Table 1 Overview of seven studies testing Protection Motivation Theory in the context of climate change

1

Summer 2020

Air Quality Recovery

2

Participants read about sight-seeing in two Indian cities (control) or how air quality dramatically recovered in two Indian cities during the COVID lock-down (efficacy-boosting)

Response efficacy

57

215

272

2

Fall 2020

Prospection 1

4

Participants imagined and wrote about a future in which we successfully addressed environmental challenges (positive prospection) or did not (negative prospection). There were 2 control conditions

Threat & efficacy

199

442

641

3

Spring 2021

Racial Disparities 1

2

White and POC participants read about climate change impacts disproportionately affecting coastal towns (control) or communities of color (threat-reducing for Whites, threat-boosting for POCs)

Threat (by race)

207

431

638

4

Spring 2021

Scientist 1

3

Participants read an article about accurate epidemiologist predictions (COVID), an article about accurate climatologist predictions, or no article at all

Threat & efficacy

77

176

253

5

Summer 2021

Scientist 2

3

Participants read an article about accurate epidemiologist predictions (COVID), an article about accurate climatologist predictions, or no article at all

Threat & efficacy

106

252

358

6

Fall 2021

Racial Disparities 2

2

White and POC participants read about climate change impacts disproportionately affecting coastal towns (control) or communities of color (threat-reducing for Whites, threat-boosting for POCs)

Threat (by race)

337

830

1167

7

Spring 2022

Prospection 2

4

Participants saw positive images, negative images, or both. They wrote about living in the future(s) depicted. A control condition skipped this task

Threat & efficacy

142

290

432