University of Twente Student Theses
The Mental Construal of the Climate Crisis: an Exploratory Study
Nguyen, Jenny (2023) The Mental Construal of the Climate Crisis: an Exploratory Study.
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| Abstract: | Abstract: The perception of climate change as a phenomenon primarily affecting distant locations, future generations, and other individuals rather than oneself and the present moment has drawn attention to construal level theory (CLT). This theoretical framework offers insights into how the public perceives climate change and how the subjective psychological distance at which individuals mentally conceptualize environmental issues influences their decision-making and behaviours. Due to the gap in literature on the use of CLT, especially in the context of climate change, this study embarks to find out more about the construal of the climate crisis. Through qualitative analysis it was found that individual terms related to climate change cannot be attributed a construal level that is representative of a certain psychological distance an individual has towards climate change. Scoring construal in the context of climate change through terminology has proven to be a complicated tasks, with many difficulties that suggest CLT needs to first be further developed into a sounds framework before it can be employed in behavioural interventions. It is suggested that other psychological theories, such as dual process theory are more suitable to employ in the battle against climate change. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Bachelor) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 77 psychology |
| Programme: | Psychology BSc (56604) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/98121 |
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