The use of shocking imagery has been a staple of activism for many years, especially in areas such as famines and animal cruelty.  New research from the University of Surrey suggests that similar imagery is required if people are to act on the dire situation caused by plastic waste in our oceans.

Such imagery is designed to pull on the emotions of people, with this then used to drive changes in behavior, or at least to prompt viewers to contribute financially to the cause.

The paper explains that the deliberate production, and use, of shocking imagery to transform negative emotions into the kind of positive emotional energy that drives lasting behavioral change requires an emotional transformation process.  This process, known as emotion-symbolic work, helps us to both acknowledge our role in a situation, and inspires us to take action to change things.

The albatross

The study focuses on the film Albatross, by Chris Jordan, which aimed to provide visual and visceral evidence of our throw-away culture on bird life.  The film showed dead chicks, who when their stomachs were opened a wide range of plastic objects were found.  They were the kind of plastic objects we so casually discard on a daily basis, which highlights our complicity in the plight of the birds.

“The overriding tragedy in addressing climate change is that we have not been able to create a link between the immensity of the problem and what the individual consumer can do to combat it,” the researchers say. “When it comes to plastic pollution our research shows that we can overcome this by using emotion-symbolic work to transform negative emotions elicited by shocking pictures into positive energy that triggers change.”

The authors suggest that such visual symbols have a profound ability to move people, but on their own they are not enough.  To truly inspire change requires the ability to transform negative emotions into positive emotions.

It’s an issue that is front and center of the current debate on the environment, so it’s interesting to explore how activists can most effectively campaign for change.  Check out the video below for more information on the research.