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Psychological distance: How to make climate change less abstract and closer to the self
Paul A M Van Lange1, Anna L Huckelba2
1Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
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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