Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges facing humanity. Yet, people often underestimate this threat and believe that climate change is an issue facing other people in other places. What might amplify environmental concern and motivate essential pro-environmental behavior?

Existing research has found that personal experience of natural disasters is often associated with climate-change concern. This research conducted by PhD Candidate Deborah Shulman, Prof. ran Halperin, and Dr. Michal Reifen-Tagar, explores whether personal experience of a different global crisis - the Covid-19 pandemic - may also sensitize people to the global crisis of climate change.

In two quasi-experimental studies conducted during the early waves of the Covid-19 pandemic in both the UK and the US, personal experience of Covid-19 was associated with increased environmental concern and pro-environmental behavioral intentions. The results suggested that the relationship between experience of Covid-19 and a more pro-environmental approach may be due to a shift towards self-transcendence values. Personally experiencing the negative effects of Covid-19, and being part of shared global pain, appeared to sensitize people to the suffering of distant others and lead to greater concern about the climate emergency and willingness to make behavioral changes. This finding is consistent with the idea that increasing concern beyond the self, can give meaning and purpose to people in the face of suffering. This research also sheds light on the psychological processes that might transform personal experiences of one threat into increased concern about other threats in different domains.

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