Psychological distance: How to make climate change less abstract and closer to the self

Paul A M Van Lange; Anna L Huckelba

doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.03.011

Psychological distance: How to make climate change less abstract and closer to the self

Curr Opin Psychol. 2021 Dec:42:49-53. doi: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.03.011. Epub 2021 Apr 1.

Authors

Paul A M Van Lange¹, Anna L Huckelba²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Electronic address: p.a.m.van.lange@vu.nl.
² Department of Computing Science, Umeå University, Sweden.

PMID: 33910112
DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.03.011

Abstract

Scientists have been warning the world of the threatening consequences of climate change for decades. Yet, only a few countries have made climate change mitigation a priority. One of the chief issues regarding climate change is its abstractness: consequences for the collective in the long-term are much more abstract than consequences for the self in the here-and-now. To combat climate change, individuals, communities, and governments must work together to reduce the psychological distance of climate change and designate the future of the planet as the prime concern.

Keywords: Climate change; Psychological distance; Social dilemma; Temporal dilemma.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Climate Change*
Forecasting
Humans
Psychological Distance*