MSc Thesis GBS 2022: Borrowing the Earth from Our Children

The question of this research is whether framing future generations in terms of kinship has the potential to induce intergenerational beneficence in a climate change collective action setting. In this online survey experiment, a between-subject research design is used to study the effects of framing future generations (kinship framing / intergenerational framing / control) on intergenerational beneficence using a modified version of the collective-risk social dilemma game. Moreover, the study aims to test the underlying mechanisms that may mediate the kinship framing effect (decreased temporal distance and increased felt responsibility for and affinity with future generations) by countering the temporal and social elements of intergenerational discounting.