The 'Great Climate Change Experiment' is an interdisciplinary venture using the creative arts (guided by the P.I. with a background in acting/drama), film (guided by McQuillan with an established reputation in film/media) and psychology (guided by Beattie with an international reputation in psychology) to change underlying implicit attitudes to carbon footprint, The applicants have an excellent track record of research in this area with publications in leading international journals, in both science (Nature Climate Change) and the arts and humanities (e.g. Semiotica). Beattie and McGuire's book 'The Psychology of Climate Change' (2018), which identifies cognitive and emotional barriers to climate change mitigation and what is missing in current climate change campaigns was selected by The Bookseller (in conjunction with UCL) as one of the ten 'essential environment reads' in their Academic Book week campaign in March 2020. Their research has consistently shown that implicit attitudes, measured using a computerised task assessing associative connections between high/low carbon footprint and evaluative concepts like 'good' and 'bad' are better predictors of visual attention to images of climate change, visual attention to carbon labels, and sustainable choices than self-reported attitudes. Implicit attitudes to carbon footprint need to change to make a real difference to climate change mitigation. McQuillan is an experienced, award-winning filmmaker and author of a monograph which explores in detail issues in practice-based research and filmmaking in a university context. We will work with 5 secondary schools in Kirkby, Liverpool, with children aged 14 - 18: All Saints Catholic High School, Halewood Academy, Kirkby High School, Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Prescot School. This in an area of the North West of England marked by particularly high levels of social deprivation and research suggests less interest in climate change. The contact with the schools has already been established through EHU's Faculty of Education. All schools have agreed to take part. We will work with the young people to devise unique programs based on creative arts and popular content that will engage them more fully with key aspects of climate change. The approach utilises the pioneering work of Schultz on emotional connectedness to nature alongside the work on implicit attitudes to impact on emotional connection and commitment to change.
All young people will take a series of tests before they start on the programme (6th September), including measurement of implicit attitudes to carbon footprint (using our specially-designed Carbon Implicit Association Test), assessment of knowledge about sustainability, emotional feelings about climate change etc., We will then work with them on artistic collaborative workshops over 5 weeks; each workshop will be about different aspects of climate change using emotionally-involving creative arts - drama, art and creative writing. We will use 'photovoice' to capture how the young people feel when they explore issues related to climate change - the photos will later be used to interpret themes and narratives, forming a basis for discussion amongst the young people. We will use arts based evaluation including 'performative enquiry' to evaluate the drama based activities. They will produce all of the evaluative and reflexive material. This whole process will be documented in film using the methodologies of practice-based reflection to explore the resistances and contingencies within the path of attitudinal change as well as the contingencies and opportunities it presents to the practice-based researcher. The young people will then repeat the tests to measure change (11th Oct.). A report and the documentary film, will be completed by 8th November. The film will act as a model of what can be done, documenting this process of change. Initial public dissemination between 8th November and 31st December.