Proximalizing climate change to farmers: Improving risk communications using the lens of psychological distance

Abstract

Abstract This study uses Construct Level Theory (CLT) to investigate Iranian farmers' beliefs in climate change occurrence and their adaptive behaviors to reduce its impacts. In the framework of CLT, people who perceive themselves to be psychologically close (proximal) to events and objects are better able to make decisions about them, while people seeing themselves as psychologically distant (distal) are less able to do so. CLT is thus a useful lens for examining the role of psychological distance in Iranian farmers' willingness to perform climate change adaptation behaviors. The current study aims to explore the relation between the four core dimensions of psychological distance—geographical/spatial; social; temporal; and hypothetical/uncertain—and their influence on farmers' beliefs, risk perceptions, and adaptation behavior relating to water management. This study contributes toward effective risk communication by agricultural extension and advisory services in Iran and beyond. The results of structural equation modeling confirm that all four dimensions of psychological distance impact water management adaptation strategies and non-farm activities. Moreover, all psychological dimensions, except the temporal dimension (i.e., the perceived time until the occurrence of climate change), affect adaptation in farming management. Thus, making climate change more proximal to decision makers could be a strategic way of encouraging individuals to take adaptive actions. This study emphasizes that concepts of psychological distance can be applied to help organizations (e.g. agriculture extension services) understand farmers’ risk perceptions and responses to climate change impacts and improve risk communication to better engage farmers in climate action.