Psychology and Climate Change ― Human Perceptions, Impacts, and Responses

Psychology and Climate Change: Human Perceptions, Impacts, and Responses organizes and summarizes recent work in the field of psychology on the issue of climate change. The book covers topics ranging from how people perceive and respond to climate change, how people understand and communicate about the issue, how it impacts individuals and communities, particularly vulnerable communities, and how individuals and communities can best prepare for, and mitigate, negative climate change impacts. Further, it examines the role of emotion, messenger-audience fit, bi-directional communication, and issue relevance in shaping engagement and receptivity in the effectiveness of climate change communication efforts.

The book lays out the clear relevance of psychological phenomena to perceptions (e.g., risk perception, motivated cognition, denial), impacts (threats to mental health, social well-being, and sense of place), and behavior (mitigation and adaptation), thus striving to engage diverse stakeholders, both within, and between, nations, to develop and implement effective mitigation and adaptation policies on the urgent and very real issue of climate change.

• Addresses psychological adaptation processes related to climate change
• Draws upon identity threat, identity-based motivation, and belonging
• Discusses the difference between acute climate change events and slowly-emerging changes on our mental health
• Explores the effectiveness of climate change communication efforts
• Examines psychological stress and injury related to global climate change
• Considers how perceptions of climate change vary across nations
• Presents a conceptual framework for classifying individual and household behavior
• Promotes individual and community resilience