Revisiting the Psychology of Denial Concerning Low-Carbon Behaviors: From Moral Disengagement to Generating Social Change
Abstract
:1. Introduction
1.1. Challenges for the Individual in the Climate Crisis in Light of Political Insufficiency
1.2. Present and Past Research: The Psychology of Denial as Moral Disengagement
2. Materials and Methods
- Have you ever considered the topic of climate change? (Closed question; scale from 1 “not at all” to 6 “very intensively”)
- Please describe in your own words and as detailed as possible what you think and feel while reading this text. (Open question after an introductory text about impacts on and consequences about climate change)
- Do you think you are currently affected by climate change or that you will be affected in the future? (Closed question; nominal scale). Please explain your answer. (Open question)
- Do you think that other people are already being affected by climate change? (Closed question; nominal scale)
- Who is responsible for climate change in your opinion? (Closed question; nominal scale) Please explain your answer. (Open question)
- Do you think enough is being done against climate change? (Closed question; scale from 1 “enough is being done against climate change” to 3 “too much is being done against climate change”) Please explain your answer. (Open question)
- Do you approve or disapprove of this? (Closed question; nominal scale) Please explain your answer. (Open question)
- If, in your opinion, something definitely has to be done to combat climate change, or more than what has been done so far, who, ideally, should do it? Please describe in your own words and as detailed as possible who, realistically, will do something to counteract climate change. (Open question)
- Can you imagine reducing or abandoning certain climate-damaging activities yourself? (Closed question; nominal scale)
- If yes, which climate-damaging activities can you imagine reducing or to abandoning? (Closed question; nominal scale) If not, why not? (Open question)
- What do you think are obstacles to tackling climate change? (Open question)
3. Results
3.1. Acknowledgement or Denial of Climate Change?
3.2. Who is Responsible for Climate Change; Who Should Ideally and Who Will Realistically Take Action?
3.3. Mechanisms of Moral Disengagement
3.4. Summarizing Comparison of the Two Studies
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A
Variable | Levels | Respondents (Absolute) | Respondents (%) | Population in Germany 2011 (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Total | 1032 | 100.0 | 100.0 | |
Gender | Male | 516 | 50.0 | 48.8 |
Female | 516 | 50.0 | 51.2 | |
Age | 18–29 | 143 | 13.9 | 17.0 |
30–39 | 146 | 14.2 | 14.1 | |
40–49 | 177 | 17.2 | 19.9 | |
50–59 | 202 | 19.6 | 24.41 | |
>60 | 364 | 35.3 | 24.61 | |
Educational level | Pupil | 2 | 0.2 | 4.4 |
No school-leaving certificate | 7 | 0.7 | 4.7 | |
Elementary school certificate | 351 | 34.0 | 35.6 | |
Intermediate school certificate | 303 | 29.4 | 26.9 | |
Advanced technical college certificate | 47 | 4.6 | 8.0 | |
High school certificate | 98 | 9.5 | 20.42 | |
Polytechnic certificate | 71 | 6.9 | ||
University certificate | 148 | 14.3 | ||
Others | 5 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
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Stoll-Kleemann, S.; O’Riordan, T. Revisiting the Psychology of Denial Concerning Low-Carbon Behaviors: From Moral Disengagement to Generating Social Change. Sustainability 2020, 12, 935. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12030935
Stoll-Kleemann S, O’Riordan T. Revisiting the Psychology of Denial Concerning Low-Carbon Behaviors: From Moral Disengagement to Generating Social Change. Sustainability. 2020; 12(3):935. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12030935
Chicago/Turabian StyleStoll-Kleemann, Susanne, and Tim O’Riordan. 2020. "Revisiting the Psychology of Denial Concerning Low-Carbon Behaviors: From Moral Disengagement to Generating Social Change" Sustainability 12, no. 3: 935. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12030935