Does reduced psychological distance increase climate engagement? On the limits of localizing climate change

Abstract

It is commonly suggested that reducing the psychological distance of climate change will increase public engagement. However, extant studies are limited by their correlational design, or by depicting impacts that vary in distance but also in kind or severity. We conducted two experiments designed to vary distance only, holding impacts constant. U.S. participants completed a visual-spatial task that portrayed the Maldives—a remote island nation facing severe climate impacts—as relatively proximal or distal, before judging the nation's geographic distance (Studies 1 and 2) and summarizing a video depicting its climate vulnerabilities (Study 2). Suggesting an effect on psychological distance, participants in the proximal condition judged the Maldives as geographically closer and described its climate impacts using more concrete (vs. abstract) language. However, this reduced psychological distance did not translate into increased policy support. Complementing other work, results suggest that localizing climate change, by itself, is unlikely to increase engagement.