How will future generations remember me? Strengthening climate action by tapping into ‘legacy desires’

How can we effectively motivate citizens to take action on climate change? Answering this question has long been a key challenge for policy makers and scientists alike. Encouraging individual actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause global climate change is challenging for many reasons. Since the most harmful impacts of a changing climate will likely be felt by future generations, people are not motivated to act today. The authors of a new study described this "underinvestment in the future" as one of the primary obstacles in bringing about behavior changes to support environmental protection. In response, the authors conducted an experiment to test whether people who want to leave a legacy behind for future generations also chose to donate to an environmental advocacy organization.
 
A team of authors, led by Lisa Zaval, a postdoctoral research scientist at Columbia University's Center for Research on Environmental Decisions, published its findings in Psychological Science. They surveyed 312 participants using an online platform to test a possible link between an individual's motivation to create a legacy and support for environmental action. Participants in the test group were first asked to write a brief essay about what they wanted future generations to remember them for. Both the control and test groups then responded to a series of statements about their beliefs on climate change and their willingness to act on those beliefs, with responses ranging from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree." In addition, both groups answered questions designed to test the strength of their motivations to positively impact the lives of future generations.
 
At the end of the survey, all respondents were entered into a lottery to win a $10 bonus. Participants were told about the lottery and were given the opportunity to donate anywhere from nothing to $10 of the bonus to a predetermined environmental organization working to address climate change. The authors then measured how the pledged donations from the test group and the control group differed.
 
Participants who were first prompted by the essay question, which caused them to think about their legacy for the future, chose to donate significantly more of their potential lottery winnings to the environmental charity. The authors found that 70 percent of participants who were prompted by the legacy essay question pledged to donate an average of $3.34 out of the $10 they were eligible to win. In contrast, participants who did not receive the legacy essay question pledged an average of $2.74 out of $10, with 61 percent of participants choosing to donate at least some amount. As expected, participants who received the legacy essay question also demonstrated a stronger desire to have a positive impact on future generations, based on the set of questions researches posed to all respondents.
 
Although the findings may seem intuitive, the researchers identified a causal link between appealing to an individual's notions of how she or he will be remembered and actual action to financially support an environmental organization. By tapping into the desire many people have to improve the lives of future generations, the authors tested the degree of "pro-environmental behavior," which in this study was measured by the amount pledged to the environmental organization.
 
This research contributes to emerging literature that examines the power of legacy as a key motivator for sparking action. Applied to climate change, the implications may be profound. To counteract the belief that the worst climate impacts will affect people in the distant future, appealing to the idea of one's legacy may prompt direct action to address climate change now. Therefore, this approach represents another communication tool useful for environmental advocates, policy makers and others encouraging pro-environmental behaviors. This study may shed new light on how to influence behavior and encourage citizens to actively support actions that address climate change.