Stepping Into the Future: Using Neuroscience to Inspire Climate Action

Heather Gittelson, a cognitive neuroscience major, investigates whether taking the perspective of future generations can motivate people to take climate action today.

Putting yourself in someone else's shoes means seeing things from their perspective. What if the shoes belonged to someone who will suffer the future effects of climate change due to our failure to act today? Would you be more willing to take action on climate change if you considered how your inertia might negatively impact a young loved one in the future?

That's what Heather Gittelson, a rising senior majoring in cognitive neuroscience, is asking participants this summer in her research project, "Can Taking the Perspective of a Relative in the Future Influence Climate Change Risk Perception."

Earlier research has indicated that people can be reluctant to be proactive about climate change because they feel disconnected from the future. "I want to understand what can motivate people to care more about others," Gittelson explained. "We can't expect to make positive changes in the environment moving forward without using neuroscience and psychology to understand what drives people's decisions."

This past academic year, she assisted Karolina Lempert, PhD, assistant professor of psychology, in her National Institutes of Health-funded research project exploring memory's role in decision-making.

This summer, Gittelson is again working with Dr. Lempert to "conduct an experiment in which we test a psychological manipulation to see if it will change climate-related decisions," she said. "In this case, people must make decisions that are both future- and other-oriented."

Dr. Lempert notes that while Gittelson's summer experiment relates to her own work about future decision-making, her student wants to find ways to encourage pro-climate behavior. "This project combines both of our interests. I've been interested in basic decision-making, but Heather is making this more concrete."

Making Better Decisions for the Future

The 300 participants will be divided into three online groups of 100.

• The first group will read a vignette about a storm caused by climate inaction and use future thinking, Gittelson said, to "develop a vivid mental image of a future event, and perspective taking, where they will name a young friend or relative to represent future generations impacted by climate change."
• The second group will read a short story about a storm and refer to an unnamed person in the future. According to Gittelson, they'll learn if vivid details about a storm are enough to enhance participants' perception of risk-or if considering the perspective of a chosen individual leads to a greater effect.
• The third group will only read some facts about a future when no climate actions are taken.

Each participant will then be asked to decide how to split $10 between themselves and a climate charity.

The Big Picture

Gittelson expects that the first group that engages in both future thinking and perspective taking will donate a greater share of the $10.

Participants' answers to questions about their political orientations and general attitudes about climate change will also be factored in. She also expects younger participants to better understand the risks of climate change, since they will most likely be adversely impacted over time.

Gittelson, who hopes to pursue a doctoral degree after graduating from Adelphi, is passionate about her summer project-and limiting the impact of climate change. "Big picture, we're hoping to contribute information on effective ways to make people care more about climate change and encourage small-scale climate action. We may not be able to stop climate change, but any action is better than none, so we hope to motivate people to take pro-climate action."