A megastudy of behavioral interventions to catalyse public, political, and financial climate advocacy
This article by Danielle Goldwert, Sara Constantino, Jaroslaw Kantorowicz and colleagues presents one of the largest behavioral 'megastudies' to date, testing how different interventions can stimulate public, political and financial climate advocacy.
- Author
- Jaroslaw Kantorowicz
- Date
- 27 January 2026
- Links
- Read the full article here
Based on a sample of over 31,000 participants in the United States, the study compares 17 different strategies to understand what actually motivates people to engage in climate action.
The findings show that messages emphasizing collective impact and positive emotions are the most effective in increasing engagement. In particular, highlighting that people can make a difference together, and that doing so feels meaningful, significantly boosts climate advocacy.
Additionally, framing climate action in terms of moral values (such as responsibility or purity) proves effective across political groups, offering a promising way to overcome polarization.
This research provides valuable insights for policymakers, NGOs and communicators by showing that simple, scalable messages can meaningfully increase public engagement with climate action. It highlights the importance of combining psychological insights with policy strategies to address global challenges.