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

Paul A.M. Van Lange^*, Anna L. Huckelba

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Review article › Academic › peer-review

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.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	49-53
Number of pages	5
Journal	Current Opinion in Psychology
Volume	42
Early online date	1 Apr 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.03.011
Publication status	Published - Dec 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This article is supported by a grant from the Amsterdam Sustainability Institute (ASI) to the first author at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Author(s)

Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

Keywords

Climate change
Psychological distance
Social dilemma
Temporal dilemma

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.03.011

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title = "Psychological distance: How to make climate change less abstract and closer to the self",

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",

author = "{Van Lange}, {Paul A.M.} and Huckelba, {Anna L.}",

note = "Funding Information: This article is supported by a grant from the Amsterdam Sustainability Institute (ASI) to the first author at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 The Author(s) Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.",

year = "2021",

month = dec,

doi = "10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.03.011",

language = "English",

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pages = "49--53",

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T2 - How to make climate change less abstract and closer to the self

AU - Van Lange, Paul A.M.

AU - Huckelba, Anna L.

N1 - Funding Information: This article is supported by a grant from the Amsterdam Sustainability Institute (ASI) to the first author at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s) Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2021/12

Y1 - 2021/12

N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

KW - Climate change

KW - Psychological distance

KW - Social dilemma

KW - Temporal dilemma

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DO - 10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.03.011

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AN - SCOPUS:85104761753

SN - 2352-250X

VL - 42

SP - 49

EP - 53

JO - Current opinion in psychology

JF - Current opinion in psychology

ER -

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

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

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