Facing up to ecological crisis:a psychosocial perspective from climate psychology (original) (raw)
Related papers
2019
Facing the facts of climate change and ecological crisis involves encountering powerful feelings such as loss, guilt, anxiety, shame and despair that can be difficult to bear. How we deal with these feelings shapes how we respond to the crisis and is critical in determining whether these responses are ultimately adaptive or maladaptive. Adaptive responses support psychological adjustment to the emerging new realities and stimulate appropriate and proportional action ). Maladaptive responses work against this in some way.
Psychology's contributions to understanding and addressing global climate change
American …, 2011
Global climate change poses one of the greatest challenges facing humanity in this century. This article, which introduces the American Psychologist special issue on global climate change, follows from the report of the American Psychological Association Task Force on the Interface Between Psychology and Global Climate Change. In this article, we place psychological dimensions of climate change within the broader context of human dimensions of climate change by addressing (a) human causes of, consequences of,
Psychology and Global Climate Change
PsycEXTRA Dataset
The article addresses the nature and challenge of adaptation in the context of global climate change. The complexity of 'climate change' as threat, environmental stressor, risk domain, and impacting processes with dramatic environmental and human consequences requires a synthesis of perspectives and models from diverse areas of psychology to adequately communicate and explain how a more psychological framing of the 'human dimensions of global environmental change' can greatly inform and enhance effective and collaborative climate change adaptation and mitigation policies and research. An integrative framework is provided which identifies and considers important mediating and moderating parameters and processes relating to climate change adaptation, with particular emphasis given to environmental stress and stress and coping perspectives. This psychological perspective on climate change adaptation highlights crucial but neglected aspects of adaptation in the climate change science arena. Of particular importance are intra-individual and social psychological adaptation processes which powerfully mediate public risk perceptions and understandings, effective coping responses and resilience, overt behavioral adjustment and change, and psychological and social impacts. This psychological window on climate change adaptation is arguably indispensable to genuinely multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research and policy initiatives addressing the impacts of climate change.
Changing Climates: Integrating Psychological Perspectives on Climate Change
PCSR Conference report, 2011
This engaging one-day conference was a landmark in that it marked the launch of an Alliance now called the Climate Psychology Alliance (see the Alliance Mission Statement on page 17 of this bulletin). The event was opened by Judith Anderson, current Chair of PCSR. This was followed by an introduction from Paul Hoggett, Professor of Social Policy and Director of the Centre for Psycho-Social Studies at the University of West of England. Clive Hamilton, public academic, Professor of Public Ethics at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics (a joint centre of the Australian National University, Charles Sturt University and the University of Melbourne) and visiting academic, University of Oxford, then gave a keynote address.
Psychology and Climate Change, 2018
Climate change is among the greatest challenges of modern times. Today, there is very strong scientific evidence of human interventions which have been leading to long-term changes in the world"s climate. Since there is a need to explain this process in some detail, this chapter first of all discusses the causes of climate change, its real or potential impacts and the solutions needed in order to deal with climate impacts already occurring as well as prevent even more damaging climate change in the next forty or fifty years. Secondly, the chapter provides a glossary with some of the most important terms used in the text presented in the first part. The third part provides different exercises aiming either to further consolidate student understanding of these terms or / and strengthen student grammatical and syntactical skills. Due to its scope, magnitude and impact in the livelihood of millions of people, climate change can be considered to be one of the greatest challenges of modern times. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), global mean temperatures have risen approximately 0.76° C since the mid-1800s (IPCC, 2007). The last decade has been the warmest ever recorded instrumentally (0.42° C above the 1961-1990 baseline), followed by the previous two decades (0.18 and 0.05° C respectively). On the other hand, the last 100 years were the warmest of the millennium. This warming cannot be explained by natural causes alone. There is at present very strong scientific evidence of human interventions which have been leading to long-term changes in the world"s climate. Climate change should not be confused with climate variation, which refers to short-terms fluctuations in climate conditions.
Climate Change: What Psychology Can Offer in Terms of Insights and Solutions
Current directions in psychological science, 2018
Can psychological science offer evidence-based solutions to climate change? Using insights and principles derived from the literature on social dilemmas and human cooperation, we discuss evidence in support of three solutions: crossing the borders of thought, time, and space. First, borders of thought could be crossed by using persuasion that is concrete and tailored to local circumstances and by highlighting information about people's efforts as evidence against the myth of self-interest. Second, borders of time could be crossed by using kinship cues, which can help make the future less distant, and relatively uninvolved advisors, who may help make the future salient. And third, borders of space could be crossed by showing group representatives how they might benefit from a frame of altruistic competition-focusing on the benefits of being seen as moral and global in orientation. Our overall conclusion is that psychological science can offer evidence-based solutions to climate c...
The Critical Challenge of Climate Change for Psychology
European Psychologist, 2014
For many societies, the prime political strategy for mitigating climate change has been to improve the efficiency of technology (e.g., cars, light bulbs, and refrigerators). However, World Bank data suggest that the per-capita energy consumption of societies is leveling off rather than falling. Thus, all efficiency gains are apparently eaten up by rebound. In our psychological account of this ubiquitous rebound phenomenon, we argue that individual consumption is genuinely rational (i.e., benefit-oriented) and grounded in an unlimited number of personal ends (i.e., goals and desires). Behavior and technology – the latter as an amplifier of individual behavior – are means for satisfying personal ends. Predictably, any gains in efficiency as evidenced by savings of time and/or money will be reinvested in further as-yet-unmet personal ends of individuals. Consequently, rebound is the norm and not the exception. The challenge to psychologists is thus, as we argue in this article, to moti...