Congratulations to SCOOP PhD researcher Ömer Ergün on his new article, written in collaboration with Félice van Nunspeet and Naomi Ellemers: “Doing good feels better: Moral appeals shape reward-related neural activity for pro-environmental gains,” published in International Journal of Psychophysiology.
Their research began with a question: does reminding people that they have a moral responsibility to act on climate change make them more motivated to help?
The researchers tested seventy participants, who were asked to read either a moral or non-moralising statement about climate action. They then completed a task where they could earn money for either themselves, a climate-action charity, or receive no reward.
Participants who read the moral message performed better in trials where they could earn a financial reward, either for themselves or a climate charity. The researchers also found changes in the participants’ brain activity associated with anticipating and processing rewards.
Their research suggests that reminders of moral responsibility may motivate people to contribute to collective, pro-environmental goals. Which means that appealing to a sense of moral responsibility could encourage people to act for the common good.
Read the article here.
