Individualist–Collectivist Differences in Climate Change Inaction: The Role of Perceived Intractability
The willingness to take action against climate change may be shaped by cultural orientations. The present study investigated individualist–collectivist differences in climate change inaction as well as the mediating role of perceived intractability. In Study 1, a survey of 182 undergraduates showed...
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doaj-f1e2e8eb2d1040d397da4f93093b86ca2020-11-25T02:46:22ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782019-02-011010.3389/fpsyg.2019.00187389130Individualist–Collectivist Differences in Climate Change Inaction: The Role of Perceived IntractabilityPeng Xiang0Haibo Zhang1Liuna Geng2Kexin Zhou3Yuping Wu4School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, ChinaSchool of Government, Nanjing University, Nanjing, ChinaSchool of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, ChinaNanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Nanjing, ChinaSchool of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, ChinaThe willingness to take action against climate change may be shaped by cultural orientations. The present study investigated individualist–collectivist differences in climate change inaction as well as the mediating role of perceived intractability. In Study 1, a survey of 182 undergraduates showed that greater perceived intractability of climate change was significantly related to a lower frequency of climate-friendly actions in the preceding 6 months. In Study 2, participants who were exposed to information concerning the intractability of climate change (experimental group, n = 98) reported a significantly greater perceived intractability of climate change and lower intention to assume a low-carbon lifestyle than those presented with neutral information (control group, n = 83). Based on Studies 1 and 2, participants with collectivist or individualist orientations were recruited from a pool of Chinese undergraduate students in Study 3. We found that participants with a more individualist orientation (n = 62) are more subject to perceived intractability, and less likely to take climate-friendly action than those with a more collectivist orientation (n = 94), and individualist/collectivist status affects climate change inaction through perceived intractability as mediator. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the promotion of public engagement with climate change by mitigating perceived intractability.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00187/fullclimate change inactionperceived intractabilityclimate changecollectivismindividualism |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Peng Xiang Haibo Zhang Liuna Geng Kexin Zhou Yuping Wu |
spellingShingle |
Peng Xiang Haibo Zhang Liuna Geng Kexin Zhou Yuping Wu Individualist–Collectivist Differences in Climate Change Inaction: The Role of Perceived Intractability Frontiers in Psychology climate change inaction perceived intractability climate change collectivism individualism |
author_facet |
Peng Xiang Haibo Zhang Liuna Geng Kexin Zhou Yuping Wu |
author_sort |
Peng Xiang |
title |
Individualist–Collectivist Differences in Climate Change Inaction: The Role of Perceived Intractability |
title_short |
Individualist–Collectivist Differences in Climate Change Inaction: The Role of Perceived Intractability |
title_full |
Individualist–Collectivist Differences in Climate Change Inaction: The Role of Perceived Intractability |
title_fullStr |
Individualist–Collectivist Differences in Climate Change Inaction: The Role of Perceived Intractability |
title_full_unstemmed |
Individualist–Collectivist Differences in Climate Change Inaction: The Role of Perceived Intractability |
title_sort |
individualist–collectivist differences in climate change inaction: the role of perceived intractability |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Psychology |
issn |
1664-1078 |
publishDate |
2019-02-01 |
description |
The willingness to take action against climate change may be shaped by cultural orientations. The present study investigated individualist–collectivist differences in climate change inaction as well as the mediating role of perceived intractability. In Study 1, a survey of 182 undergraduates showed that greater perceived intractability of climate change was significantly related to a lower frequency of climate-friendly actions in the preceding 6 months. In Study 2, participants who were exposed to information concerning the intractability of climate change (experimental group, n = 98) reported a significantly greater perceived intractability of climate change and lower intention to assume a low-carbon lifestyle than those presented with neutral information (control group, n = 83). Based on Studies 1 and 2, participants with collectivist or individualist orientations were recruited from a pool of Chinese undergraduate students in Study 3. We found that participants with a more individualist orientation (n = 62) are more subject to perceived intractability, and less likely to take climate-friendly action than those with a more collectivist orientation (n = 94), and individualist/collectivist status affects climate change inaction through perceived intractability as mediator. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the promotion of public engagement with climate change by mitigating perceived intractability. |
topic |
climate change inaction perceived intractability climate change collectivism individualism |
url |
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00187/full |
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