Climate Change (old guide)
Provides resources on climate change and global warming from the perspective of the disciplines of science, social science and humanities.
Psychology and climate change
What kinds of questions do psychologists ask about climate change?
- How do people process and make sense of climate change?
- Why do some reject the notion of climate change?
- How do cognitive biases and other mental shortcuts determine our attitudes about climate change?
- What role do emotions play in our understanding of the planet's future?
- How do images of climate change affect our reaction to the phenomenon?
- How might conflict resolution and cooperation figure in solving some of the major issues of climate change?
Thinking (or not) about climate change
- Why psychologists should care about climate changePsychology professor Adam Pearson discusses psychological causes and consequences of climate change as they affect people around the globe. Pomona College, 2018
- Climate Change Denial - Facing a reality too big to believeFrom Psychology Today, Jan. 2019
- Why humans are so bad at thinking about climate change"How psychology can trick us into keeping Earth habitable." Vox videos (9:45 minutes)
- The Psychology of Climate Change CommunicationPublished by the Center for Research on Environmental Decisions at Columbia University.
- The dragons of inaction: psychological barriers that limit climate change mitigation and adaptation.Academic article by Robert Gifford published in American Psychologist, 2011
Mental health aspects of climate change
- Climate griefSee Climate Grief tab on this guide.
- Climate Emotions: How climate change affects mental healthFrom the BBC, a series of articles examining our complex responses to climate change, and how those responses will shape how we act.
- Hope and mourning in the Anthropocene: Understanding ecological griefFrom The Conversation, April 2018
- The psychology of climate change: Why feelings matterFrom Psychology Today, March 2019
- Summary: Beyond Storms & Droughts: The Psychological Impacts of Climate ChangeOne page summary of the a report from the American Psychological Association.
- Psychology and Climate ChangeAcademic article published in Current Biology reviewing the research on the psychosocial impacts of climate change. Oct. 2019
- Anxiety and the Ecological Crisis: An Analysis of Eco-Anxiety and Climate AnxietyAcademic article published in journal Sustainability analyzing various views of eco-anxiety from a wide range
of disciplines. Oct. 2020 - Mental Health and Our Changing Climate: Impacts, Implications, and Guidance70 page report from the American Psychological Association and partners. March 2017
- Climate & MindResources compiled by psychotherapist Andrew Bryant, exploring the relationship between climate disruption, human behavior and human experience.
- Handbook of Climate PsychologyFrom the Climate Psychology Alliance
- Coping with the Climate Crisis (videos)Six short videos by psychoanalyst Rosemary Randall about the emotional dimensions of people’s responses and how we can support each other through what are often difficult and traumatic experiences. 2020
Books and ebooks
Don't Even Think about It : why our brains are wired to ignore climate change by Call Number: Southeast Main Collection 551.6 M37d 2014Publication Date: 2014-10-09
Engaging the Public with Climate Change: behaviour change and communication by Call Number: ebookPublication Date: 2012-06-25
Facing Climate Change by Call Number: Cascade Main Collection 155.915 K54f 2016Publication Date: 2016-03-01
Living in Denial: climate change, emotions, and everyday life by Call Number: ebookPublication Date: 2011-03-11
Tales from an Uncertain World : what other assorted disasters can teach us about climate change by Call Number: Cascade Main Collection 363.738 G37t 2018
What We Think about When We Try Not to Think about Global Warming: toward a new psychology of climate action by Call Number: Sylvania Main Collection 155.915 S76w 2015Publication Date: 2015-04-03
DVDs and streaming videos
James Hoggan explains how industries have used human psychology to spread climate change denial. (65 minutes)