Abstracts
Abstract
Many First Nations homes in Canada do not have adequate water services. This issue is unlikely to be resolved without public pressure on the government. Thus, we investigated one strategy to increase non-Indigenous Canadians’ support for government action: framing water as a human right. Informed by a partnership with Indigenous community members and multidisciplinary collaborators, we conducted seven experiments that sampled non-Indigenous Canadian community members (N = 584) and university undergraduates (N = 274). Overall, framing water as a human right increased public support, relative to control conditions. Further, the human rights frame indirectly increased support for government action through increases in perceived suffering (physical and financial) and empathy. We discuss policy implications and end with a call for action.
Keywords:
- human rights,
- support for government action,
- empathy,
- suffering,
- drinking water
Download the article in PDF to read it.
Download
Appendices
Bibliography
- Allen, S. W. (2020, April 15). “An added burden”: First Nations under water advisories speak of greater risks with COVID-19. The Hill Times. https://www.hilltimes.com/2020/04/15/an-added-burden-first-nations-under-water-advisories-speak-of-greater-risks-with-covid-19/243860
- Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs. (2010). Water is a human right [Postcard]. http://www.emptyglassforwater.ca/nyk/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Water_Is_A_Human_Right_Postcard.pdf
- Amato, P. (1986). Emotional arousal and helping behavior in a real‐life emergency. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 16(7), 633–641. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.1986.tb01164.x
- Batson, C. D., & Ahmad, N. Y. (2009). Using empathy to improve intergroup attitudes and relations. Social Issues and Policy Review, 3(1), 141–177. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-2409.2009.01013.x
- Batson, C. D., Chang, J., Orr, R., & Rowland, J. (2002). Empathy, attitudes, and action: Can feeling for a member of a stigmatized group motivate one to help the group? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28(12), 1656–1666. https://doi.org/10.1177/014616702237647
- Batson, C. D., Early, S., & Salvarani, G. (1997). Perspective taking: Imagining how another feels versus imaging how you would feel. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23(7), 751–758. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167297237008
- Batson, C., Duncan, B., Ackerman, P., Buckley, T., & Birch, K. (1981). Is empathic emotion a source of altruistic motivation? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 40(2), 290–302. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.40.2.290
- Batson, C., Fultz, J., & Schoenrade, P. (1987). Distress and empathy: Two qualitatively distinct vicarious emotions with different motivational consequences. Journal of Personality, 55(1), 19–39. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.1987.tb00426.x
- Bharadwaj, L., & Bradford, L. (2018). Indigenous water poverty: Impacts beyond physical health. Northern and Indigenous Health and Health Care. https://openpress.usask.ca/northernhealthcare/chapter/chapter-4-indigenous-water-poverty-impacts-beyond-physical-health/
- Bonnycastle, C. (2015, June). The right to clean water in First Nations: The photovoice project [Paper presentation]. Second Annual University of Manitoba Water Rights Conference, Winnipeg, Canada.
- Bradford, L. E., Bharadwaj, L. A., Okpalauwaekwe, U., & Waldner, C. L. (2016). Drinking water quality in Indigenous communities in Canada and health outcomes: A scoping review. International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 75(1), 323–336. https://doi.org/10.3402/ijch.v75.32336
- Brehm, J. W. (1966). A theory of psychological reactance. Academic Press.
- Bruneau, E., Kteily, N., & Falk, E. (2018). Interventions highlighting hypocrisy reduce collective blame of Muslims for individual acts of violence and assuage anti-Muslim hostility. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 44(3), 430–448. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167217744197
- Busby, K. (2016). Troubling waters: Recent developments in Canada on international law and the right to water and sanitation. Canadian Journal of Human Rights, 5, 1–26.
- Canty, A., & Ripley, B. (2019). boot: Bootstrap R (S-Plus) Functions (R package Version 1.3–23) [Computer software].
- Carriere, K. R. (2019a). Threats to human right: A general review. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 7(1), 8–32. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v7i1.897
- Carriere, K. R. (2019b). Cultural violence: A preliminary analysis of rights and duties. Peace and Conflict: The Journal of Peace Psychology, 25(1), 100–103. https://doi.org/10.1037/ pac0000364
- Chatta, S. (2019, October 15). First Nations coalition announces campaign for safe drinking water. Water Canada. https://www.watercanada.net/first-nations-coalition-announces-campaign-for-safe-drinking-water/?utm_source=Droplet+E-newsletter&utm_campaign=b9c5a0c05c-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_10_21
- Clairmont, D. M. J., & Magill, D. W. (1999). Africville: The life and death of a Canadian Black community (3rd ed.). Canadian Scholars’ Press.
- Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. Erlbaum.
- Cohrs, J., Maes, J., Moschner, B., & Kielmann, S. (2007). Determinants of human right attitudes and behavior: A comparison and integration of psychological perspectives. Political Psychology, 28(4), 441–469. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9221.2007.00581.x
- Craft, A. (2014). Anishinaabe nibi inaakonigewin report: Reflecting the water laws research conducted with Anishinaabe Elders. University of Manitoba, Centre for Human Rights Research. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3433235
- Cumming, G. (2008). Replication and p intervals: p values predict the future only vaguely, but confidence intervals do much better. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3(4), 286– 300. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6924.2008.00079.x
- Cumming, G. (2012). Understanding the new statistics: Effect sizes, confidence intervals, and meta-analysis. Routledge.
- Cumming, G. (2014). The new statistics: Why and how. Psychological Science, 25(1), 7–29. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797613504966
- Davison, A. C., & Hinkley, D. V. (1997). Bootstrap methods and their applications. Cambridge University Press.
- Djupe, P. A., Lewis, A. R., & Jelen, T. G. (2016). Rights, reflection, and reciprocity: Implications of the same-sex marriage debate for tolerance and the political process. Politics and Religion, 9(3), 630–648. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1755048316000547
- Djupe, P. A., Lewis, A. R., Jelen, T. G., & Dahan, C. D. (2014). Rights talk: The opinion dynamics of rights framing. Social Science Quarterly, 95(3), 652–668. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.12083
- Drolet, C. (2018). Cognitive dissonance, hypocrisy, and reducing toleration of human right violations. [Doctoral dissertation, Brock University]. Brock Theses. https://dr.library.brocku.ca/handle/10464/13648
- Fallding, H. (2010a, October 30). Winter, water-hauling a frigid mix. Winnipeg Free Press. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/no-running-water/without/winter-water-hauling-a-frigid-mix.html
- Fallding, H. (2010b, October 30). Less water than a refugee camp. Winnipeg Free Press. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/no-running-water/without/Less-water-than-a-refugee-camp-106368574.html
- Fallding, H. (2010c, November 3). Disease factory: Consequences of living without tap water and flush toilets. Winnipeg Free Press.
- Festinger, L. (1962). A theory of cognitive dissonance (Vol. 2). Stanford University Press.
- Friesen, J. P., Laurin, K., Shepherd, S., Gaucher, D., & Kay, A. C. (2019). System justification: Experimental evidence, its contextual nature, and implications for social change. British Journal of Social Psychology, 58(2), 315–339. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12278
- Harth, N. S., Kessler, T., & Leach, C. W. (2008). Advantaged groups’ emotional reactions to intergroup inequality: The dynamic of pride, guilt, and sympathy. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34(1), 115–129. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167207309193
- Hayes, A. F. (2018). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. Guilford.
- Herle, D. (2007, May 1). Poll-driven politics: The role of public opinion in Canada. Policy Options. https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/the-arctic-and-climate-change/poll-driven-politics-the-role-of-public-opinion-in-canada/
- Hertel, S., Scruggs, L., & Heidkamp, C. (2009). Human right and public opinion: From attitudes to action. Political Science Quarterly, 124(3), 443–459. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1538-165X.2009.tb00655.x
- Human Rights Watch. (2016). Make it safe: Canada’s obligation to end the First Nations water crisis. https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/06/07/make-it-safe/canadas-obligation-end-first-nations-water-crisis
- Indigenous Services Canada. (2021). Ending long-term drinking water advisories. https://www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1506514143353/1533317130660
- Jepson, W. (2014). Measuring ‘no-win’ waterscapes: Experience-based scales and classification approaches to assess household water security in colonias on the US–Mexico border. Geoforum, 51, 107–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2013.10.002
- Jepson, W., Budds, J., Eichelberger, L., Harris, L., Norman, E., O’Reilly, K., Pearson, A., Shah, S., Shinn, J., Staddon, C., Stoler, J., Wutich, A., & Young, S. (2017). Advancing human capabilities for water security: A relational approach. Water Security, 1, 46–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasec.2017.07.001
- Jepson, K., Wutich, A., Harris, L. (2020). Water-security capabilities and the human right to water. In F. Sultana, & A. Loftus (Eds.), Water politics: Governance, justice and the right to water (pp. 84–98). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429453571-7
- Jost, J. T., Liviatan, I., van der Toorn, J., Ledgerwood, A., Mandisodza, A. N., & Nosek, B. A. (2010). System justification: How do we know it’s motivated? In R. Bobocel, A. C. Kay, M. P. Zanna, & J. M. Olson (Eds.), The psychology of justice and legitimacy: The Ontario symposium (Vol. 11, pp. 173–203). Erlbaum.
- Kay, A. C. Gaucher, D., Peach, J. M., Friesen, J., Laurin, K., Zanna, M. P., & Spencer, S. J. (2009). Inequality, discrimination, and the power of the status quo: Direct evidence for a motivation to see the way things are as the way they should be. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97(3), 421–434. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015997
- Liamputtong, P. (2011). Researching the vulnerable. Sage Publications. https://doi.org/ 10.4135/9781849209861
- Lerner, M. J., & Simmons, C. H. (1966). Observer’s reaction to the “innocent victim”: Compassion or rejection? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 4(2), 203–210. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0023562
- Mazzoni, D., van Zomeren, M., & Cicognani, E. (2015). The motivating role of perceived right violation and efficacy beliefs in identification with the Italian water movement. Political Psychology, 36(3), 315–330. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12101
- McClearn, M. (2019, October 10). Is ending boil-water advisories enough for First Nations? Why some are suing Ottawa for equality. Globe and Mail. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/ canada/article-is-ending-boil-water-advisories-enough-for-first-nations-why-some-are/
- McFarland, S. (2010). Personality and support for universal human right: A review and test of a structural model. Journal of Personality, 78(6), 1735–1763. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2010.00668.x
- McFarland, S. (2015). Culture, individual differences, and support for human right: A general review. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 21(1), 10–27. https://doi.org/10.1037/pac0000083
- McFarland, S., & Mathews, M. (2005). Who cares about human right? Political Psychology, 26(3), 365–385. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9221.2005.00422.x
- McFarland, S., Webb, M., & Brown, D. (2012). All humanity is my ingroup: A measure and studies of identification with all humanity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 103(5), 830–853. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028724
- Meehan, K. (2020). Making space for practical authority: Policy formalization and the right to water in Mexico. In F. Sultana, & A. Loftus (Eds.), Water politics: Governance, justice and the right to water (pp. 28–41). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429453571-3
- Neegan Burnside. (2011). National assessment of First Nations water and wastewater systems—National roll-up report. Report prepared for Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. https://www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1313770257504/1533829250747
- Neufeld, K. H. S., Funk, L. M., Starzyk, K. B., Gorea, M. I., & Dansereau, L. (2019). Barriers to and strategies for engaging non-Indigenous Canadians in fulfilling First Nations water rights: A qualitative inquiry. The International Indigenous Policy Journal, 10(3). https://doi.org/10.18584/iipj.2019.10.3.8291
- O’Gorman, M., & Penner, S. (2018). Water infrastructure and well-being among First Nations, Métis and Inuit individuals in Canada: What does the data tell us? Environmental Science & Pollution Research, 25, 33038–33055. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-1258-1
- Pacheco-Vega, R. (2019). (Re)theorizing the politics of bottled water: Water insecurity in the context of weak regulatory regimes. Water, 11(4), 658. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11040658
- Pacheco-Vega, R., & Parizeau, K. (2018). Doubly engaged ethnography: Opportunities and challenges when working with vulnerable communities. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 17(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406918790653
- Page, B., & Shapiro, R. (1983). Effects of public opinion on policy. The American Political Science Review, 77(1), 175–190. https://doi.org/10.2307/1956018
- R Core Team. (2017). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing. https://www.R-project.org/
- Rosenthal, R. (2015). Reflections on the origins of meta-analysis. Research Synthesis Methods, 6(3), 240–245. https://doi.org/10.1002/jrsm.1135
- Roth, G., Shane, N., & Kanat-Maymon, Y. (2017). Empathizing with the enemy: Emotion regulation and support for humanitarian aid in violent conflicts. Cognition and Emotion, 31(8), 1511–1524. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2016.1237348
- Scruggs, L. (2018). Public opinion and economic human right: Patterns of support in 22 countries. Journal of Human Rights, 17(5), 568–588. https://doi.org/10.1080/14754835.2017.1422705
- Shimo, A. (2018, October 4). While Nestlé extracts millions of litres from their land, residents have no drinking water. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/global/2018/oct/04/ontario-six-nations-nestle-running-water
- Shnabel, N., Dovidio, J. F., & Levin, Z. (2016). But it’s my right! Framing effects on support for empowering policies. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 63, 36–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2015.11.007
- Starzyk, K. B. (2016, September 27). How to frame water and wastewater issues on First Nations to increase public support for government action. In M. O’Gorman (Chair, Plenary Session), The most precious gift: The right to clean water in First Nations [Symposium]. Under Western Skies 2016: Water—Events, Trends, Analysis. Mount Royal University, Calgary, AB, Canada.
- Starzyk, K. B., & Fontaine, A. S. M. (2017, June 29). Right to clean water: The most precious gift public engagement cluster findings [Webinar]. First Nations Health and Social Services Secretariat of Manitoba Partners for Engagement and Knowledge Exchange (PEKE), Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
- Starzyk, K. B., Neufeld, K. H. S., El-Gabalawy, R. M., & Boese, G. D. B. (2019). The case for and causes of intraminority solidarity in support for reparations: Evidence from community and student samples in Canada. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 7(1), 620–650. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v7i1.673
- Starzyk, K. B., & Ross, M. (2008). A tarnished silver lining: Victim suffering and support for reparations. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34(3), 366–380. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167207311280
- Stefanovich, O. (2020, December 2). Indigenous services minister acknowledges Liberals won’t meet promised drinking water target. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/indigenous-services-minister-drinking-water-target-1.5824614
- Steindl, C., Jonas, E., Sittenthaler, S., Traut-Mattausch, E., & Greenberg, J. L. (2015). Understanding psychological reactance: New developments and findings. Zeitschrift fur Psychologie / Journal of Psychology, 223(4), 205–214. https://doi.org/10.1027/2151-2604/a000222
- Stellmacher, J., & Sommer, G. (2008). Human right education: An evaluation of university seminars. Social Psychology, 39, 70–80. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335.39.1.70
- Stephan, W. G., & Finlay, K. (1999). The role of empathy in improving intergroup relations. Journal of Social Issues, 55(4), 729–743. https://doi.org/10.1111/0022-4537.00144
- Stephan, W. G., Ybarra, O., & Bachman, G. (1999). Prejudice toward immigrants. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 29(11), 2221–2237. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.1999.tb00107.x
- Sultana, F., & Loftus, A. (2012). The right to water: Politics, governance, and social struggles. Earthscan.
- Troian, M. (2011, March 25). Four years and $1.25 billion later, nearly 1 in 5 First Nations still lack safe drinking water. Media Indigena. https://mediaindigena.com/billions-spent-but-18-of-first-nations-still-lack-safe-drinking-water/
- Trudeau Foundation. (2010). Human rights in Canada today: A national opinion survey. http://www.fondationtrudeau.ca/sites/default/files/environicstfconf2010-web_0.pdf
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. (2015). Honouring the truth, reconciling for the future: Summary of the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. https://ehprnh2mwo3.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Executive_Summary_English_Web.pdf
- Ueno, T., Fastrich, G. M., & Murayama, K. (2016). Meta-analysis to integrate effect sizes within an article: Possible misuse and Type I error inflation. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 145(5), 643–654. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000159
- United Nations, The human right to water and sanitation, Resolution A/RES/64/292, General Assembly, 64th session, 2010, August 3. http://daccess-ods.un.org/access.nsf/Get?Open&DS=A/RES/64/292&Lang=E
- United Nations Human Rights Council. (2010). Human right and access to safe drinking water and sanitation. UN General Assembly.
- van Zomeren, M., Postmes, T., & Spears, R. (2008). Toward an integrative social identity model of collective action: A quantitative research synthesis of three socio-psychological perspectives. Psychological Bulletin, 134(4), 504–535. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.134.4.504
- Viechtbauer, W. (2010). Conducting meta-analyses in R with the metafor package. Journal of Statistical Software, 36(3), 1–48. https://www.jstatsoft.org/article/view/v036i03