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Cited by 140Climate Change Communication and PerceptionEnvironmental Education and SustainabilityClimate Change Policy and Economics

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

Open access
Van Lange, Paul A.M., Huckelba, Anna L.·2021·Current Opinion in Psychology
DOI 10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.03.011
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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.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.03.011

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  • Motivation may be cultivated by increasing a sense of individual and collective efficacy through climate action, fostering a sense of altruism, and emphasising the positive effects of climate change mitigation.

    “The literature suggests that motivation may be cultivated by increasing a sense of individual and collective efficacy through climate action [46,49,50,53], fostering a sense of altruism [44], and emphasising the positive effects of climate change mitigation [50].”

    From Climate Distress: A Review of Current Psychological Research and Practice (2023) · cites this paper as [53]

    In “Make instrumental actions more concrete” (page unavailable), the paper links self-efficacy to motivation and recommends concrete feedback about positive results. “Reduce uncertainty where possible (and plausible)” says sharing positive experiences of sustainable behavior can inspire others and increase intrinsic motivation. The paper discusses collective action, but does not clearly say that increasing a sense of collective efficacy cultivates motivation. The sentence cites a different source for altruism, so that clause is not assessed here. (LLM, conf=0.82)

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  • Place-and legacy-based interventions have been explored as effective motivational strategies.

    “Place-and legacy-based interventions have also been explored as effective motivational strategies [44,48,50,53,54].”

    From Climate Distress: A Review of Current Psychological Research and Practice (2023) · cites this paper as [53]

    In “Make instrumental actions more concrete,” the paper describes local initiatives as ways to encourage environmental behavior. In “Make the future more concrete,” it suggests that thinking about children and grandchildren may bring climate change closer to the self. These passages explore place- and future-generation approaches, but the latter is presented as a possibility, not as an established effective intervention. (LLM, conf=0.83)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Cites

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Weber M. Economy and society. Berkeley: University of California Press; 1978.
  2. Pew Research Center: Beyond distrust: how Americans view their government. https://www.people-press.org/2015/11/23/beyond- distrust-how-americans-view-theirgovernment/.

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Authors
Van Lange, P. A. M., & Huckelba, A. L.
Affiliations
Umeå University (SE)
ORCID
Venue
Current Opinion in Psychology
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2021-12
Volume
42
Pages
49-53
ISSN
2352-250X (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.03.011
OpenAlex
W3146600820
Cited by
140
References
39
Citations by year
2026: 32 · 2025: 24 · 2024: 34 · 2023: 31 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 6
FWCI
4.03
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Current Opinion in Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • VU Research Portal (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • KTH Publication Database DiVA (KTH Royal Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
VU Amsterdam
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Climate Change Communication and Perception
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law › Environmental Education and Sustainability
  • Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Climate Change Policy and Economics
Keywords
psychological distance, climate change, abstractness, self-relevance, climate change mitigation, long-term effects, climate change communication
MeSH terms
Forecasting, Humans, Psychological Distance, Climate Change

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