘us versus them’ dynamic and reinforcing the idea that concerns about climate change and the economy cannot coincide. To better understand polarization, the current study is aimed at gaining additional insight into what drives those who express their extreme pro-environmental opinions. To do so, we proposed and tested a model consisting of two relatively novel motivational pathways which may play a role in driving extreme expressions. The first pathway states that a sense of urgency regarding climate change may drive a desire to educate others about the issue, which in turn motivates extreme expressions. The second pathway states that extreme expressions may be motivated by a desire to reaffirm one’s morality, driven by feelings of shame and guilt that may arise from the moralisation of climate change. Our survey results are in line with both of these pathways. Thus, our findings suggest these drivers should be considered in future research on extreme behaviour.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Postmes, T.T. and Weissenbacher, V.I. |
| Degree programme: | Psychology |
| Differentiation route: | Applied Social Psychology (ASP) [Master Psychology] |
| Date Deposited: | 16 Feb 2024 15:37 |
| Last Modified: | 16 Feb 2024 15:37 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/3122 |
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