Table 6

World saviors

World saviors
Text passageCategoryMain category
[…] championing issues like the preservation of ecosystems against industrial developmentsAdvocate for environmental preservationCharacteristics of WS
Climate change affects mental health by triggering emotional distress, with some individuals deeply affected by grief, loss and frustrationClimate change triggers emotional distress
[…] protest are often theatrical and disruptive forms of nonviolent protest and civil disobedienceTheatrical protest and civil disobedience
[They] believe that government's failure to act swiftly to curtail environmental harms is itself criminalGovernmental non-action is criminal
These movements challenge the boundary between state and society, they promote the creation of certain values and identities rather than material interests, and they often engage in methods and tactics which are more ‘radical’ than those of other civil society groupsMora radical than other civil society groups
[…] often do not respect the opinions of those who are opposed to them [and] see issues in black and white and are resistant to opinions and facts that do not fit their world viewRefute opposite opinions
[…] anger is a potentially political emotion through which protesters ascribe guilt to power-holders, accusing them of abusing their positions of powerUse of anger to attribute guilt
There is also an increasing […] trend in high profile aggressive and violent action by some “extremist” environmental activism groups“Extremist” activism
Messages invoking guilt were likely to invoke self-protection rather than encourage actionProblems of using guilt appealsLimitations of existing approaches
While all negative emotions are unpleasant, their degree of activation differs. […] less activating emotions lead to disengagement from a perceived threat, while more activating emotions predict behavioral attempts to lessen the threat, either by approaching or avoiding the situationEffect of negative emotions depending on activation degree
The danger-alerting capacity of fear is embraced “internally”, but rejected as an effective emotion in mobilizationFear not effective for mobilization
Anger is a powerful driver of activism but can also cause activist burnout and internal conflicts, and thereby contribute to movement declineProblems of using anger appeals
Negative emotions appeals are demonstrated to be the antithesis of useful when attempting to motivate complianceNegative emotional appeals don't motivate compliance
Shame appeals were generally thought of in a negative light and as an ineffective method for motivating people to do the right thingProblems of using shame appeals
some highly emotionally charged messages resulted in emotional trauma leading to “escape” from the message rather than engagement with, and intention to act as a result of, the message. Self-protection was most likely to be evoked in situations with the most empathy and close relationship with the issue at handProblems of highly emotional messages
moralizing climate change can motivate individuals while at the same time defensively lead them to avoid solving the problemProblems with moralization
Selling compliance to the unwilling requires some innovative packagingNew ways of communicating complianceSuggested communication strategies
[…] encourage compliance by using message appeals (in this context not simply message framing) to link the socially desired behavior to something that is of value to the individual. These appeals must be packaged or presented in a way that enables the individual to see the direct benefit (value) of their actionLink behavior to personal value
empathy, as an outcome of negative emotions such as fear, increases the likelihood of helping othersEvoke empathy
Moral motivation includes the motivation to engage in social action based on personal values and/or collective ideologiesAppeal to moral motivation
During moral panics, a social problem comes to be (re)defined as something that needs to be dealt with before it is too lateEvoke “moral panic”

Source(s): Authors’ own creation

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