The role of the affect heuristic in moral reactions to climate change

Bibliographic Data

ID12892807
AuthorsMark A Seabright (Western Oregon University, corresponding author)
Year2010
Volume6
Issue1
Pages5-15
Publication date2010-04-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Global Ethics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1744-9626 • E-ISSN: 1744-9634
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17449621003701410
OpenAlexW1985620303
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited34

Many academics and world leaders have declared that there is a moral imperative to address climate change. But such claims often fall on deaf ears because the nature of the threat posed by global warming lacks many of the features of a paradigmatic moral transgression [Jamieson, Dale. 2007. The moral and political challenges of climate change. Working Paper, New York University, New York]. This paper explores these psychological obstacles to moral engagement about climate change. I argue that the temporal and psychosocial distance of the threat of global warming undermines the kind of affective response that motivates moral concern. I conclude by suggesting that images focusing more on the personal and short-term consequences of global warming will generate stronger moral reactions

Affect (linguistics · Climate change · Environmental ethics · Global warming · Moral disengagement · Moral reasoning · Morality · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Climate Change Communication and Perception · Law · Psychology · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology · Ecology