Science, Art, Litt, Science based Art & Science Communication

No, emotions are not the only answer for sci-com success

Anger, hope and compassion do little to spur more climate donations

Recently I read some articles on science communication which said

"Emotionally engaging forms of communication are more effective than scientific facts alone in motivating climate action". (1)

Use emotions to make things stick.

Now this research paper says quite the opposite! And I am thrilled because I know this very well.

Emotional mechanisms are frequently used to inspire good environmental behaviour. But how effective are they at inspiring actual sustainable change? Perhaps not as much as previously believed, according to a new study that challenged participants to put their money where their mouths are.

The research examined how three climate-related emotions—anger, compassion and hope—can directly increase pro-environmental behaviour. Participants were then invited to donate their participation fees to charity. The results surprised the researchers.

We knew from earlier research that when people are angry, they are more motivated and have stronger intentions. When people have a bad conscience, they are more willing to accept climate policies. And we know that people need to hope that something can be done. Otherwise they don't do anything.

The power of these motivating factors has been tried and tested in previous studies. If people are angry, they are more likely to want to hold climate criminals to account. If they are compassionate, they are inclined to support victims. And if they have hope, they have intentions.

The new research surveyed more than 2,000 individuals in Norway and Poland. All participants were given 200 kroner or 20 złoty and exposed to a series of short stories designed to trigger different types of climate-related emotions.

The researchers used these stories to find out whether the participants intended to do something and then gave them the possibility to actually donate the money for the cause.

The researchers also gave them another option, to work through a number of pretty boring sheets, where they had to find patterns. In return, the organizers donated on their behalf. The more they did, the more they donated."

This "real impact task" makes the study stand out from other research in the field. The unexpected result was that the number of participants whose behaviour changed based on the emotional content they read was negligible at best.

Hmmm!

Very few—hardly any—gave any more money because of the emotions they had been exposed to, compared with people who did not read the stories. The researchers were shocked.

(And I am not! - Krishna)

That is not to say the results should be considered exclusively in a negative light. The meaning of the research is much more nuanced than "people don't do what they say they're going to do.

The emotional picture appears to be more complicated than simple "climate anxiety."

Some people change their intentions because of emotional information, while those who make actual positive changes (e.g., reducing electricity consumption) are not necessarily doing so for the same reasons. The eventual energy saving had very little to do with the individuals' intention to do it.

The research demonstrates that anger, compassion and hope play vital roles in helping shape people's understanding of climate change. But alone, they are not sufficient to produce actual, measurable change.

The research team demonstrates that the motivation behind actual change is more complex than a single overpowering emotion.

(I know this very well - Krishna)

Dominika Zaremba et al, Impact of anger, compassion, and hope on climate action taking, Scientific Reports (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-56796-9

1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S027249442600277X...

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Shall I tell you now why the researchers got this result?

Alright. People get emotional. And emotions rule the world most of the time. People react immediately when they are emotional. That makes people think that they have succeeded.

But this reaction is just temporary! You have to build more on that!

While rousing emotions is a powerful way to make an idea memorable, it is not a complete solution for long-term retention or problem-solving. Emotional appeals excel at capturing immediate attention, but relying on them alone often fails because human brains require cognitive structure, practical utility, and habit integration to truly "stick."

Here is why emotional arousal falls short on its own, followed by the complementary strategies needed to make solutions stick in people's brains.

Why Rousing Emotions Alone Isn't Enough

Emotional Burnout and Fatigue: High emotional states (like fear, anger, or intense empathy) consume significant cognitive and metabolic energy. The brain naturally dampens these responses over time to protect itself, causing the initial message to lose its impact.

The "What Now?" Gap: An emotion can convince someone that a problem matters, but it rarely explains how to fix it. Without clear, actionable steps, the emotional energy dissipates into frustration or forgetfulness.

Defensive Denial: If an emotional appeal is too intense (e.g., graphic public health warnings), people often subconsciously reject or tune out the message entirely as a psychological defense mechanism.

Context Dependency: Memories tied purely to an emotional state are sometimes hardest to recall when the person returns to a calm, logical state where decisions actually need to be made.

Emotional appeals are temporary.

Making people clearly understand using logic, reasoning and showing complete pictures of scientific views stick to people's mind more than emotional games people play.

What Makes Solutions Truly Stick

To make a concept or solution permanently stick, you must combine emotional resonance with cognitive and behavioural psychological principles.

1. Cognitive Simplicity and Clarity

The brain naturally prioritizes information that requires less effort to process.

The Core Message: Strip an idea down to its single most important element. If you say more things, you say nothing.

Concrete Imagery: Use tangible, sensory language rather than abstract concepts. The brain hooks onto physical imagery far better than conceptual jargon.

2. Structural Narrative (Storytelling)

Stories act as a mental flight simulator. They allow the brain to map out cause-and-effect relationships.

Internal Logic: A structured narrative helps the brain predict what comes next, making the sequence of events much easier to store and recall later.

Relatability: When people see a problem framed through a logical sequence of events, they can easily insert themselves into the scenario.

3. Actionable Triggers (The "Hook")

Solutions stick when they are tied to existing behaviours ( based on culture and group logistics) or environmental cues.

Implementation Intentions: Clearly defining when and where an action should take place ("If X happens, then do Y") bridges the gap between remembering an idea and executing it.

Visual or Environmental Cues: Placing physical reminders in a person's daily environment forces the brain to retrieve the information without relying on internal motivation.

4. The Spacing and Testing Effects

Memory is a muscle that strengthens through effortful retrieval, not just exposure.

Repeated Exposure: Information needs to be encountered multiple times across expanding intervals to shift from short-term to long-term memory.

Active Retrieval: Forcing the brain to recall a solution or answer (like a quick quiz or practical application) creates vastly stronger neural pathways than passively re-reading or hearing an emotional speech.

Approach	What It Captures	Why It's Needed
Emotional Appeal	Attention & Care	Creates the initial spark and desire to act.
Cognitive Framework	Understanding & Logic	Gives the brain a clear roadmap and structure to store the data.
Behavioural Design	Action & Habit	Integrates the solution into daily routines so it isn't forgotten.

Sci-com is highly complex.

Just because you wrote an impressive article, or appealed to emotions or presented a very good lecture, peoples' minds don't make friends with it permanently.

No, emotions are not the only answer for sci-com success

Anger, hope and compassion do little to spur more climate donations

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