Abstract
Although people seem to be concerned about climate change, few are pro-actively engaged in attempting to mitigate it. This discrepancy between environmental view and action has been recognized as a great challenge. This empirical study examined that disparity by investigating people's mindsets about the world. Such mindsets concern the degree to which people perceive their world as a changeable entity that can be shaped (growth mindset) rather than a static one that cannot be moulded or changed (fixed mindset). A survey conducted with American adults explored how these different mindsets could impact 1) attitudes towards climate change, 2) beliefs about its mitigation, 3) pro-environmental behavioural inclinations and 4) the self-reported frequency of pro-environmental actions. Holding a growth mindset about the world was related to more accepting attitudes towards climate change, more favourable beliefs about its possible mitigation, and greater pro-environmental behavioural inclinations. In addition, growth mindset was positively related to higher values in attitudes, beliefs, and behavioural inclinations people experienced after reading a persuasive and informative text on climate change. Finally, ten days later, participants with a stronger view that the world is changeable reported having engaged more frequently in pro-environmental actions throughout those ten days. Overall, holding a growth mindset might help to overcome some of the psychological barriers to environmental action.
Highlights
The existence and worsening of human-caused climate change are overwhelmingly clear
A survey conducted with American adults explored how these different mindsets could impact 1) attitudes towards climate change, 2) beliefs about its mitigation, 3) pro-environmental behavioural inclinations and 4) the self-reported frequency of pro-environmental actions
We decided on a sample of around 300 people to reflect the choice made by Soliman and Wilson (2017), whose study's design resembles the present one with regard to the medium utilized (i.e., Mechanical Turk (MTurk)) and the topic examined
Summary
The existence and worsening of human-caused climate change are overwhelmingly clear. This alarming news comes from the work of researchers and academics (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2007; Kolbert, 2014; Oreskes & Conway, 2014; Pearce et al, 2017; Van der Linden et al, 2015), but was announced by 100 Nobel Laureates, who claimed climate change to be a danger to world peace (Nobel Laureates, 2001). While the majority of people know and are concerned about human-caused climate change, only one in ten believes in the possibility of successfully mitigating it (Leiserowitz et al, 2017; Pew Research Center, 2017). This divergence between people's high level of concern and knowledge about climate change, on the one hand, and their lack of pro-environmental actions, on the other hand, has been recognized as a great challenge in tackling environmental issues (Gifford, 2011). It is pivotal to understand whether and how specific psychological factors may enhance pro-environmental behaviours, hopefully providing insights into the discrepancy between environmental view and action
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