Feeling guilty, anxious or still hopeful? The role of distinct emotions in climate change mitigation behavior
通过实验室实验，研究了内疚、焦虑和希望三种情绪如何影响大学生对减排非政府组织的捐款行为，发现内疚促进捐款，而焦虑和希望减少捐款金额。
This study examines the role of experienced emotions in economic decision-making in the context of climate change. Using short video treatments in an experimental laboratory setting with 301 students, we successfully induce climate-related hope, anxiety, and guilt —emotions that are commonly addressed by NGOs to raise funds. We investigate the potential of our video treatments to affect one key dimension of climate change mitigation behavior: donations to NGOs engaging in CO 2 emission reduction. In our experimental setting, we find that being in the guilt condition positively impacts donation behavior at the extensive margin, while being in the hope or anxiety condition negatively impacts donation behavior at the intensive margin. Experiencing anxiety, however, leads to a lower probability of donating larger amounts to spatially far away donation beneficiaries. Finally, we find that donating subsequently reduces guilt levels, indicating emotional relief. We argue that this finding aligns with theoretical considerations on the inclusion of emotions in the utility maximization framework.