Journal
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
Volume 55, Issue -, Pages 147-153Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS LTD- ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2018.02.001
Keywords
Psychological distance; Climate change; Localizing; Construal level theory; Climate engagement
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It is commonly suggested that reducing the psychological distance of climate change will increase public engagement. However, extant studies are limited by their correlational design, or by depicting impacts that vary in distance but also in kind or severity. We conducted two experiments designed to vary distance only, holding impacts constant. U.S. participants completed a visual-spatial task that portrayed the Maldives-a remote island nation facing severe climate impacts-as relatively proximal or distal, before judging the nation's geographic distance (Studies 1 and 2) and summarizing a video depicting its climate vulnerabilities (Study 2). Suggesting an effect on psychological distance, participants in the proximal condition judged the Maldives as geographically closer and described its climate impacts using more concrete (vs. abstract) language. However, this reduced psychological distance did not translate into increased policy support. Complementing other work, results suggest that localizing climate change, by itself, is unlikely to increase engagement. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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