Encouraging Individuals to Adapt to Climate Change: Relations between Coping Strategies and Psychological Distance

Mary Guillard, Ghozlane Fleury-Bahi and Oscar Navarro
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Mary Guillard: Laboratoire de Psychologie des Pays de la Loire (LPPL–EA 4638), Faculty of Psychology, University of Angers, University of Nantes, F-44000 Nantes, France
Ghozlane Fleury-Bahi: Laboratoire de Psychologie des Pays de la Loire (LPPL–EA 4638), Faculty of Psychology, University of Angers, University of Nantes, F-44000 Nantes, France
Oscar Navarro: Laboratoire de Psychologie des Pays de la Loire (LPPL–EA 4638), Faculty of Psychology, University of Angers, University of Nantes, F-44000 Nantes, France

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 2, 1-15

Abstract: Experts agree that the environmental situation in relation to climate change requires that populations mobilize. In this respect, research on psychological distance shows that the fact of perceiving an event as concrete leads individuals to adapt to this environmental issue. The first aim of this research study is to identify the different types of environmental coping as regards climate change. The second objective is to study the relations between psychological distance relative to climate change and environmental coping strategies via a quasi-experimental protocol. In order to do this, 345 participants were assigned to a group where climate change was presented as more or less distant from a spatial, temporal, social or hypothetical point of view. On the one hand, the results enable the identification of two second-order factors regarding coping strategies in relation to climate change: Strategies centered on accepting climate change and those centered on minimizing its gravity. On the other hand, covariance analyses and path analyses show that, in general, a small psychological distance in relation to climate change is likely to be associated with more strategies centered on accepting climate change and fewer strategies focused on minimizing its gravity. This study leads us to ponder the pertinence of considering the psychological distance model, notably during awareness-raising campaigns.

Keywords: climate change; construal-level theory; coping strategies; psychological distance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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