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Activating the legacy motive mitigates intergenerational discounting in the climate game

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Activating the legacy motive mitigates intergenerational discounting in the climate game. / Hurlstone, Mark; Price, Annabel; Wang, Susie et al.
In: Global Environmental Change-Human and Policy Dimensions, Vol. 60, 102008, 01.01.2020.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Harvard

Hurlstone, M, Price, A, Wang, S, Leviston, Z & Walker, I 2020, 'Activating the legacy motive mitigates intergenerational discounting in the climate game', Global Environmental Change-Human and Policy Dimensions, vol. 60, 102008. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2019.102008

APA

Hurlstone, M., Price, A., Wang, S., Leviston, Z., & Walker, I. (2020). Activating the legacy motive mitigates intergenerational discounting in the climate game. Global Environmental Change-Human and Policy Dimensions, 60, Article 102008. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2019.102008

Vancouver

Hurlstone M, Price A, Wang S, Leviston Z, Walker I. Activating the legacy motive mitigates intergenerational discounting in the climate game. Global Environmental Change-Human and Policy Dimensions. 2020 Jan 1;60:102008. Epub 2019 Dec 25. doi: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2019.102008

Author

Hurlstone, Mark ; Price, Annabel ; Wang, Susie et al. / Activating the legacy motive mitigates intergenerational discounting in the climate game. In: Global Environmental Change-Human and Policy Dimensions. 2020 ; Vol. 60.

Bibtex

@article{daa5f891f1b949b79ee528be8262a98b,
title = "Activating the legacy motive mitigates intergenerational discounting in the climate game",
abstract = "Climate change will have dangerous impacts on future generations. Accordingly, people in the present have an obligation to make sacrifices for the benefit of future others. However, research on temporal and social discounting shows that people are short-sighted and selfish—they prefer immediate over delayed benefits, and they prefer benefits for themselves over others. Discounting over long-term time horizons is known as intergenerational discounting, and is a major obstacle to climate action. Here, we examine whether persuasive messages that activate the legacy motive—the desire to build a positive legacy—can increase the willingness of current actors to make sacrifices for future generations. Using a climate change public goods game, we find that when the benefits of cooperation accrue to decision makers in the present, high levels of cooperation are sustained, whereas when the benefits accrue to future generations, intergenerational discounting makes cooperation elusive. Crucially, when the legacy motive is activated—by promoting death awareness, feelings of power asymmetry, and intergenerational reciprocity—intergenerational discounting is attenuated, and cooperation is restored. Our results suggest climate action can be fostered by framing climate change as an intergenerational dilemma, and by crafting persuasive messages that activate people{\textquoteright}s driveto leave a positive legacy.",
keywords = "Climate change, Cooperation, Intergenerational discounting, Legacy motive, Tragedy of the commons, Tragedy of the horizon",
author = "Mark Hurlstone and Annabel Price and Susie Wang and Zoe Leviston and Iain Walker",
year = "2020",
month = jan,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2019.102008",
language = "English",
volume = "60",
journal = "Global Environmental Change-Human and Policy Dimensions",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Activating the legacy motive mitigates intergenerational discounting in the climate game

AU - Hurlstone, Mark

AU - Price, Annabel

AU - Wang, Susie

AU - Leviston, Zoe

AU - Walker, Iain

PY - 2020/1/1

Y1 - 2020/1/1

N2 - Climate change will have dangerous impacts on future generations. Accordingly, people in the present have an obligation to make sacrifices for the benefit of future others. However, research on temporal and social discounting shows that people are short-sighted and selfish—they prefer immediate over delayed benefits, and they prefer benefits for themselves over others. Discounting over long-term time horizons is known as intergenerational discounting, and is a major obstacle to climate action. Here, we examine whether persuasive messages that activate the legacy motive—the desire to build a positive legacy—can increase the willingness of current actors to make sacrifices for future generations. Using a climate change public goods game, we find that when the benefits of cooperation accrue to decision makers in the present, high levels of cooperation are sustained, whereas when the benefits accrue to future generations, intergenerational discounting makes cooperation elusive. Crucially, when the legacy motive is activated—by promoting death awareness, feelings of power asymmetry, and intergenerational reciprocity—intergenerational discounting is attenuated, and cooperation is restored. Our results suggest climate action can be fostered by framing climate change as an intergenerational dilemma, and by crafting persuasive messages that activate people’s driveto leave a positive legacy.

AB - Climate change will have dangerous impacts on future generations. Accordingly, people in the present have an obligation to make sacrifices for the benefit of future others. However, research on temporal and social discounting shows that people are short-sighted and selfish—they prefer immediate over delayed benefits, and they prefer benefits for themselves over others. Discounting over long-term time horizons is known as intergenerational discounting, and is a major obstacle to climate action. Here, we examine whether persuasive messages that activate the legacy motive—the desire to build a positive legacy—can increase the willingness of current actors to make sacrifices for future generations. Using a climate change public goods game, we find that when the benefits of cooperation accrue to decision makers in the present, high levels of cooperation are sustained, whereas when the benefits accrue to future generations, intergenerational discounting makes cooperation elusive. Crucially, when the legacy motive is activated—by promoting death awareness, feelings of power asymmetry, and intergenerational reciprocity—intergenerational discounting is attenuated, and cooperation is restored. Our results suggest climate action can be fostered by framing climate change as an intergenerational dilemma, and by crafting persuasive messages that activate people’s driveto leave a positive legacy.

KW - Climate change

KW - Cooperation

KW - Intergenerational discounting

KW - Legacy motive

KW - Tragedy of the commons

KW - Tragedy of the horizon

UR - https://research-repository.uwa.edu.au/en/publications/activating-the-legacy-motive-mitigates-intergenerational-discounting-in-the-climate-game(d5c39b7c-d16b-4175-858e-0dfb4ab141b8).html

U2 - 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2019.102008

DO - 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2019.102008

M3 - Journal article

VL - 60

JO - Global Environmental Change-Human and Policy Dimensions

JF - Global Environmental Change-Human and Policy Dimensions

M1 - 102008

ER -