Public risk perceptions, understandings and responses to climate change

Abstract

This chapter summarises research findings from a large Australian national research program addressing public risk perceptions, understandings and responses to the dual threats of climate change and natural disasters. It describes the approach taken, the constructs and measures addressed, the research objectives and the more psychological nature of the larger enterprise, which reflected in many respects the recommendations of the American Psychological Association's Taskforce on Psychology and Climate Change. The chapter places particular emphasis on psychological adaptation as the most useful window through which to achieve a sense of the distinctive character of the research and findings. It attempts to give readers an appreciation of the underlying functional and mediating roles which psychological adaptation processes play with respect to other more familiar psychological parameters when addressing public risk perceptions, understanding and responses to climate change.