The Power of Being Transported: Efficacy Beliefs, Risk Perceptions, and Political Affiliation in the Context of Climate Change

We evaluated the short-term effects of transportation on efficacy beliefs and risk perceptions after exposure to a climate change documentary. Data were collected in randomized laboratory (N = 624) and online (N = 1,391) experiments. Participants watched one episode of Years of Living Dangerously or a control video. Regression analyses assessed whether narrative transportation and/or political affiliation were predictive of outcomes. Transportation and political affiliation were significantly associated with efficacy beliefs and risk perceptions (p < .001). A significant transportation by political party interaction for efficacy beliefs (p < .01) and risk perceptions (p < .01) indicated that cross-party differences could be mitigated by higher levels of transportation.