The Motivational Benefits of Group Membership in the Face of Climate Change: Ingroup Identification Increases Approach Motivation

This research investigates the motivational benefits of ingroup identification in response to climate change threats. Building on the general process model of threat and defense, which argues that people use approach-oriented defenses to deal with the anxiety elicited by threat, we predicted that making climate change salient should induce anxiety, and that identifying with both environmental and non-environmental ingroups should catalyze approach motivation. Across three studies (N = 924), we examined this affective-motivational process from anxiety to approach motivation. Study 1 and Study 2 revealed that climate change salience increases anxiety, and that only ingroup identification, but not individual pro-environmental intentions, were associated with approach-related affect. Using an experimental manipulation, Study 3 confirmed that identifying with ingroups, whether environmental or non-environmental, enhances approach-related affect compared to distracting oneself. Exploring the entire chain from anxiety to approach showed that climate change salience increased anxiety, which predicted identification with environmental ingroups (but not with non environmental ingroups), which was associated with approach motivation. These findings suggest that engaging the social self in the context of climate change can help restore agency and maintain positive activation.