SENR Seminar Series
Title: Going back to the future: New psychological tools for promoting conservation
Abstract: Many of the major environmental challenges we face—ocean acidification, habitat loss, species extinction—are often perceived and framed as long-term issues that will impact people (and the planet) far in the future. Such ‘intertemporal distance’ is often viewed by advocates, policymakers and others as a major barrier to more proactive, proenvironmental action. Yet we know that people can and do sometimes make decisions that benefit future others, even at personal expense. In this talk, I highlight ways in which the intertemporal nature of these problems can be leveraged to promote, rather than inhibit, proenvironmental decision-making. I’ll discuss implications for intervention design and note some opportunities for future research.
