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Psychologists from Cardiff University have uncovered new insights into the role of celebrities and politicians in influencing public opinion on low-carbon lifestyles. The paper is published in the journal Humanities and Social Sciences Communications.

"Behavior change is essential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions quickly. Flying less, eating less meat, driving electric cars, improving home energy efficiency, increased use of public transport and active travel are some of the most impactful changes we can make. However, these choices have proved elusive in the general population and are rarely encouraged or modeled by high-status individuals," said Dr. Steve Westlake from Cardiff University School of Psychology, who led the research.

"We wanted to understand the effects of politicians and celebrities walking the talk on climate change and whether this could influence the public to adopt low-carbon behaviors."

The researchers analyzed the opinions of 1,267 people from across the UK in April 2021, measuring peoples' responses to leaders who advocate for taking action on climate change, while either leading by example, or not leading by example.

The Cardiff psychologists tested theories of credibility and embodied leadership to understand how the status of celebrities and politicians could encourage low-carbon lifestyles. They found that visible leading by example from politicians and celebrities significantly increases the willingness of members of the UK public to make these high-impact low-carbon choices.

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