André Hansla

Value-Congruent Information Processing: The Role of Issue Involvement and Argument Strength

Two experimental studies were carried out to investigate the influence of value-congruent information on information processing. We hypothesized that recipients would engage in systematic processing in value-congruent conditions, whereas heuristic processing would be used in value-incongruent conditions. One hundred participants in each experiment received a message that was framed in either environmental/altruistic or economical/egoistic terms, containing either strong or weak arguments. Results showed that value-congruent messages resulted in discrimination between strong and weak arguments, whereas for value-incongruent messages argument strength had either weak or no effects. Implications and future research are discussed.

Looking back in order to predict the future: Relative resource assessments and their relationship to future expectations

Abstract In this research, we investigated how relative resource assessments relate to future expectations. In previous research, resources are typically studied separately, and contextual influences and reference-point dependencies are often ignored. We addressed this in an online survey in which Icelanders (N = 611) assessed their economic, temporal, social, and emotional resources using four reference points (wants, others, past, future). We used exploratory factor analysis to reduce the four resources into three reliable factors: economic, temporal, and socio-emotional resources. Using hierarchical regression we found that assessments of socio-emotional and economic resources were related to future expectations, even after controlling for more objective resource markers, such as income and education. This relationship was strongest when past resources were used as the reference point for assessing current resources. We interpret these findings as suggesting that temporal comparisons to the past become more salient during times of instability, as Icelanders have recently gone through much economic and political turmoil. A psychological challenge for individuals recovering from economic collapse is to abstain from comparing current with past resource levels, as it elicits a loss experience. Overcoming a feeling that “it was better before” seems vital in re-establishing optimistic future expectations.

Regulating Emotional Responses to Climate Change – A Construal Level Perspective

This experimental study (N = 139) examines the role of emotions in climate change risk communication. Drawing on Construal Level Theory, we tested how abstract vs. concrete descriptions of climate threat affect basic and self-conscious emotions and three emotion regulation strategies: changing oneself, repairing the situation and distancing oneself. In a 2 × 2 between subjects factorial design, climate change consequences were described as concrete/abstract and depicted as spatially proximate/distant. Results showed that, as hypothesized, increased self-conscious emotions mediate overall positive effects of abstract description on self-change and repair attempts. Unexpectedly and independent of any emotional process, a concrete description of a spatially distant consequence is shown to directly increase self-change and repair attempts, while it has no such effects when the consequence is spatially proximate. “Concretizing the remote” might refer to a potentially effective strategy for overcoming spatial distance barriers and motivating mitigating behavior.

The value of money: on how childhood economic resources influence value assessments later in life

We know that unlike Homo economicus, Homo sapiens is often influenced by allegedly irrelevant contextual cues when assessing value. However, only recently have individual differences in susceptibil...

Contests versus Norms: Implications of Contest-Based and Norm-Based Intervention Techniques

Interventions using either contests or norms can promote environmental behavioral change. Yet research on the implications of contest-based and norm-based interventions is lacking. Based on Goal-framing theory, we suggest that a contest-based intervention frames a gain goal promoting intensive but instrumental behavioral engagement. In contrast, the norm-based intervention was expected to frame a normative goal activating normative obligations for targeted and non-targeted behavior and motivation to engage in pro-environmental behaviors in the future. In two studies participants (n = 347) were randomly assigned to either a contest- or a norm-based intervention technique. Participants in the contest showed more intensive engagement in both studies. Participants in the norm-based intervention tended to report higher intentions for future energy conservation (Study 1) and higher personal norms for non-targeted pro-environmental behaviors (Study 2). These findings suggest that contest-based intervention technique frames a gain goal, while norm-based intervention frames a normative goal.