A megastudy of behavioral interventions to catalyze public, political, and financial climate advocacy

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Authors: Danielle Goldwert, Sara Madureira Constantino, Yash Patel, Anandita C. Sabherwal, Christoph Semken, Cameron Brick, Anna Castiglione, Ramit Debnath, Kimberly C Doell, Rachit Dubey, Ke Fang, Matthew Goldberg
+43 more Wei Ji Ma, Kristian S. Nielsen, Steve Rathje, Claudia R. Schneider, Michael Sheldrick, Ganga Shreedhar, Sander van der Linden, Janquel D. Acevedo, Raihan Alam, Mélusine Boon-Falleur, Ondrej Buchel, Xinghui Chen, Patricia W. Cheng, Adrien Fabre, Matthew Feinberg, Joris Frese, Kylie Fuller, Marvin Helferich, Jarosław Kantorowicz, Elena Kantorowicz‐Reznichenko, Allen Kim, Joan J.H. Kim, Junho Lee, Artur Marchewka, Matto Mildenberger, Adam Roger Pearson, John-Henry Pezzuto, Veronica Pizziol, Marjorie Prokosch, John Protzko, Guilherme Ramos, Willow Rose, David K. Sherman, Emma Swanson, Stylianos Syropoulos, Alessandro Tavoni, Maximilian H Thiel, Leaf Van Boven A, Robb Willer, Tao Yang, Dominika Zaremba, Madalina Vlasceanu, :unav
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Abstract

Addressing climate change depends on large-scale system changes, which require public advocacy. Here, we identified and tested 17 expert-crowdsourced theory-informed behavioral interventions designed to promote public, political, and financial advocacy in a large quota-matched sample of US residents (n = 31,324). The most consistently effective intervention emphasized both the collective efficacy and emotional benefits of climate action, increasing advocacy by up to 10 percentage points. This was also the top intervention among participants identifying as Democrats. Appealing to binding moral foundations, such as purity and sanctity, was also among the most effective interventions, showing positive effects even among participants identifying as Republicans. These findings provide critical insights to policymakers and practitioners aiming to galvanize the public behind collective action and advocacy on climate change with affordable and scalable interventions.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Climate Change Communication and Perception Environmental Education and Sustainability Climate Change Policy and Economics

Publication details

Journal / source
Fraunhofer-Publica (Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft)
Publication date
1 January 2026
Language
EN