Warm glow in a warming world : how is warm glow felt across individual and collective climate actions? : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Science in Psychology at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand

Abstract

The scale and severity of climate change are well established; its environmental, physical, social, economic, and psychological effects are already being observed globally, with these consequences expected to worsen over time. Although actions must be taken on a large scale to mitigate these effects, current levels of engagement are insufficient. Encouraging greater participation in pro-environmental behaviours is therefore essential, with positive emotions increasingly recognised as an effective driver. The aim of this research is to explore how warm glow, a positive emotion derived from behaving in environmentally friendly ways, is experienced across collective and individual climate actions. To examine this aim, a quasi-experimental, online survey was conducted among an Australian and New Zealand sample. Participants in the individual and collective climate action conditions completed an autobiographical writing task about a past climate-friendly behaviour, designed to elicit feelings of warm glow. It was hypothesised that participants in both the individual and collective climate action conditions would report higher levels of warm glow relative to the control condition, and that those in the collective condition would report higher levels of warm glow compared to the individual condition. Results showed that warm glow scores were higher for both climate action conditions relative to the control group. However, pairwise comparisons revealed that significant differences were only observed between the collective climate action and control conditions. Exploratory analyses found both efficacy beliefs and extraversion to be strongly correlated with warm glow scores. This study demonstrates that reflecting on past collective climate actions elicits feelings of warm glow, with broader research suggesting that this emotion may motivate future participation and sustain engagement in the movement. Understanding the emotional rewards of climate action may therefore help to encourage participation in the collective behaviours needed to address the climate crisis, while supporting positive psychological, social, and emotional outcomes.