Geiger article: Climate change marches influence bystanders’ beliefs
A study from assistant professor Nathaniel Geiger and scholars from The Pennsylvania State University found that climate change marches may have a positive impact on whether the public believes in climate change.
Penn State professor Janet Swim, Geiger and Penn State doctoral candidate Michael Lengieza conducted a trend study to determine the effectiveness of climate-focused social movements on bystanders.
The study consisted of two surveys, one distributed the day before the 2017 March for Science, and one distributed after the People’s Climate March one week later. A comparison of the two surveys indicated that, in the aftermath of the march, bystanders had a more positive impression of the climate resilience movement, as well as the marchers. The results also suggested that marches increase the likelihood that bystanders will participate in similar social movements in the future.
The paper, “Climate Change Marches as Motivators for Bystander Collective Action,” was published in Frontiers in Communication: Science and Environmental Communication.
Geiger’s faculty appointment is sponsored by The Indiana University Prepared for Environmental Change Grand Challenge initiative, which brings together a broad, bipartisan coalition of government, business, nonprofit and community leaders to help Indiana better prepare for the challenges that environmental changes bring to our economy, health and livelihood. Announced in May 2017, Prepared for Environmental Change is working to deliver tailored and actionable solutions to communities across the state of Indiana.