Climate Change Communication: The Role of Humour and Rationality in Shaping Intentions

Abstract

Climate change communication increasingly employs multimedia to influence public attitudes and behaviours, especially among younger audiences. This study explores how two types of United Nations (UN) video content; humorous and rational, affect emotional engagement, physiological arousal, and pro-environmental behavioural intentions. We aim to evaluate both self-reported responses and unconscious affective reactions using psychophysiological methods.

A within-subjects experiment was conducted with 40 participants, aged 18–30. Each viewed two UN videos promoting Sustainable Development Goal 13 (Climate Action): one with a rational tone, the other humorous. During viewing, we recorded electrodermal activity (EDA), heart rate variability (via ECG), respiration, and facial expressions (with a FaceReader software). A baseline was established prior to exposure. After viewing, participants completed a validated questionnaire [1] assessing climate-related attitudes and behavioural intentions.

EDA was analysed via skin conductance level (SCL) and skin conductance responses (SCRs). SCL reflects slow, tonic shifts in autonomic activation, while SCRs indicate rapid, phasic responses to emotional stimuli [2]. These are widely used indicators of sympathetic arousal. Heart rate variability and respiration data were used to assess engagement and emotional intensity. Facial expressions captured through automated coding served as indicators of moment-to-moment emotional valence.

Although data analysis is ongoing, we expect the humorous video to elicit stronger facial reactions and greater phasic and tonic EDA responses due to increased attention and arousal. Humour has previously been shown to enhance emotional reactivity and memorability [3]. Emotionally engaging videos have been empirically linked to increased self-reported behavioural intentions, such as sharing content or adopting recommended practices [1]. In contrast, rational messages may better promote behavioural intentions through their factual clarity and perceived credibility. We aim to explore whether physiological arousal correlates with reported intentions, e.g., a stronger emotional response predicting higher self-reported motivation to act.

This study is limited by its modest sample size and the complexity of isolating humour as a discrete stimulus feature. Nonetheless, combining psychophysiological and self-report data enables a deeper understanding of how young people perceive climate communication and how message framing may influence motivation. Our findings will contribute to the field of environmental psychology and applied cognitive science by offering insights into optimizing climate communication strategies.

References

[1] W. Finkler and B. Leon, “The power of storytelling and video: a visual rhetoric for science communication,” Journal of Science Communication, vol. 18, no. 05, pp. A02, Oct. 2019. doi: 10.22323/2.18050202.

[2] D. Caruelle, A. Gustafsson, P. Shams, and L. Lervik-Olsen, “The use of electrodermal activity (EDA) measurement to understand consumer emotions – A literature review and a call for action,” Journal of Business Research, vol. 104, pp. 146–160, Nov. 2019. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.06.041.

[3] S. R. Schmidt, “Effects of humor on sentence memory,” Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition,” vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 953–967, 1994. doi: 10.1037/0278-7393.20.4.953.