Abstract

PINHEIRO, José Q.; CAVALCANTI, Giselli R. C.  and  BARROS, Hellen C. L.. Global climate changes: Perception bias, time and space. Estud. psicol. (Natal) [online]. 2018, vol.23, n.3, pp. 282-292. ISSN 1413-294X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.22491/1678-4669.20180027.

We investigated the perception of global climate changes (GCCs) and their severity in relation to spatial and temporal scales. Participants were 52 students of secondary and higher education, being 17 females and 35 males. We employed a questionnaire containing open- ended and multiple-choice issues. We detected parallels with the bias of spatial optimism reported in the literature, that is, a more positive assessment of the situation for environments geographically closer to the respondent. This optimism was also clearly identified in the time scale of the present moment. For major temporalities (10, 25, or more years in the future), the trends observed were not so clear, but suggest a temporal optimism, not the temporal pessimism ("things will get worse") found in previous studies. These findings can guide environmental education projects that focus on the local scope and conditions of existence in the same, going beyond the positive evaluation customarily identified in the literature.

Keywords : global climate change; environmental perception; spatial scale; temporal scale; mitigation.

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