WUWT reader “Carl” Submits this story:
New research suggests people tend to hold negative views of political and social activists
Why don’t people behave in more environmentally friendly ways? New research presents one uncomfortable answer: They don’t want to be associated with environmentalists.
That’s the conclusion of troubling new research from Canada, which similarly finds support for feminist goals is hampered by a dislike of feminists.
Participants held strongly negative stereotypes about such activists, and those feelings reduced their willingness “to adopt the behaviors that these activities promoted,” reports a research team led by University of Toronto psychologist Nadia Bashir. This surprisingly cruel caricaturing, the researchers conclude, plays “a key role in creating resistance to social change.”
http://www.salon.com/2013/09/26/study_everyone_hates_environmentalists_and_feminists_partner/
[I dub it the “Gleick effect”. – Anthony]
UPDATE: Pamela Gray in comments provides the abstract:
Heaven help us if the Gleick and Gore effects coincide.
Speaking as an Australian, we call it the Flannery Effect.
So environmentalists need to get people who are NOT environmentalists to write pro-environmentalists articles for the people who would lean tword environmentalism if it weren’t so radically environmental?
Absolutely right. Nobody likes a zealot. Even if you agree with their views, it can be discomfitting. I think this is especially true for the English. Like being seen to try too hard, it goes against our natural reserve.
There’s a lesson here for skeptics, too.
I have all kinds of statistical doubt about methodology. Social opinion science has lost its bearing in terms of behavior one cannot “see”. It used to be that such research was engaged in only with great trepidation. Now it seems as easy route to a Ph.D.
It makes it hard for red neck, ludite, organic vegetable growing CAGW sckeptics like me. Put in “environmentalist” and it just doesn’t sound right.
Local enviro protest group invited a few activist types to protest some issue . They occupied
downtown park for a few hours then left. Smell of Patchouli, body odor, and something burning lingered for a couple of days. Human feces found in park did not help. The local city pressure washed the bandstand and surrounding parking lot…
Yep there is something to the study…
they needed a study/research to show that people do not agree with them?
someone is handing out way to much grant money
Unfortunately, just as labour relations was hijacked by Marxists with wrong-headed ideas about the value of work, environmentalism (which is actually something worthwhile) has been hijacked by political operatives whose sole objective is to reduce the standard of living of the rich, even if this means delayed development for the poor.
Funny, people prefer reason and common sense to manipulation, force, propaganda and downright ugliness.
Who’d have thunk it?
Link doesn’t seem to work, lands me on a generic 2013 article page.
Tim says:
September 29, 2013 at 8:26 am
Unfortunately, just as labour relations was hijacked by Marxists with wrong-headed ideas about the value of work, environmentalism (which is actually something worthwhile) has been hijacked by political operatives…….
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You think they’re separate groups?
I wonder if they “controlled out” for those who had negative views of political and social activists based on well informed views that the activists positions were technically wrong, incomplete, or not reflecting a good balance between individual liberties and authoritarian controls.
(yes I should go read it myself, and I will, and perhaps I’ll even be pleasantly surprised… actually I will probably be shocked…)
Could be that this sort of disagreeable person knows early what train to get on, and just how to get negative attention. So what if their behavior slows it down and pisses off the passengers, as long as everyone thinks they’re in control.
Once we have reduced the size of climate change departments in the wake of their abject failure to make predictions correctly at least 50% of the time, I think there is scope for economising on the social “scientists” who seem equally dodgy and narrative driven.
Not usual , indeed you to tend to find with most religions that the hard fanatics tend to discourage rather than encourage, ‘unbelievers’ to join in.
And we can actual be rather grateful that such techniques are employed , the mixture of arrogance form its leaders , the diet of doom and its OTT nature as done ‘the cause ‘more harm than often sceptics have done in the eye’s in joe public. Its why people like Mann need to be kept in the public spot light and under pressure , they simple cannot help themselves .
I flaunt my skeptical views whenever I get the opportunity and my experience is that
most people are skeptical and welcome factual information which reinforces their
instinctive dislike of environmentalists.
Well there is one good outcome from this study. If you are a used car salesman/woman,your stature has now risen above politicians,lawyers,envirowackos,eco-cultists,the UN, and the IPCC.Oh.And teachers.
Warmists kept telling me that their failure to enact quicker change in tackling ‘climate change’ was because of ‘well funded’ sceptics. But now we know why, but will thy deny it?
The problem is they are too forceful and loud.
For me it is the Monbiot effect. Drove me here with all his sneering at sceptics when I was simply trying to find out what the “settled science” was.
If you have a keen eye and half a mind its pretty easy to see that environmentalism & Feminism are both hate based movements,, Ugly small minded jerks who think their ability to clear a room somehow makes them right..
Then the media & government highlight these cultist freaks, like they’re some sort of role model..
Which seeds anti media / government feelings, right into class warfare because the believers all have University degrees..
The lines are drawn and no amount of comment or follow the leader propaganda will change the fact that environmentalists / Feminists are either ignored or detested by the general public..
A socially elite group $$$ decide to bring suffering to everybody except themselves.. These swine have to coin a study to dance around their ever present hate..
There is no hope for the hopeless..
Anthony….I think this is the right link…..morning!
http://www.salon.com/2013/09/26/study_everyone_hates_environmentalists_and_feminists_partner/
Participants held strongly negative stereotypes about such activists, and those feelings reduced their willingness “to adopt the behaviors that these activities promoted […]
Are they ‘stereotypes’ or ‘caricatures’ if those concerned rarely fail to live up to them?
I dislike tree hugging sandal wearers because they always have dirty feet and their women don’t shave under their arms nor anywhere else. 🙂
http://www.readcube.com/articles/10.1002/ejsp.1983?locale=en
Abstract plus first page. Best I could do. Apparently no author has posted a pdf of the final draft prior to publication.