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Thesis research project, part of the Master programme Social and Health Psychology (Research) at Utrecht University.

Why and why not does climate change salience lead to pro-environmental intentions?

Journalism is frequently criticized for it's negative and destructive perspective in media coverage. As a consequence, the audience shows negative emotional responses to news such as feelings of depression and frustration. Also, this can limit news seeking behavior and engagement with news. Especially in times of crisis, people report that the news is too negative for them and too emotionally overwhelming which is related to behaviors such as news avoidance. A solution could be to implement features described in constructive journalism in order to reduce negative effects of news for well-being and news engagement of the audience. The basic idea of constructive journalism is to stick to the core functions of journalism while applying techniques described in positive psychology. When facing a crisis, constructive journalism suggests to rely on restorative narratives. This refers to a specific form of storytelling that highlights the growth and progression of people who had to experience distressing situations. Instead of pointing out only harm and suffering, restorative narrative shift the attention on coping strategies that help victims of a crisis to get through the difficult times. The current study wants to investigate how the coverage of a crisis that includes a restorative narrative when describing a crisis affects emotional responses, cognitive responses (quality perception of the news item, elaboration) and behavioral intentions (news engagement, online endorsement) of its readers compared with a story with what we call a destructive narrative. Thereby, we want to investigate potentials but also risks of constructive journalism for the coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic and the climate crisis on an (1) emotional level, (2) cognitive level and (3) behavioral level, both for individuals and for journalism.

Journalism is frequently criticized for it's negative and destructive perspective in media coverage. As a consequence, the audience shows negative emotional responses to news such as feelings of depression and frustration. Also, this can limit news seeking behavior and engagement with news. Especially in times of crisis, people report that the news is too negative for them and too emotionally overwhelming which is related to behaviors such as news avoidance. A solution could be to implement features described in constructive journalism in order to reduce negative effects of news for well-being and news engagement of the audience. The basic idea of constructive journalism is to stick to the core functions of journalism while applying techniques described in positive psychology. When facing a crisis, constructive journalism suggests to rely on restorative narratives. This refers to a specific form of storytelling that highlights the growth and progression of people who had to experience distressing situations. Instead of pointing out only harm and suffering, restorative narrative shift the attention on coping strategies that help victims of a crisis to get through the difficult times. The current study wants to investigate how the coverage of a crisis that includes a restorative narrative when describing a crisis affects emotional responses, cognitive responses (quality perception of the news item, elaboration) and behavioral intentions (news engagement, online endorsement) of its readers compared with a story with what we call a destructive narrative. Thereby, we want to investigate potentials but also risks of constructive journalism for the coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic and the climate crisis on an (1) emotional level, (2) cognitive level and (3) behavioral level, both for individuals and for journalism.

1Midnight

By Octavus Roy Cohen

The crime seemed to have lost itself in the sleety cold of the December midnight upon which it was committed. The trails were not blind--there were simply no trails. The circumstances baffled explanation--a lone woman entering an empty taxicab; a run to a distant point in the city; the discovery of the woman's disappearance, and in her stead the sight of the dead body of a prominent society man--that, and the further blind information that the suit-case which the woman had carried was the property of the man whose body was huddled horribly in the taxicab. (Summary from the text)

In this interesting autobiography we get a very candid look into the life of Rose Cohen, a Russian Jewish girl who immigrates from Russia to the Lower East Side of New York city with her family. From the deplorable conditions in the garment sweatshops, life in the tenements, the setbacks due to poor health and the slow weakening of the family's faith she provides us with a vivid insight into the hopes and frustrations of an immigrant Jewish family adapting to American life. (Celine Major)

3Theism or Atheism, The Great Alternative

By Chapman Cohen

A thought-provoking treatise from 20th century English freethinker, atheist and secularist writer, Chapman Cohen. Here, he lays out the development of the god-idea from primitive to modern times, and makes a compelling argument for atheism over theism or agnosticism. - Summary by J. M. Smallheer