�Decoding the Emotional Map of Climate Change�
Galin, Jordan
Galin, Jordan
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Abstract
As climate change becomes more divisive, it becomes more important than ever to examine the polarizing attitudes that drive a wedge between the human race. Funding for climate change research is at an extreme low, with funding cuts threatening research ability., directing researchers towards external funding resources. This research project examines behaviors toward climate change and the part attitudes play towards donating to a climate initiative. A survey was created to prompt participants to answer three guiding questions that facilitated a response in the form of a short letter. At the end of the survey, participants were asked to donate to climate change causes. Two undergraduate students were hired to code the survey responses. Letters were coded based on sentiment, strength of sentiment, emotional consistency, and letter arc. For the preliminary trial, 222 letters were coded. The two coders compared their coding results on a weekly basis, each preparing a batch of ten letters before each meeting, to improve inter-coder reliability. After roughly five sessions of exchanging coding results and discussing variances between each coder�s selections for sentiment, strength of sentiment, emotional consistency, and letter arc, the two students has reached an inter-coder reliability and Krippendorff's Alpha that satisfied the threshold to which the coders needed to be deemed a reliable coding resource. This approach, opposed to the hedonometer, prevents continuous emotional trajectories that result from short-form narratives. Letters were guided to produce either a �Hero�s journey� or a �Stuck in the Abyss� Arc depending on the formatting and wording of each prompt. These differences in prompt were observed through the �Arc� coding category by the two students. While only the preliminary trial has been conducted, human coding proves to be a more reliable source of measure of the aforementioned elements than the hedonometer for short-form narratives.
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Date
1/1/2026
Student Status
Senior (Graduating in 2026)
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Public Communication
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College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
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Social Science