The Effect Of Science Fiction Engagement On Public Engagement With Sustainable Development:A Self-Transcendence Perspective

The public plays an essential role in achieving global sustainability goals.However,individuals’ engagement with global sustainability involves both an interpersonal dilemma(the trade-off between "individual interests" and "human well-being")and an intertemporal dilemma(the trade-off between "short-term gains" and "long-term goals").Self-transcendence theory posits that individuals will reduce excessive self-focus and pursue greater meanings and values when they connect themselves to a larger social and temporal context.Therefore,strengthening identification with all of humanity(i.e.,a sense of belonging to and concern for the human community)and cultivating future orientation(i.e.,valuing long-term outcomes)can help promote a non-egocentric perspective in interpersonal and intertemporal decision-making,which is essential for driving efforts towards a shared and sustainable future for humankind.Correspondingly,science fiction(sci-fi),a prominent genre of global popular culture,not only addresses common human fate but also conveys futuristic imaginaries.In spired of this,this paper aims to investigate whether sci-fi engagement can enhance individuals’ identification with all humanity and future orientation,and further motivate them to engage in global sustainability issues.Moreover,this paper seeks to understand the underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions of these effects.This paper presents 11 studies aimed at addressing the above questions,which can be divided into four parts.The first part focuses on the psychosocial basis of global sustainability engagement and explores the impact of sci-fi engagement on identification with all humanity and future orientation.The second part investigates the shared mechanisms underlying the effects of sci-fi engagement on identification with all humanity and future orientation.The third part expands from the psychological to the behavioral level,examining the impact of sci-fi engagement on global sustainability engagement and its underlying mechanisms.Finally,the fourth part,which focuses on actual behaviors,explores the boundary conditions of the effect of sci-fi engagement on global sustainability engagement and its underlying mechanism.The results showed that: 1)Sci-fi engagement enhanced identification with all humanity and future orientation,which in turn increased global sustainability engagement;2)Awe,as a self-transcendent emotion and tendency,mediated the effect of sci-fi engagement on identification with all humanity,future orientation,and global sustainability engagement;3)Uncertain-world perception functioned as a moderator:when individuals perceived the world as more uncertain,the effect of sci-fi engagement on awe and subsequent engagement with sustainability was stronger;4)Cultural values also functioned as a moderator,with horizontal collectivism enhancing the effect of scifi engagement on awe and the indirect effect of sci-fi engagement on sustainability engagement via awe.This paper identifies an accessible media resource for and presents an alternative approach of mobilizing global sustainability engagement,both at the psychological and behavioral levels.Additionally,it contributes to our understanding of the individual and social impacts of sci-fi and offers new insights into the sociological framework of sci-fi studies.