Susan Clayton : Psychological responses to climate change: highlighting the role of identity

Date : Lundi 13 juin 2022 à 14h
Lieu : 5017

Abstract
Climate change is a pressing societal problem that is already affecting many people and that is projected to affect many more. There is increasing recognition that psychology plays an important role in understanding the ways in which people respond to climate change, as well as in promoting positive behavioral changes and psychological wellbeing. This presentation will review some of the ways in which psychology can help address climate change: understanding factors that encourage or discourage accurate risk perceptions; describing current and potential impacts of climate change on mental health and psychological wellbeing; and exploring ways to encourage positive responses that promote individual as well as community resilience. Throughout, I will highlight the importance of attending to identity. Social identities can both inhibit and facilitate effective responses, and personal identities both affect, and are affected by, changes in environmental conditions. I will specifically discuss the idea of an environmental identity – a self-concept that incorporates a sense of interdependence with the natural world. I will close with a discussion of important areas for further research.

Short bio
Susan Clayton , Ph.D., is the Whitmore-Williams Professor of Psychology at the College of Wooster in Ohio and a visiting fellow at the Paris Institute for Advanced Studies, 2021-22. Dr. Clayton’s research examines people’s relationship with the natural environment, how it is socially constructed, and how a healthy relationship with nature can be promoted. She has written about the effects of climate change on mental health, and has developed a scale to assess climate anxiety. She is author or editor of six books, including Identity and the Natural Environment, Conservation Psychology, and Psychology and Climate Change, and is currently the editor of the Cambridge Elements series in Applied Social Psychology and on the editorial board for journals such as the Journal of Environmental Psychology and Sustainability. A fellow of the American Psychological Association, she was a lead author on the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Web
https://discover.wooster.edu/sclayton/
Twitter: @sdclaytonphd