TY - JOUR

T1 - Short and long-term dominance of negative information in shaping public energy perceptions

T2 - The case of shallow geothermal systems

AU - Spampatti, Tobia

AU - Hahnel, Ulf J.J.

AU - Trutnevyte, Evelina

AU - Brosch, Tobias

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors

PY - 2022/8

Y1 - 2022/8

N2 - Positive perception of renewable energy systems, including shallow geothermal systems, is essential for a sustainable energy transition. However, it is underexplored how citizens’ feelings towards and evaluations of this technology change over time and consolidate into a stable, positive perception. In an online longitudinal experiment in Western Switzerland (Time 1: N = 823, Time 2: N = 342, Time 3: N = 221), we investigated i) how informing citizens about twenty positive or negative aspects of shallow geothermal systems change their affect towards and evaluations of the technology, ii) if such changes are stable over time, and iii) how individual differences influence these processes. Results of Time 1 (pre-information) indicate affect is positively associated with shallow geothermal systems’ evaluations. At Time 2 (post-information, three weeks later), citizens significantly updated their affect and evaluations with the information provision. The effect was double for negative over positive information, and enhanced by citizens’ biospheric values. At Time 3 (three months post-information) changes were partially retained only in the negative information condition. In informational campaigns, we thus recommend focusing on reducing the effects of negative messages while tailoring positive messages around citizens’ values, to minimize the temporal decay and maximize the positivity of geothermal systems’ image in the public's eye.

AB - Positive perception of renewable energy systems, including shallow geothermal systems, is essential for a sustainable energy transition. However, it is underexplored how citizens’ feelings towards and evaluations of this technology change over time and consolidate into a stable, positive perception. In an online longitudinal experiment in Western Switzerland (Time 1: N = 823, Time 2: N = 342, Time 3: N = 221), we investigated i) how informing citizens about twenty positive or negative aspects of shallow geothermal systems change their affect towards and evaluations of the technology, ii) if such changes are stable over time, and iii) how individual differences influence these processes. Results of Time 1 (pre-information) indicate affect is positively associated with shallow geothermal systems’ evaluations. At Time 2 (post-information, three weeks later), citizens significantly updated their affect and evaluations with the information provision. The effect was double for negative over positive information, and enhanced by citizens’ biospheric values. At Time 3 (three months post-information) changes were partially retained only in the negative information condition. In informational campaigns, we thus recommend focusing on reducing the effects of negative messages while tailoring positive messages around citizens’ values, to minimize the temporal decay and maximize the positivity of geothermal systems’ image in the public's eye.

KW - Affect heuristic

KW - Energy transition

KW - Geothermal energy

KW - Longitudinal study

KW - Personal values

KW - Public acceptance

KW - Psychology

KW - Sustainability sciences, Management & Economics

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85131561899&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.enpol.2022.113070

DO - 10.1016/j.enpol.2022.113070

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:85131561899

VL - 167

JO - Energy Policy

JF - Energy Policy

SN - 0301-4215

M1 - 113070

ER -