Publication Type
PhD Dissertation
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
5-2025
Abstract
Climate change is no longer a distant threat, but a present crisis—making the question of how we act timelier than whether we act. This research investigates how people evaluate different approaches to climate action—specifically, mitigation (reducing emissions) and adaptation (coping with impacts)—through the lens of the Construal Level Theory (Liberman & Trope, 1998; Trope & Liberman, 2010). Across three studies, I examined how perceptions of desirability and feasibility influence preferences for different climate action strategies. Study 1 found that, to laypeople, mitigation was perceived as more desirable while adaptation was perceived as more feasible. Study 2 attempted to manipulate individuals’ focus on desirability versus feasibility, but the manipulation was unsuccessful, and no differences in policy preferences for mitigation versus adaptation were observed. In Study 3, the focus on desirability versus feasibility was measured following a perspective-taking manipulation: participants who were asked to adopt a policymaker’s (compared to a regular citizen’s) perspective showed greater concern with feasibility, which indirectly increased preferences for adaptation over mitigation. These findings highlight how construal-related evaluative focus can shape climate policy preferences, offering insights for effective communication strategies that support a balanced approach to managing climate risks.
Keywords
climate change, mitigation, adaptation, construal level, policy support
Degree Awarded
PhD in Psychology
Discipline
Environmental Policy | Social Psychology
Supervisor(s)
LEUNG, Ka Yee
First Page
1
Last Page
103
Publisher
Singapore Management University
City or Country
Singapore
Citation
NG, Shu Tian.
To mitigate or adapt? A construal level perspective on agenda setting for climate action. (2025). 1-103.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/etd_coll/786
Copyright Owner and License
Author
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.