Discussion

This study was carried out to test the extent to which celebrity endorsement affects

behavioural intentions about climate change. A group of participants, exposed to two

videos having a celebrity and framed in such a way as to appeal a sense of self

identification, was tested against a group exposed to a news-format content. The

results were analysed to evaluate the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement and to

uncover to what extent effects were transmitted by self-identification with the

celebrity or by self-conscious emotions, and whether age plays a role in this process.

I based my argument on the premises that celebrity endorsement can influence the

process of constructing self-identity through either identification with the celebrity or

experiencing self-conscious emotions, and subsequently motivate behavioural

intention. Overall, the findings show no significant effect of celebrity endorsement. The

results from the treatment group also show no strong evidence for the effects of

identification on behavioural intention. Pre-existing attitudes and behavioural intention

are only significant indicators that direct one’s subsequent behavioural intention after

exposure to a celebrity endorsement. As for self-conscious emotions, the data show

that they do not mediate the effects of celebrity endorsement. Only guilt is found to

significantly affect behaviour intention. These results raise the general questions of the

effectiveness of using celebrities to promote behavioural intention towards climate

change.

Meaning transfer theory

First, the results challenge the utility of McCracken’s (1989) meaning transfer theory in

the perceptions of climate change. The theory was primarily developed in the field of

consumer research in which the focus is consumer goods and material culture.

McCracken (1986) even compared goods with the language in the way that the world

of goods is “always more forthcoming and more revealing” (p.74). The meanings

transferred from celebrities to goods are, therefore, less arbitrary. In contrast, language

plays a major role in conveying climate change to the public. It shapes how we define,

interpret and react to the issues. A recent example of increased attention to the role of

language in communicating climate change is set by the UK’s Guardian newspaper

when they decided to adjust the language about climate change (Carrington, 2019).

Considering the complexity and continuous changes in language, it can be more

challenging for a celebrity endorsement to be effective. This begs the question of

whether the persuasiveness of celebrity endorsement in the domain of climate change

can go beyond pro-environmental consumption (Alexander, 2013; Jacobsen, 2011).

Group identity versus individual identity

Because the findings only confirm significant effects of prior attitudes and behaviours,

it is possible that motivated reasoning occurs in which people use prior knowledge and

beliefs to rationalise the correctness of their position. Studies confirmed the role of

motivated reasoning within the context of climate change (Hart & Nisbet, 2011; Kahan

et al., 2012), but it is mostly examined in regard to group identity (in-group versus

out-group membership). From this regard, it gives us a possible explanation for the

findings. It is likely that self-identification with one group has more effects on
behaviour intention than with an individual, especially in a complex topic that has been

polarised (Dunlap & Mccright, 2008; Mccright & Dunlap, 2011). If that is the case, we

can reason that the success of celebrity endorsement depends on whether the

celebrity is regarded as part of the group (i.e. groups of environmental activists, groups

of laypeople, etc.). On assessing how climate change communication can be improved,

Nerlich et al. (2010) pointed out one common problem in which the communication

goals about climate change are often to educate and inform the public through expert

knowledge rather than engaging them in a dialogue. Using celebrities in climate

change issues can be a double-edged sword. On one hand, the omnipresence of

celebrities in society today can draw the public’s attention to the issue that was

previously restricted in the scientific community. On the other hand, celebrities can

appear to belong to the elite group which do not represent the laypeople and get

backfired. The success of young Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg in mobilising

thousands of students to skip school and go on strike (Watts, 2019) can set an

example for the power of a representative voice for a generation group.

Self-conscious emotions

What is notable in the results is that guilt is a significant predictor of behavioural

intention toward climate change. While the data do not support its mediating role

between celebrity endorsement and behavioural intention, they confirm guilt as a

strong emotional motivator for subsequent corrective actions. This result again

emphasises the crucial role of emotions in engaging and mobilising people.

Theoretically, pride is also expected to encourage pro-environmental behaviours.

However, because the survey question measuring self-conscious emotions in the study

are directed towards climate change, it is unlikely that people feel pride thinking about

climate change. This result, despite not supporting the hypothesis, paves the new way

for climate change communication. Studies about emotions in motivating public

engagement in climate change have been mostly centred around basic emotions,

especially fear and hope (Nabi et al., 2018; Ojala, 2015; O'Neill & Nicholson-Cole,

2009). However, there’s also a suggestion that emotion-based appeals should be

oriented toward self-conscious emotions to promote more sustainable behaviours

(Ejelöv et al., 2018). As discussed above, self-conscious emotions require

self-awareness and self-reflection which might be more suitable for dealing with risks

that seem abstract and distant with the public. However, like any emotion, they should

be treated with caution. One of the special features of self-conscious emotions is that

they play a crucial role in the interpersonal relationships and therefore can be

interpreted differently among variations of cultural norms. Tracy & Robins (2007)

pointed out that the degree to which a person experiences shame or guilt depends on

which cultural environment the self posits in (individualism versus collectivism).

Therefore, in the context of this study, it is possible that the celebrity endorsement

could not induce any self-conscious emotion significantly.

Practical implications

Limitations
This study has certain limitations. First, due to the limited period of time, half of

participants (n=40) were required to answer their posttest questionnaire right after the

pretest. It occurred because a large amount of participants did not respond to the

second online survey after two weeks. This was expected to affect the posttest results.

Second, there is also a concern for the experiment length for participants in the

treatment group. While two videos (which last approximately 5 minutes in total) were

used to induce a sense of identification with the celebrity, they potentially caused

distraction and information overload for respondents.

Third, due to time pressure, I decided to leave out many demographic questions and

manipulation checks to ensure the experiment would not take long. It explains the

limited scope of this study in which cultural factors were not taken into consideration.

Conclusion and suggestions for future research

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