How to Deal With Negative Climate Emotions? An Experimental Study on Emotion Regulation in the Context of the Climate Crisis Among Activists and Non-Activists

Authors

  • Severin Hennemann Orcid
    Department of Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy and Experimental Psychopathology, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany; Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Charlotte Fresenius Hochschule, Wiesbaden, Germany
  • Yannik Jakob Schröder
    Department of Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy and Experimental Psychopathology, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
  • Michael Witthöft Orcid
    Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
  • Peter Zeier Orcid
    Department of Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany

Abstract

Emotion regulation (ER) is essential for psychological resilience amid climate change. This preregistered study evaluated the effectiveness of two ER strategies — reappraisal and expressive suppression — in reducing negative emotional responses to climate-related imagery in climate activists and non-activists. In line with previous research on ER in non-environmental contexts, we expected reappraisal to be a more effective ER strategy than suppression. A sample of 274 individuals (75 activists and 199 non-activists) participated in an online experiment. In 24 trials, participants were presented with images from the Affective Climate Images Database and instructed to either apply reappraisal, suppression, or passively observe the image (control trials). As indicators of ER effectiveness, we assessed and compared pre- and post-regulation ratings of affective valence and arousal. Additionally, participants indicated the effort of implementing the ER strategies. As hypothesized, reappraisal emerged as the most effective strategy, while suppression was even less effective than merely viewing the images in the control trials. Reappraisal and suppression effectiveness did not differ between activists and non-activists, but activists found reappraisal more effortful than non-activists. Neither reappraisal nor suppression effectiveness was significantly associated with self-reported pro-environmental behavior. Our findings indicate a high-effectiveness-high-effort trade-off for reappraisal and underline the ineffectiveness of suppression when confronted with climate change's consequences.